Hallelujah Part 1

(This is my 1st attempt at a music post, so bear with me.) The song "Hallelujah" is a standard in popular music and singlehandedly got its writer and original performer Leonard Cohen into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The bluesy, mournful ballad really became famous when Jeff Buckley released an emotional cover of the song on his 1994 debut album Grace which was listed on Rolling Stone's 300 greatest songs in 2004.

However, this song continues to be relevant in modern pop music. Artists as diverse as Bob Dylan, Celtic Thunder, and Bon Jovi have done covers of "Hallelujah" either live or as an album cut. My favorite version of "Hallelujah" by The Canadian Tenors, which was number 1 on the US Vocals chart and was discovered using the Top100s app on my iPod touch. This cover has great blended vocalists of different ranges and a meditative guitar solo à la U2.

But apart from being a good song, "Hallelujah" features many Biblical allusions other than its title and is very open ended. Musical critics have interpreted this song from being anything from a hymn to God, a protest song, a love song, or a sexual anthem. I will clarify the Biblical references in "Hallelujah" and discover its worldview. This should be a two or three part mini series.

 "I heard that there was a secret chord/That David played and it pleased the Lord."                                   Cohen starts out the song in first person, setting the stage that this song is based on his recollections and memories. The first verse acts as an introduction to the greater work. The David in the song is clearly King David, the second king of Judah, who was a prolific singer-songwriter in his own right, writing and performing 73 Psalms or songs written to God. His instrument of choice was the harp (1 Samuel 18:10), which he used to please his earthly lord, the restless King Saul ( 1 Samuel 19:9) and above all, his heavenly Lord (Psalm 108:1-2). David's main desire in his life was to use his talents and "worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling (Psalm 2:11).

"But you don't really care for music, do you?" 
 There are many ways that you can look at this extremely ambiguous line. Here are three. First, the "I" in the first line is an older musician telling a reluctant, probably younger, listener about the musical talent of King David and the struggles in his life. Second, in a theological sense, the listener to the song wants to suppress the truths about God that David sang in the Psalms. David talks about these people in imprecatory or judgment Psalms, like Psalm 35:16 which calls the non-listeners "godless jesters at a feast." Lastly, Cohen has an important message about the musical structure that he's going to tell the listener no matter what.

"Well, it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth/The minor fall, the major lift/The baffled king composing hallelujah"
  Cohen reveals the secret music formula behind David's secret composition and the chord progression of his own song. The fourth is F major, the fifth is G major, the minor fall is A minor, and the major lift is F major. To music theory fans, this song was composed in C major, the most popular musical key. The revelation of the structure of the song shows that Cohen's thoughts are well ordered in "Hallelujah" and gives other people to make their own "Hallelujahs." David is described as " baffled", which is allusion to when he danced before the Lord to the scorn of his wife Michal (1 Chronicles 15:29). David was so enthralled with the glory and majesty of love that he didn't care about his dignity and station as king.

"Hallelujah!"                                                                                                                                                   This is the simple chorus of the song, repeated several times. Hallelujah can be translated from Hebrew as "Praise Yahweh". Yahweh was the twelve tribes of Israel's special name for God (Exodus 3:14). It's used in the Bible for the intense praise of God (Psalm 111:1) It's transliterated as "Alleluia" in Greek in the New Testament. Hallelujah is used several times in Revelation 19 to show praise to God by Christians and angels, when Jesus "the Lamb" defeats the sinful world system of the Antichrist before ushering in His reign on Earth.

Hallelujah's use in the song is also ambiguous. It could be an expression of David's praise to God, like in the Psalms. Hallelujah could also represent a person's personal life and values, as exemplified in some of the illustrations in the latter verses. In an interview with BBC, Leonard Cohen said "many different hallelujahs exist." Therefore, in an existentialist worldview, one's "hallelujah" is a summation of thoughts, beliefs, and life experiences. This also means the definition of "hallelujah" is different and depends on the individual. I think that the "hallelujah" in this song is one's worldview. The hallelujah can be happy and joyous, sad and somber, or weak and compromising depending on the person. Even when he or she has a bad day, the Christian can find solace in praising God.

What is your own personal "hallelujah" like? What's your favorite version of this song?

" After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a loud multitude, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God." (Revelation 19:1, NASB)

Providence, Pascal, and Gandalf the Grey

Providence is something that both Christians and non-Christians once believed in. The avowed Deist Thomas Jefferson stated that "a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence" was the foundation of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain was written. Jefferson didn't believe in a personal saving God, but he knew that there was a supreme Being that held the universe together but didn't intervene in human affairs.

Later, Mahatma Gandhi, the Hindu spiritual leader of Indian independence movement, revealed his belief in providence by saying " Providence has its appointed hour for everything." Gandhi understood that he wasn't completely self determining, that there was some force in the universe that ordained his destiny.

But what does the Bible say about providence? Providence is like God's invisible hand, making sure that He is glorified. Matthew 10:29-31 paints a great picture of the doctrine of providence. " Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear, you are more valuable than many sparrows."

 If God cares about the death of two tiny birds, how much more does He care about the lives of those who He created in His own image? In our fallen self-centered minds, having our life already planned out for us makes us seem like robots. However, it is comforting to know that God will make everything right for those who trust Him. (Romans 8:28;Revelation 3:21)

The French philosopher, scientist, and Renaissance man Blaise Pascal was a firm believer in God's providence. He wrote in his journal (collected as Pensees) that "he who takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God's providence to lead him aright." Pascal knew that God had a solution for any problem and that by placing one's trust in His judgment that the problem would be solved. In his life as a scientist and mathematician, Pascal applied this principle by submitting himself to God when discovering the axioms of geometry and in his experiments on the vacuum and invisible space.

Finally, Hollywood, usually a haven for relativism, alludes to God's providence in the Academy Award winning film Lord of the Rings:Fellowship of the Ring. This fantasy epic was adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy of the same name, who was a devout Roman Catholic, like Pascal. In a pivotal scene, Gandalf, the wizard leader of the Fellowship of the Ring, must choose between three passages to exit the gloomy Mines of Moria and continue the journey to destroy the evil One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom.

While pondering where to go, the ring bearer Frodo tells him, " I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had ever happened." But the wise wizard replies," So do all live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide.All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." Gandalf tells Frodo that he was meant to have the Ring, and good will triumph in the end, which cheers up the hobbit considerably.

Even though director Peter Jackson hasn't revealed his religious beliefs to the public, he decided to keep some of Tolkien's Christian worldview intact in his film version of Lord of the Rings. General audiences can still grasp that there are forces in this world that are unseen and that ensure that truth and justice will win in the end. Despite terrorist attacks, Balrogs, and other senseless evils, God's providence makes sure that His perfect will is done even when the odds seem to be against him.The whole Lord of the Rings saga illustrates this idea of providence by showing that two hobbits can go into a land of pure and senseless evil, destroy that evil, and restore Eden. Do you personally believe in providence? Are there any other examples of providence that you can find in recent (and ancient) movies,books,TV shows, and songs?

" How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."- Sam Gamgee (Lord of the Rings:The Two Towers) (2002)