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The highest point and peak of prayer is praise. Praise is much better than prayer; so we must go on from prayer to praise. When you pray and pray until you reach the highest point, then prayer is over and praise begins. You are on the top of prayer, and the top of prayer is praise. Do you think that we will still pray in the New Jerusalem? I tell you, in that day we will sing all the time. We will sing, “It is done, it is done; prayer is over, praise begun!” We must have the foretaste of the New Jerusalem now.
Now we must learn something deeper concerning praise; we must see something not just in a general way but in a deeper way. I have never been so concerned regarding the utterance as I am when we come to this matter. Now we are touching something very deep and tender. It is easy to speak concerning something superficial, but really difficult to convey a matter so deep and precious as this. I look to the Lord that you will exercise your spirit with your understanding to follow me.
Have you ever heard a message telling of the Lord Jesus singing praises to God? We have one verse (v. 12) in Hebrews 2, a quotation from Psalm 22:22, which says, “I will declare Your name to My brothers; in the midst of the church I will sing hymns of praise to You.” This is the Lord Jesus speaking, and He says, “I will declare Your name.” That means the Father’s name. He goes on to say, “In the midst of the church I will sing hymns of praise to You.” At what point of time did the Lord declare the Father’s name to His brothers? At what time did the Lord sing hymns of praise to the Father? Have you ever considered this? Let us look at Psalm 22, where these words are first recorded.
The first part of the psalm deals with the crucifixion of Christ: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (v. 1). When the Lord Jesus was on the cross, He cried these very words (Matt. 27:46), and His cry amazed all those who heard. He was quoting and fulfilling Psalm 22:1. In verse 16 of that psalm we read, “They pierce my hands and feet,” and in verse 18, “They divide my garments to themselves, / And for my clothing they cast lots.” These verses relating to the Lord’s death are fulfilled and recorded in the four Gospels (Luke 23:34; Matt. 27:35). Then we come abruptly into the second part of this psalm in verse 22, where the Lord says, “I will declare Your name to my brothers.” What is this? This was fulfilled in the Lord’s resurrection. After the crucifixion in the first part of Psalm 22, we have the resurrection in the second part. While He was on the cross, He cried, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” But later in His resurrection He declared the Father’s name to His brothers. On the morning of the resurrection day, as recorded in John 20:17, Jesus said to Mary, “Go to My brothers and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.” Jesus did not tell Mary, “Go to My disciples,” or “Go to My friends,” but “Go to My brothers.” Before the day of resurrection, no human being was a brother to Christ as a Son of God. It was by His resurrection that all the disciples, all the believers in Him, became His brothers. So He said to Mary, “Go to My brothers.” By His resurrection God has begotten us (1 Pet. 1:3), God has regenerated us as His sons; so we have become the brothers of the Lord. It was at that time that He declared the name of the Father to His brothers.
Then when is the time when in the midst of the church the Lord sang praise to the Father? On the day of resurrection? The church was not formed on the day of resurrection. It was not till the day of Pentecost that the church actually came into existence. But here we have a difficulty, for on the day of Pentecost Jesus was in the heavens. How then could He sing praise to the Father in the midst of the church? On the day of Pentecost, Peter told the people that “this Jesus God has raised up,” saying to Him, “Sit at My right hand” (Acts 2:32, 34). If Jesus is at the right hand of God, how can He sing hymns of praise to the Father in the midst of the church?
On the day of Pentecost, when the Lord Jesus was in the heavens at the right hand of God, the church came into existence. On that day there were one hundred twenty disciples plus three thousand new believers, making a total of three thousand one hundred twenty constituting the church. For simplicity’s sake let us consider only fifty believers meeting in a locality as a church. How could Jesus sing praises to the Father in the midst of that church? Have you ever been in a meeting where you saw Jesus singing in the midst of the church?
The answer is this: when we are singing to the Father, Jesus is singing within us. Now is the time when Hebrews 2:12 is being fulfilled. When we are singing a hymn to the Father, Jesus, the Firstborn among many brothers, is singing within our singing. That is the way He sings praises to the Father in the midst of the church. He sings within our singing.
But here is a problem: are you sure that whenever you sing in the church, Christ is singing within your singing? When you say Amen, does Christ say Amen within you? Are you assured that when you say Hallelujah, Christ also says Hallelujah within your Hallelujah? If you could not say yes, then I must tell you to shut your mouth. Do not say Hallelujah anymore unless you are assured that when you say Hallelujah, the Lord Jesus says Hallelujah within you.
