Root Word
הָלַל (halal) — to praise, shine, boast joyfully
The Fourth Cup: The Cup of Praise
This fourth and final cup is poured at the beginning of the Hallel psalms and drunk after the songs of praise are complete.
Action
Sing or recite a Psalm or hymn of praise.
Suggested options:
- Psalm 118, especially verses 14 and 22–24
- “I Stand All Amazed” or another family-favorite hymn of thanksgiving and grace
Meaning and Symbolism
Hallel means “to praise” or “to shine.” In this moment, we raise our voices in joyful thanksgiving — celebrating the God who delivered, redeemed, and accepted us.
These are the hymns Jesus likely sang with His disciples before walking into Gethsemane. Can you imagine? Even as He faced betrayal, suffering, and the cross, He praised. So tonight, we praise not because all is perfect — but because God is faithful, and His steadfast love endures forever.
🎵 Listen: Hallel Psalms Playlist — We cannot know if these are the actual melodies sung in ancient times, but we can be reasonably confident that these were the words.
The Hallel Psalms (113–118)
The Hallel consists of six psalms of praise, divided across the Seder:
First Half — Sung During Maggid (Step 5):
| Psalm | Theme | Key Verse |
|---|---|---|
| 113 | God raises the lowly | “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust” (v. 7) |
| 114 | The Exodus itself | “When Israel went out of Egypt…” (v. 1) |
Second Half — Sung Now (Step 14):
| Psalm | Theme | Key Verse |
|---|---|---|
| 115 | Glory belongs to God alone | “Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory” (v. 1) |
| 116 | Gratitude for deliverance | “I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice” (v. 1) |
| 117 | Universal praise (shortest psalm) | “O praise the LORD, all ye nations” (v. 1) |
| 118 | The rejected stone becomes the cornerstone | “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner” (v. 22) |
After the Hallel, the Great Hallel (Psalm 136) is sung — 26 verses, each ending with the refrain: “For his mercy endureth for ever.”
Scripture Connection
“The Lord is my strength and my song, and is become my salvation.” — Psalm 118:14
“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.” — Matthew 26:30
Shir HaMa'alot — Psalm 133: A Song of Ascents
Psalm 133 celebrates the goodness and pleasantness of unity — like the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, like the dew of Hermon descending on Zion. At Hallel, voices join together in praise. The psalm’s vision of communal blessing and consecrated anointing resonates with the fourth cup and its promise: “I will take you as my people.” Unity, anointing, and life for evermore — these are the marks of a consecrated people.
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; 3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
The Covenant Pattern
At the Seder Table: The Hallel psalms (113–118) are sung responsively — Levites leading, people answering “Hallelujah!” Edersheim describes the threefold trumpet blast sounding as the Paschal lambs were slain, the Hallel rising continuously throughout the offering. The Fourth Cup — the Cup of Praise — corresponds to God’s promise: “I will take you as my people, and I will be your God” (Exodus 6:6–7). Praise is the response to belonging.
At the Seder Table — The Second Half of Hallel
The fourth cup is poured and the Hallel is completed — Psalms 115–118. The Haggadah records the key declarations:
לֹא לָנוּ, יְיָ, לֹא לָנוּ, כִּי לְשִׁמְךָ תֵּן כָּבוֹד…
Not to us, LORD, not to us, but to Your name give glory… (Psalm 115)
מִן־הַמֵּצַר קָרָאתִי יָּהּ, עָנָנִי בַמֶּרְחָב יָהּ.
In my distress I called on the LORD. The LORD answered me and set me free. (Psalm 118)
Then comes the Great Hallel (Psalm 136) and the Nishmat Kol Chai — one of the most ancient prayers in the liturgy:
נִשְׁמַת כָּל חַי תְּבָרֵךְ אֶת שִׁמְךָ, יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ.
The soul of all that lives shall bless Your name, LORD our God.
The fourth cup is then drunk, and the evening ends with what Edersheim calls “the blessing of the song” — two brief prayers declaring that the One praised at this table is not merely a national deity but the God from everlasting to everlasting: “Besides Thee we have no King, Redeemer, or Saviour.”
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן.
Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
Sources: Pesach Haggadah (Sefaria/Koren); Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services, Ch. 12
At the Last Supper: “And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives” (Matthew 26:30). Jesus and His disciples sang the Hallel psalms together — the same words Israel had sung for centuries — before He walked into Gethsemane. The last thing they did together before the Atonement began was sing. Even facing the bitter cup, He praised.
