1. Hallelujah Psalm
We are reading the book of Psalm from the beginning of this July and today is the last sequence of the series. The book of Psalm contains 150 chapters in total (*1) and the last 5 songs begin and end with ¡ÈHallelujah¡É Today¡Çs reading passage chapter 146 is a very famous one among them. The lyric was taken in a hymn written by D. Herrnschmidt (*2) in 1716, which was translated as the Japanese Baptist hymn 114. Though ¡ÈHallelujah¡É means in Hebrew ¡ÈPraise Yahweh, the Lord,¡É the content is more than a simple praising song of God.

The verse 3 sings ; - Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.
¡ÈPrinces¡É is ¡Èנגיד¡É in Hebrew, which means ruler or commander. And the poet teaches not to trust in secularly powerful men because they are also mere sons of human, ¡Èson of dust (בְּבֶן-אָדָם.)¡É The book of Genesis tells us that humans are made with ¡Èdust of the earth (אָדָם)¡É and, for that reason, Adam was called ¡Èson of dust (בְּבֶן-אָדָם.)¡É(see Genesis 2:7)

But the breath of God made him spiritually alive. And after the death, or departure of the breath of God as the Spirit, our body became again dust. ; - When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.(Psalm 146:4)
Therefore we must not trust in those vulnerable existences, the poet says.

It is said that Jewish people commenced to compose Psalms under the Persian domination. Previously, Israel had been destroyed by Babylon in 7th Century BC and its leading persons had been brought to the sovereign country, far from the homeland. But Babylon was defeated by Persia and Israelites in captivity were freed and allowed to get back to Judea. The leader of the returning body was Sheshbazzar, a descendant of the king David family. (*3, see also Ezra 1:11)

The people of Israel expected that Sheshbazzar would restore the country as the king but he was killed by the order of the Persian authority. Some historians think that Sheshbazzar might be the model of ¡ÈThe Suffering Servant¡É of Isaiah 53. (*4)

Though Israelites were strongly disappointed then, they began to work together to reconstruct the Temple. The book of Haggai reports the fact. ; - In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest:(Haggai 1:1)

And the reconstruction-leader Zerubbabel became their hope again. They wished that he became the independent ruler of Israel. But the Persians had no intention to allow it. Furthermore, Zerubbabel died due to Persian oppression. In short, despite the emancipation from Babylon, Israelites remained colonial people. However, thanks to the hard experiences, they learned ¡Ènot to put their trust in mortal men, who cannot save anyone.¡É ¡ÈPrinces¡É should indicate governors of Persia and regional rulers. Therefore the poet teaches that we must not rely on earthy powers which are temporary, as Persia was.

*1 Psalm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psalm
*2 Herrnschmidt http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Herrnschmidt.htm
*3 Sheshbazzar (Sheshbazzar) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheshbazzar
*4 “The Suffering Servant” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaiah_53

2. Blessed is he whose help and hope are God
The poet grasped the lesson of the history. Those who relied on earthy hegemony crumbled, as Babylon and Persia did. Therefore he teaches us to seek help and hope only in God. ; - Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God,the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— the Lord, who remains faithful forever.(Psalm 146:5-6)

Whereas humans can never move mountains or calm stormy seas, God, the almighty, can do. Under the very harsh situation of captivity, Israelites recognized that God was always with them, even in Babylon. Thus they arrived to understand that Yahweh was the Creator and the ruler of the whole universe. That recognition led them to the authentic faith and trust in God, regardless of any surrounding circumstances.

The powerful oppressed the weak and stole their bread. Besides, they would put disobedient persons in prison. As a result, weak people were depressed and withdrawn onto the margins of the society. Nonetheless, the poet says in a strong voice ; - He(the Lord) upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.(Psalm 146:7)

Furthermore ; - The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.(Psalm 146:8¡Ë
The poet is encouraging the Jewish people by referring to the history. Weak Israel had survived former oppressors, Assyrians and Babylonians, and Persians. So much so, they must be sure that God would also destroy Persia, the actual ruler of Israel. The poet also sends us a message that we should do what we can do now, instead of grouching about political defects or social unfairness of present-day.

And we know a man who did the same as the Lord do in this verse; - the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.(Psalm 146:8)

The man is Jesus, the Christ and our Lord. Jesus commenced his ministry in the village of Nazareth with this, ; - “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.¡É(Luke 4:18-19)
Jesus declared thus exactly what was written in Psalm 146.