Do you feel after reading this that I am binding your Hallelujahs? Yes, I bind what has already been bound; I loose what has already been loosed. I do not agree with the old way of Christianity — that is something dead; that is something fallen. I do not agree either with anything that is an abuse of our liberty. It is so easy for us to go either to one extreme or to another. On one hand, we need to be centripetal, that is, tending toward the center; on the other hand, we need also to be centrifugal, that is, tending to move away from the center. These two laws will keep us in the proper balance. On one hand, it is not right to take the old way of deadness; neither is it right to take a new way of looseness, abusing and misusing our liberty. I am not trying to bind you; my intention is to release you. But you must realize that all the release, all the liberty, must be in the spirit. When I say Hallelujah, I must have the assurance that the Lord Jesus within me is saying Hallelujah. If the Lord Jesus is saying inwardly, “No, I do not go along with your Hallelujah,” then my Hallelujah is entirely wrong. The Lord Jesus today is one with all His members.
Hebrews 2 refers to two psalms, Psalm 8 and Psalm 22. We have seen that Psalm 8 speaks concerning Christ: “What is mortal man, that You remember him, / And the son of man, that You visit him? You have made Him a little lower than angels / And have crowned Him with glory and honor... / You have put all things under His feet” (vv. 4-6). We know that this man, this One of whom the psalmist is speaking, is Jesus. Psalm 8 tells us that Jesus is identified with man. He is the Creator of all the angels, but He was made a little lower than the angels. He was incarnated to be a man, and by His incarnation He was identified with man. The Hebrew text for the word man in the question, “What is mortal man?” is a word which denotes a fragile man, a weak man. Man is so fragile and weak, yet Jesus identified Himself with such a creature. While He was on earth, practically speaking, He was not physically strong. He was in a sense weak and fragile; He identified Himself with such a race.
Psalm 8 tells us that from the youngest ones, the least ones, the weakest of such a race, God could do one thing — He could establish praise. How could God establish praise out of the mouths of such weak ones? Just by these four or five steps: (1) Christ’s incarnation. The entire universe had never seen such a thing. God could establish praises out of the mouths of babes and sucklings first by Christ’s incarnation, by His identification with man. (2) His crucifixion. Of course, in Psalm 8 we do not have the crucifixion, just the incarnation with the glorification. Man is made a little lower than the angels — this is the incarnation. He is crowned with glory and honor — this is the glorification. But following Psalm 8, in Psalm 22 His crucifixion is covered. (3) His resurrection. In Psalm 22, after the crucifixion, we have the resurrection. The Lord’s declaring of the Father’s name to His brothers was a sign of His resurrection. (4) His glorification. After His resurrection He was crowned with glory and honor. (5) His enthronement. All things have been put under His feet. He has been enthroned as the Lord of all and as the King of kings.
By these five ways — incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, glorification, and enthronement — God could establish praises out of the mouths of the weakest of this weak race. By these five steps of Christ, God fulfills Psalm 8:2. You may ask, “What has this to do with me?” The answer is — too much! If we did not have these five major steps of Christ in this universe, none of us could utter a word of praise. All the mouths of men would be shut. How could we praise God without Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and enthronement? You may say, “O God, You are my Creator!” But God would say, “You are a sinner!” Then what will you say? You may say, “O God, I thank You for Your mercy.” But God would say, “How could I have mercy upon you?” Without the work of Christ there is no way.
Oh, how we need to see the way whereby God can establish praises out of the mouths of us who are the weakest, the least, and less than the least! By His incarnation Christ was made one with us. We are lower than the angels, and He is too; He was made the same as we. By His crucifixion all our problems have been solved. God can never say to you, “You are a sinner.” If God says this to you, you must tell Him, “O God, You are not just, You are not righteous, You are not fair in saying this, because my substitute Christ has died for me.” You see, there is no reason whatever for you not to praise. By Christ’s incarnation Christ has become one with me. By His crucifixion I am no more a sinner. By His resurrection I become a son of God. Tell me, who is greater, the president of the United States or you? Suppose that the president is not a son of God — is he greater, or you? You are greater! You have to shout, “Hallelujah! I am greater; I am greater!” What makes you so great? His resurrection. By His resurrection you have been made a brother of Christ. Then, do you have any reason not to praise? Do you see? In this way God has established praises out of the mouths of the weakest. You may have many children and may, materially speaking, be rather poor, but are you not more glorious than the greatest millionaire? Praise the Lord! In His glorification we all have been glorified. We are more glorious! You see, it is so easy for God to establish praises out of the mouths of so many weaker ones. If you have ever seen the incarnation of Christ, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the glorification, and the enthronement, you will be beside yourself, saying, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”
This is not all. The most wonderful thing is that this incarnated One, this crucified One, this resurrected One, this glorified One, this enthroned One, is altogether today the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). As the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit, He indwells my spirit, and I am one spirit with Him (6:17). What is this! Oh, what is this!
