Word of Encouragement (09/03/2024)
Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered, O offspring of Israel his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones! (1 Chron. 16:8-13)
This is the prayer David prayed when he brought the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem. He begins the prayer with a whole bunch of commands in a rapid-fire fashion, inviting his people to join him in praise of God. Notice all the imperative verbs used—give thanks, call upon, make known, sing praises, tell, glory in, rejoice, seek, seek continually, and remember! All these commands are directed to God’s people—“offspring of Israel his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones” (v. 13). These commands concern their interaction with God—to give thanks to God, to call upon His name, to make known His deeds, to sing praises to Him, to tell of His wondrous works, to glory in His holy Name, to rejoice, to seek the Lord and His strength, to seek His presence, to remember His wondrous works.
You can sense that these words are flooding out of his mouth because his heart is bursting with joy on this occasion. When was the last time your heart was so filled with the glory of God that you wanted the whole world to join you in praising His name? We must accept the fact that, while we live in this fallen world in our sinful flesh, we cannot be in that condition all the time, sadly. But if it has been months and years since you experienced such joy, or if you have never experienced it, shouldn’t we examine our lives and ask why? Should we not desire it and pray for it?
Some of us may think that the reason is that God has not blessed us with the kind of blessing that can unleash such an explosion of praise. When we survey our lives, we find too many needs and challenges that cause us anxiety and fear. Lament is what comes out of our mouths, not praise. But the question we must ask is, “If my needs are filled and my difficulties resolved, will it unleash the kind of praise David offered to the Lord? What is your honest answer to the question?
Consider David’s reason for this praise. Was it because he was healed of a terminal disease? Was it because he defeated his mortal enemies? Was it because he acquired much possession? No. This extravagant praise was unleashed when the ark of the covenant was brought into Jerusalem, the newly established capital of Israel. Why such jubilation? The ark of the covenant represented God’s presence. David rejoiced to have the ark so close to him, especially as he anticipated the construction of the temple to house the ark permanently. What caused his heart to burst with praise was the assurance of God’s presence in Jerusalem, the city of David (1 Chron. 11:7).
If David praised God so extravagantly for the coming of the ark, how much more should we praise God for the coming of Christ into our hearts through the Holy Spirit? What is causing our lackluster praise is not that God has not blessed us enough but that we do not meditate enough on the greatest blessing God has granted to us.