Praise Him! Praise Him! / Fanny J. Crosby / Chester G. Allen
Psalm 150
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! Hail Him! Highest archangels in glory;
Strength and honor give to His holy Name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children,
In His arms He carries them all day long.
Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins He suffered, and bled, and died.
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! Hail Him! Jesus the Crucified.
Sound His praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows,
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep and strong.
Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Heav’nly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever;
Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet, and Priest, and King!
Christ is coming! over the world victorious,
Pow’r and glory unto the Lord belong.
Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Mark 15 about Jesus’ crucifixion and then I read Mark 16 about his resurrection and then came back to Mark 15. Mark 15:16-41:
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
The Crucifixion
21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
25 It was the third hour when they crucified him. 26 The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27 They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left. 29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 come down from the cross and save yourself!”
31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
The Death of Jesus
33 At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”
36 One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.
37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
My Understanding: I am at a loss for words. So often when I read carefully and thoughtfully this story of Jesus’ crucifixion I am moved in my spirit to tears just thinking about how they treated Jesus as though he was a common criminal and as though he was nothing but dirt for them to spit upon. When I read about how they mocked him and made fun of him; how they treated him with such utter contempt; how they hurled their insults at him; and how they were so willing to crucify him, without even considering all the wonderful miracles he performed and all the lives that were transformed and set free by the miracle of his grace, it leaves me speechless (yes, that is possible). How can I even begin to describe all that he went through for us and why we should praise him for his excellent greatness?
When this song began playing in my mind, I was thinking about photos I had tried unsuccessfully to have printed today at a photo shop. And, I was contemplating the kindness of an offer to print them for me by someone in my family who was kind and thoughtful enough to help me. And, I do so appreciate that help since I am not a photographer and I know so little about how to manage those kinds of things. So, the question I have to ask is “Why did God have that song in my mind when I was thinking about photos?” Was that a mere coincidence, or did the Lord have something very specific in mind that he wanted to teach me via this song and scripture in relation to my thoughts about photographs? I know that a photograph is an image, so I will begin there.
Image – “a picture or likeness of somebody or something, produced either physically by a sculptor, painter, or photographer, or formed in the mind” (Encarta).
The people of Jesus’ day had a certain image of him they had formed in their minds. Some thought he was a blasphemer. Others thought he was a mad man. Still others considered him a Savior and their Messiah. Some saw him as a miracle worker. Still others saw him as a great teacher or a prophet. And, many were easily swayed one way or another, i.e. they were waving palm branches at him and praising him one day and then they turned right around and called for him to be crucified, so many were just followers of the crowd. Right or wrong, the people surrounding the death of Jesus Christ had their own images of Jesus Christ formed in their minds as to who He was, and those images influenced their treatment of him and the ultimate putting to death of him on the cross.
If they truly knew who Jesus was they would not have mocked him, spat upon him, placed a crown of thorns on his head, beaten him, ridiculed him publicly, and crucified him. Interestingly enough, what they charged him with was the truth, i.e. the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. Even there, their image of what that meant was distorted. They didn’t understand that he truly is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. If they had, they would not have crucified him. Yet, not everyone had this false image of Jesus. Some people did see him for who he is. This passage in Mark says that when Jesus breathed his last breath and when a centurion heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” His eyes were opened and he had the correct image of Jesus in that moment.
I think sometimes we read this story and we can’t believe how they treated Jesus. We may think that the people of Jesus’ day had to be pretty horrible people to do such a thing to the Son of God. Yet, how do we treat Jesus? What is our image of him? And, how does our image of him affect how we treat him? If we truly saw Jesus for who he is, should that not change how we treat him? How can we ignore him, be afraid to be associated with him out of fear of rejection, make jokes about him, disobey him, make light of our relationship with him, give him the leftovers of our time, affection and attention, and/or take sin so lightly, etc.? If we truly see Jesus for who he is, then why aren’t we shouting from the rooftops how much we adore him and how much we desire that everyone everywhere also get to know him as Lord and Savior? Why do we barely acknowledge him in our plans or only call upon him when we want something? Why do we cringe when someone publicly shares his teachings in front of our friends? Why are we embarrassed to be known as one of his followers? It is because our image of Jesus is all wrong. It is because we don’t see him as he truly is. He is radical! He is different! He is unique!! And, he makes waves!!
This hymn encourages us, as his followers, to praise him where people can hear it, i.e. “His wonderful love proclaim!” Proclaim means to “announce something publicly; to declare publicly that somebody is something; to show or reveal clearly what something is; to state something emphatically or openly” (Encarta). Many people have a false image of who Jesus is. We need to proclaim his excellent greatness so that the people of this world know who Jesus Christ is and what he has done for us in dying on the cross for our sins and in rising again, so that we can be free from the control of, bondage to, and the ultimate penalty of sin, which is eternal separation from God. When we tell our friends, neighbors, acquaintances and/or family members about Jesus, who he is and what he has done for us, we honor him and we honor his name. And, he is worthy of all honor, glory and praise!
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