Psalms 106:1 “Hallelujah, O’ give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good.”
Hallelujah, it means “Praise the Lord” in every language. It is spelled with a “He” – the breath of God, with two lameds, a picture of up lifted hands. Hallelu is a picture, a picture of being surrounded by the breath or presence of God with up lifted hands in adoration. The “jah” at the end of the word is really a separate word joined in a construct form by a megeth. The jah is an abbreviation for the word “Jehovah.” That is why Hallelujah means, praise the Lord. And what are you praising Him for? That is found in the “He.” You are praising Him for and because of His presence.
So how do you enter into His presence? David explains that in the next part of the verse. No he does not suggest putting on your favorite praise CD. I don’t know about you, but that does not always work for me. He does not say to lift you hands and begin praising. David starts this verse with Hallelujah to show that this is the result of His presence, not the way to enter His presence. David says: “Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good.”
Do you get the remez here? When we thank someone, it is for something that they did not have to do but chose to do it. Is that to suggest that God is really a bad God who has chosen to be good and we should thank Him for making that choice? Also the word “thanks” is in a Hiphal imperative form. We are commanded to thank Him. Thanks sure does not mean much when we give it because we are forced to give it. Thanks is most meaningful when it is given as a free act of our will, when we don’t have to give it. Finally, why give thanks for something that God is and in no other way could be? I mean, He sets the standard for what is good, so if He is bad, then that bad is really good as he represents the standard as to what is good. (This is an old trick we use in Theology, “If you can’t convince ‘em, confuse ‘em.”). Obviously we are not thanking Him for being good but that by his nature of being good He deserves our thanks. So what are we giving thanks for? David doesn’t specify. For you see, David is giving you the secret to entering into His presence and it is not, as I said, putting on your favorite CD. This secret that David is giving will work every time, guaranteed to bring you into the presence of God. The Apostle Paul knew David’s secret and revealed it to us in I Thessalonians 5:18: “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
The word thanks here is not “todah” but “yadah.” The yod – represents a messenger who brings us in close friendship with God. The daleth is a doorway to the He – His presence. Thanksgiving brings you into a close friendship with God that is the doorway to His presence. The sages have played around with that “yod” because it represents both a message or messenger from heaven and a close friendship with God. Some have suggested that the Yod can represent the Messiah. Like any self respecting Christian goyim I took that and ran with it and I say this message and messenger from heaven is Jesus Christ. So what are we thanking Him for? Some sages suggest we thank him for the future peace that the Messiah will bring. I say we thank him for sending His son Jesus Christ to redeem us and be our atonement for sin. Because of the finished work of Jesus Christ we can enter into his presence with thanksgiving for everything for in His perfect presence nothing happens in our lives without God’s Divine approval. So we can thank him for everything that happens in our lives good or bad. In the good times we can praise him in the bad times we can thank him for his protection and deliverance.
So why does thanks bring us into the presence of God. Because God is good. Remember the word good is “tov.” In it’s prime material state, tov or good is whatever is in perfect harmony with God. David was striving to be in perfect harmony with God. He found that giving thanks brings him into harmony, or in tune with God. When in tune with God you feel his vibrations, you vibrate with Him and that is His presence.
I recently had a rather bad experience on my job. I was not very thankful for it and it really had me in a funk. But remembering David’s sod, I looked up to the Father and said, “Please dear Father, don’t think I am ungrateful for this job, for I truly am and I am truly thankful that you provided this job. I am thankful that you have helped me to perform my task, you have given me the knowledge and understanding I need to perform this job. I don’t understand this setback but I thank you for it because I know you are in control and I am thankful that you are in control.” I immediately felt that sweet presence of God, I knew I was “in tune” – “tov” with Him and you know, everything was ok in His presence. I still had my setback, but it didn’t matter, so long as I had the love of God in Christ Jesus.
But soft, it was not more than a couple hours after that prayer that an e-mail popped up on my Backberry. It was an e-mail to my supervisor, department head and all the other powers that be. When I first looked at it, I thought: “This can’t be good.” I was wrong. It was a message to all who would listen from our marketing agent telling how my performance on a particular matter had so impressed one of our producers that he promised to direct all the business he could to our company. That was almost as much a pick me as the presence of God. Not really, nothing can match the love of God in Christ Jesus. That e-mail was just a little love note from God reminding me of David’s little secret – the power in thanksgiving. We enter his courts with thanksgiving and praise.
In everything give Him Thanks
In the good times praise His Name
In the bad times do the same
In everything, give God the thanks.
When troubles come
And there’s no one around
Satan tries to tell me,
“God’s let you down,”
In every dark hour
The best thing I found
Is to give my God thanks,
For he has never, never, never
Failed me yet,
So why should I start now
To worry or fret
In everything I won’t ever forget
To give Him all the thanks.
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