I have a bone to pick with some musicians who represent themselves as Christian musicians. It has to do with the embracing of the Leonard Cohen song Hallelujah. He recorded this song in 1984 and since then it has been covered many, many times. Somehow it has made its way into modern Christian music as well. This song is not a God honoring song and is most certainly not a Christian song. It pretends to be as it seems to deal with topics you can find in the bible, for instance the story of Samson and Delilia as well as King David and Bathcheba, but at its heart it is a sacrilegious song that offers offense to God.
Let’s start with the chorus that wells up from the song. It is one word repeated over and over: Hallelujah. What could be wrong with this word? Let’s begin with what it means before we go over the issue with its use.
When we declare our hallelujah, we are saying “Praise be to Yahweh”.
Hallelujah is an English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning “Praise the Lord”. Hallelu (הַלְלוּ) is the plural imperative (a command) of the verb hillel, which means “to praise”. Yah (יָהּ) is the shortened, poetic form of the personal name for God: Yahweh. When we declare our hallelujah, we are saying “Praise be to Yahweh”.
The term comes to use primarily from the book of Psalms appearing as an invitation for the congregation to join in praise, particularly in chapters 146-150. It is also seen in Revelation 19:1-3 where a great multitude in heaven sings it in refrain at the wedding feast of the Lamb. It is intended to be revenant as a form of praise of the Almighty God.
The problem with adopting this song as a Christian song of praise despite its seeming use of a clear praise of God is the irreverent nature and sexual undertones of the verses of the song between the choruses of seeming praise.
The first verse references David, the harp player, and seems to be honored at first glance but one must wonder about the third line. It clearly references the Lord as a continuation of the second line as it implies God does not really care from music, however we know from the views and glimpses into heaven that this is far from the truth. His angels as well as those gathered around His throne are frequently seen to be singing. We also can gather that God loves music from His pleasure in creating beings that love music.
The second verse is steeped in sexual undertones. It mentions Bathsheba bathing in the moonlight and glorifies the sinful relationship King David had with her. It seems to suggest, in the last line, that he declares Hallelujah – paise to the Lord – because of the pleasure he experiences with her. This is a relationship that God condemned through the prophet Nathan. Glorification of sin does not belong in any form of music portrayed as Christian!
In the third verse the writer admits to not even knowing the name – the name of the living Lord. He claims that it really does not matter what you heard – a broken (corrupted) or holy Hallelujah. Of course it matters. A corrupted Hallelujah is raised in praise of the enemy – not in praise of Yahweh.
When we stand before the Lord we must stand before Him covered in the blood of Jesus Christ. A song or a hope or a plea of having done your best for God is not good enough.
In the final verse Cohen claims he has done his best, he has told the truth and that when he stands before the Lord on that final day, he will stand there with nothing but a Hallelujah on his tongue. This is the wrong message for a Christian song. When we stand before the Lord we must stand before Him covered in the blood of Jesus Christ. A song or a hope or a plea of having done your best for God is not good enough.
Leonard Cohen died 2016, and while his life and his religious views were a challenging mix of Judaism, Buddhism and a smattering of other world views, it is likely he never embraced the truth. If he did, I would offer a praise to the saving power of Jesus Christ – who can turn even the worst sinner to a saint. I am left looking at the body of Cohen’s work and asking if this man who had no problem with vulgarity and sexually explicit writing was really a child of God. I will let you consider it.
The problem remains – this song, Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen has no place in Christian music. Play it and enjoy it if you desire to do so in a secular setting, but do not pretend it has any redeeming spiritual value.
As a post note, let me just say that while I have been concentrating my criticism on one song that has made its way in contemporary Christian music, this is just the tip of the iceberg of a much larger problem. We need to go back to the sacred when we consider worship. We are approaching a holy and just God. We owe Him honest, biblically correct and honoring praise in our music.
