“Praise the Lord” is one of those catch-phrases that is used regularly in Christian circles. Sometimes I wonder if the original meaning of it has been lost along the way, though.
The meaning of the word “praise” (Heb. halal) is connected to the idea of something shining, and it came to be used about people who would brag about their own positive attributes. For instance, in another psalm David wrote that “the wicked boasts (halal) of his heart’s desire.” (Psalm 10:3) And Solomon said, “Let another praise(halal) you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” (Proverbs 27:2)
So when the psalmist tells us to “praise the Lord,” he isn’t saying that we should simply repeat a phrase we have heard; he is letting us know that we should speak openly and often to others about God’s wonderful qualities.
In yet another psalm David wrote, “My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear it and rejoice.” (Psalm 34:2) Had he really said all that he meant, perhaps he would have said something along these lines: “If I had a mind to, I could boast about the time that I killed that nine foot giant; I could tell you about the victories I have won for God’s kingdom; I could point out all the many rich psalms I have written. But do you know what? The only boasting I want to do is about what a great God I serve! He made all of this happen!”
A thousand years later the apostle Paul summed up his feelings on the subject when he told the Galatians: “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14) Having been afforded the greater revelations of seeing what God Incarnate did at Calvary, Paul understood even better than David that man has nothing in himself worth bragging about; the only good that we can lay claim to is what Jesus Christ accomplished on our behalf at Calvary.