Hebrews 2 refers us to Psalm 8, which tells of Christ’s incarnation, glorification and enthronement. Hebrews 2 also refers us to Psalm 22, which speaks of His crucifixion and resurrection. When we put these two psalms together, we have these five marvelous, glorious steps of Christ: His incarnation, His crucifixion, His resurrection, His glorification, and His enthronement. By all these five steps, Christ has been made one with us, and we have been made one with Him. Now Christ is not only in the church, but Christ is the church (1 Cor. 12:12), and He says, “In the midst of the church I will sing hymns of praise to You.” In what way? By being one with the church, by being one with all the members, and by them being made one with Him. When they sing, He sings in their singing. He sings by their singing; He sings within their singing. Their singing is His singing. They are one with Him, and He is one with them. They are in Him, and He is in them. Hallelujah!
How is such a oneness actually and practically realized? Only by our being altogether in the Spirit and in our spirit. Christ was incarnated, crucified, resurrected, glorified, and enthroned; and after all this, such a Christ was made the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit. This wonderful Christ, this all-inclusive Spirit, has come to indwell our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22), and today He is one spirit with us. Whenever we say, “O Father,” He says, “O Father.” Whenever we say, “Hallelujah,” this is also His expression; this is also His Hallelujah. But we must be sure that we are in the spirit, that we are speaking in the spirit, that we are singing in the spirit. If we are not speaking and singing in the spirit, He is not speaking and singing. On one hand, we must give up all the formalities, the rituals, and the deadness; but on the other hand, we must be careful not to abuse our liberty, not to praise in a light way. We must be sure that whenever we say Hallelujah, we are in the spirit.
Revelation 14:2-3 tells us that the apostle John heard a voice out of heaven singing a new song. This voice, he says, was like the sound of many waters. The sound of many waters indicates a great noise. Then he says that the voice is like the sound of loud thunder. What is this? To be like thunder means not only that there is a great noise but that in this noise there is something majestic. Our praises, our hallelujahs, must be a great noise, but with them there must also be something of majesty, something of weight. We should not give the sense of lightness or looseness in our praising. But this is not all: there is a third aspect. He says that this voice was like the sound of harp-singers playing on their harps. This means that the praising voice is musical, harmonious, and exceedingly pleasant. On one hand, it is noiseful and majestic, and on the other hand, it is full of music and harmony. Can you imagine such a thing? I do believe that if we follow the life-giving Spirit who dwells within our spirit, He will bring this forth. In our meetings, in a sense, we will be so noisy, but in another sense we will be so majestic, so full of the divine, heavenly majesty. Our praise will be pleasant to all the ears, just as harp-singers playing on their harps.
We do not desire to be either formal, fundamental, or Pentecostal, but we do want to be really spiritual. We do not care for the formal or fundamental practices, or for the so-called Pentecostal manifestations. Now the Lord is recovering something genuine, something really spiritual. In the beginning, in the early church, it was not like today’s Christianity. At that time all the believers came together with an open heart and a released spirit, singing and praising in the spirit, being one with the Lord. How much we need to sing the praises in the spirit, and how much we need to be cultivated in the spirit. Many of us may have been released in our spirit, but we still must learn the lesson on the other side. We should not be bound; neither should we misuse our liberty. We must be released, but we must also be somewhat restricted; we have the freedom, but we should not abuse it. To make noise is easy, but to make noise with majesty and music is not so easy. If we all learn to be in the Spirit, not Pentecostal, not fundamental, but just spiritual, our praising will be like that. This is an exercise not only for the meetings but for all our daily lives. Every day we can practice the exercising of our spirit, we can practice singing praises to the Lord, not in an emotional way but in a spiritual way, not to release our emotion but to release our spirit. By such an exercise we will know what it is to be emotional and what it is to be spiritual. We will know what it is to be released and what it is to abuse our liberty; we will know what is just noise and what is noise with majesty and music. If we learn this lesson day by day, when we come together our praising will be marvelous.
Many of us in the local churches are just beginning to learn to meet. We are just learners. We have been released from the bondage of the old way, but we are still not adequately experienced and cultivated in the new way of meeting in the spirit. This requires more and more exercise. Do not withhold from praising the Lord, fearing that you may not be in the spirit. Shout your hallelujahs. If you keep on crawling, you will eventually learn to walk. But do not be so self-confident that your walk is one hundred percent proper. On one hand, you need to exercise, and on the other hand, you must be open to learn the proper lessons. Crawl as much as you can, but do not be confident that you are walking properly. You still must be proved.
I do believe the Lord will bring us on and on until we reach a degree of maturity. I say again, we do not like to be formal, fundamental, or Pentecostal; we just want to be so simple in the spirit. This requires much exercise, much grace, much humility and patience. For this we also need love for the Lord and for one another. Then we will all go on, and the day will come that whenever we meet together, our praising will be so full of noise, yet with divine majesty and heavenly music. This is the proper way for us to meet.