Recently, a song titled ¡ÈYou raise me up¡É (* to listen) is very popular. It is sung widely, inside and out of the church. I present you it here:
— When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary, When troubles come and my heart burdened be / Then I am still and wait here in the silence, Until you come and sit awhile with me / You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains. You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas / I am strong, when I am on your shoulders, You raise me up to more than I can be.—

I think that its lyric should be one of wonderful interpretations of Psalm 146, which contains the verse, ¡Èthe Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.(Psalm 146:8)¡É

* You raise me up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rkkw8RhH9ck

3. Our way of living
We chose Acts 4:29-30 for today¡Çs invocation verses ; - Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.¡É

According to the book of Acts, Peter and John came back to Jerusalem after encountering resurrected Jesus. And the chapter 4 tells about a healing story by Peter. One day, a man crippled from birth was being carried to one of temple gates. When he saw Peter and John he asked them for money. Peter, instead of giving him money, said to him, ¡ÈIn the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.¡É Then the man jumped to his feet and began to walk. When all the people saw him walking, they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to the crippled man. Peter began to teach there that Jesus was resurrected and his divine power cured the man through Peter¡Çs words. But the event annoyed the Jewish authority who had executed Jesus two months earlier. So they gave an order to arrest Peter and John. Then ; - They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: ¡ÈBy what power or what name did you do this?¡É(Acts 4:7)

The authority had thought that the execution of Jesus would resolve all problems. Nonetheless, the Apostles came back, from where they didn¡Çt know, and began to spread the incredible news that Jesus had been resurrected and they witnessed the fact. Inadmissibly for the authority, the crowd were inclined to believe it. The religious rulers considered the tendency to be very dangerous. Thus they arrested Peter and John. They thought easily that menaces should silence them, this time too, like before. But the disciples, who had been coward, showed strong courage and rebuffed publicly, ; - (Unless Jesus) Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."(Acts 4:12)

Peter, though he had hidden himself with fear of the Jewish authority, began to advocate Jesus openly. His determination was unexpected and upset Jewish rulers. However, they were afraid that the crowd might rise up against them if they arrested and execute the disciples of Jesus. Because Peter¡Çs words impressed the people so strongly. Hence, the authority freed Peter and John with threatening words. ; - Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."(Acts 4:18-20)

After getting free, Peter and John joined other fellows and prayed a prayer, today¡Çs invocation verses. ; - “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.(Acts 4:24) And they continued further ; - Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. (Acts 4:29)

The disciples didn¡Çt pray that God would save them from menace or danger of persecutors. Because they knew that those painful events must be given by God. They believed that persecutions were from God¡Çs hand, as the Cross of Jesus was likewise. They prayed for the power to praise God even while suffering from pains and difficulties, not only while receiving happiness or blessing. Psalm 146 represent the similar faith to those disciples¡Ç.

Though Peter and other believers had been fearful and scattered away, they came back again to cope with trials given by God. They understood that whatever difficulties God would give them, all must finish in blessings. Even persecution was necessary to realize God¡Çs will, they thought.

Once we have such a faith, we don¡Çt feel any fear in this world. Because Jesus Christ will save us from the profoundest depth. Even if we are not saved immidiately, it is because we must have certain missions to achieve under painful situations.

When we recognize that whatever happens all are in line with God¡Çs will, our vision of life changes. In this real world, the evil seem prosperous and the right might suffer. As a matter of fact, apparently unfair things happen everywhere around us. Our good efforts are not always appreciated as they should be. Or some persons suffer from severe illness to die desperately. But we can find God¡Çs will behind all, positive or negative things, if we understand that God rules over the whole universe. The Babylonian captivity was a tragedy for the Jewish people of the time. But the incident led them to establish the authentic faith in God, the Creator and the ruler of the world. They found the fact in the place of captivity.

Jewish people unceasingly suffered from domination of powerful empires, Persia, Greek, then Rome. But all those superpowers disappeared whereas Israel remains in today¡Çs world. The faith in God preserved the people. The psalm writer wrote ; - The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord.(Psalm146:10)
And such a faith is the determination of praising God, or ¡È Hallelujah,¡É under any circumstances. It gives us the power to change the evil into the good in this world.