At the Last Supper — The Hymn Before Gethsemane
“And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives” (Matthew 26:30). This was the Hallel — the same psalms Israel had sung for centuries — now sung by Jesus and His disciples as their last act together before the Atonement began. In the Upper Room, the Lamb Himself sang the praise.
Psalm 118 — the climax of the Hallel — contains the very words the crowds had shouted days earlier at His triumphal entry: “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Psalm 118:26). And the declaration: “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner” (Psalm 118:22). The rejected one would be exalted — but first, He would walk from this table into the garden.
Sources: Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services, Ch. 11-12; POM Extract 16
In the Nephite Assembly: Alma twice invokes this singing tradition. First, describing the deliverance of his fathers: “their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love” (Alma 5:9). Then, turning the question to his audience: “If ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?” (Alma 5:26). The “song of redeeming love” echoes the Hallel — praise that rises after deliverance. But Alma presses further: not did you sing it, but can you feel it now? You cannot sing another person’s song. You cannot coast on your fathers’ praise. The song must be a living, present experience.
In the Nephite Assembly — Alma 5: Praise and Pride — Two Sides of Hallel
The Hebrew root hallel carries a revealing duality — it means both “to praise” and “to boast.” Alma addresses both sides of this coin across his sermons. In Zarahemla, he warns against the pride that turns praise inward:
“Can ye think of being saved when you have yielded yourselves to become subjects to the devil?” — Alma 5:20
“Behold, are ye stripped of pride? I say unto you, if ye are not ye are not prepared to meet God.” — Alma 5:28
“Can ye be puffed up in the pride of your hearts; yea, will ye still persist in the wearing of costly apparel and setting your hearts upon the vain things of the world, upon your riches?” — Alma 5:53
But there is another face of Hallel. In Alma 7, when Alma addresses the people of Gideon — a faithful community — his tone transforms completely. He expresses the joy he feels at seeing their faith and obedience. He teaches them about the coming birth of the Savior and commends their dedication to walking the covenant path of righteousness. The contrast between the two sermons is the contrast within hallel itself: when the heart turns to God, praise flows. When it turns to self, it curdles into pride.
The Hallel psalms are also thematically connected to the Shir HaMa’alot — the “songs of degrees” or songs of ascent — the very psalms sung by the Levites on the steps of the Temple Mount. Both were sung in Temple worship; both are psalms of praise and petition. In Alma 8, after his return from Gideon, Alma taught “many things which cannot be written” and established the order of the church. The mention of things that could not be written may reference oral traditions, including the musical recitations of the Hallel, which could not be preserved in written notation at that time.
True Hallel is humble, grateful, and God-directed. Pride is its counterfeit. The difference between the two is not the volume of the voice but the posture of the heart.
On the Covenant Path Today: President Nelson teaches that “yoking yourself with the Savior means you have access to His strength and redeeming power” (“Overcome the World and Find Rest," 2022). The song of redeeming love is not a relic of ancient Israel or the Nephites — it is the lived experience of every covenant-keeper who feels the power of the Atonement alive in their life today. The Hallel continues wherever the redeemed lift their voices.
On the Covenant Path — The Law of Consecration
The fourth cup is the Cup of Praise, corresponding to the final promise: “I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God” (Exodus 6:6–7). When God takes us as His own, we respond by giving everything back to Him.
The Law of Consecration is the covenant of complete dedication — giving all that we are and all that we have to the building of God’s kingdom. The Hallel psalms are themselves an act of consecration — lifting every voice, every gift, every breath in praise to the One who has redeemed us.
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” — Matthew 22:37
The fourth cup is raised, the Hallel is sung, and the people declare themselves wholly His — a people consecrated, anointed, and gathered in unity to serve and praise.
🍷 Drink the Fourth Cup — The Cup of Praise
Reflection Questions
- What am I most thankful for tonight? What has God done for me that deserves my praise?
- Can I find the strength to praise God even in times of sorrow or uncertainty?
- What does it mean for the Lord to be my song? In what ways has He brought joy to my soul?
- How can I make praise a greater part of my daily spiritual life — not just on holidays?
- As Christ praised before His deepest trial, how can I learn to do the same in my own challenges?