Praise: Lifting our Hearts, Expressing our Joy (1 Chronicles 16)
4:01 AM
Don’t you just love to see someone have passion, heartfelt joy and enthusiasm? It can have such a positive uplifting effect on our own hearts. Our praises to God are meant to express such joy and celebration. In 1 Chronicles 16, David gives us a great example of how to express such praise.
The day that King David brought the ark of God to Jerusalem was a day of celebration. I love to imagine the grand procession as the ark was carried to its new resting place among the people. David was involved in all facets of this day. He organized the party planning and he was a vested participant. In fact, the last verses of the previous chapter, said David was dressed in fine linens and was dancing and playing, surrounded by music and song. This was an event that filled David with great joy.
He involved the people in the celebration, sharing food and drink with them and appointing officials to be ministers of praise to God. It was a day of praising God but David didn’t want it to just be a single day event and then return to the mundane facets of daily life and forget. No, he made plans for this praise and reverence to God to be ongoing. Praise was just that important to him. And on that day, he offered one of his beautiful Psalms of Praise. We even see the words of this Psalm repeated as Psalm 105.
“Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;” (8-12)
David encourages the people to talk to the Lord and talk about the Lord. He encourages them to seek Him. In our day to day lives, do we encourage each other to talk about God and what He has done? Do we seek God and invite Him into the day to day experiences of our homes and workplaces, into the conversations we share with our children and spouses? This is a form of praise. Our relationship with God is meant to be very intimate but it’s also meant to be displayed and shared.
“Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation. Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the people are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place. Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” (23-29 )
David encourages the people to exalt the Lord. In a world that puts celebrities and fictional characters, business icons and material possessions on a pedestal, where does God get placed? God should always get top billing among what we consider to wow and amaze us. He is the ultimate! He created all! He empowers all! He is the Savior of mankind! No one, nothing can compare! When we grasp the awe and wonder of Him, we should find it only a natural response to “ worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness”.
“O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth forever.” (34)
David gives us one of the greatest reasons to offer our praise: God’s never-ending mercy! David never forgot his humble beginnings as a shepherd boy or how dependent upon God’s mercy and favour he was. He didn’t want his people to forget their dependence on God or His goodness. Praise should be a natural outpouring if we have a humble heart and realize just how blessed we are to have God’s love and mercy which we can never earn or deserve.
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel forever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the Lord.” (36)
This is a taste on Earth of what heaven shall be like. Imagine countless numbers of people, all united in praising God. Heaven is meant to be a place of joy and celebration. It shall be a place full of praise overflowing from hearts that are fulfilled, peaceful, and fully loved. When we offer our praise to God, we get to experience a little bit of the wonder of heaven. Oh, how much we have to look forward to.
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