Word of Encouragement (10/01/2024)
Sing to the LORD, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. 24 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 25 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be feared above all gods. 26 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens. 27 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place. (1 Chron. 16:23-27)
David called on “all the earth” to sing to the LORD. What made him do that?
“Sing to the LORD” was what David desired to do. It was what he felt compelled to do—his heart might burst if he did not do it. But he did not just do it by himself; he also called on “all the earth” to join him in his singing. He sensed that his singing alone was utterly and shamefully inadequate. It is like getting someone important to come and speak to your group. You want to have as many people as possible to listen to him because he charges a lot for his speaking engagements, and his lecture is worth every penny. David wanted to sing his heart out to the LORD, but he knew too well that God deserved so much more. So, he solicited the whole earth to sing to the LORD with him.
How could David do otherwise when he thought about the glory and honor of the LORD? He was merely a shepherd boy, the youngest of eight brothers. But God called him out of obscurity to be king of Israel. The path to the throne of Israel was not easy. He came close to death many a time. But through them all, God preserved him. And through them all, God trained and equipped him to be king. He was able to unite the tribes of Israel and subdue the surrounding nations. Under his reign, Israel experienced unprecedented peace and prosperity. God made a covenant with him and established his household as the royal family. Now, he was able to bring the ark of the covenant to his city, Jerusalem, which God designated as the place for His dwelling. When David surveyed all that God had done for him and Israel, he could not contain himself from singing praises to the LORD.
But David knew that YHWH was not just a tribal god of Israel among many gods. He knew that YHWH was the one and only true God and the Ruler of all the nations. What God did for Israel, He did as the Lord of all the earth. Therefore, He deserved praise of “all the earth.” Not only that, whatever God did for David and Israel, He had in view the salvation of all the nations through David’s greater Son, Jesus Christ. That is why David went on to say, “Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples” (vv. 23-24).
David’s call extends to you, especially to you! For God’s marvelous salvation, which surpasses all that God had done for David, has come to you in Jesus Christ. You may think that nothing extraordinary has happened in your life to propel you to sing to the LORD. But God reveals His glory through His creation and His Word, which speaks of God and His works. Those, who are dead in trespasses and sins, cannot see God’s glory; they need to be born again and have their spiritual eyes opened. But even those, who are born again, may not readily see God’s glory if their spiritual vision is impaired by their sins or little faith. When they capture sight of nature’s marvel or receive an extraordinary gift of God’s providential care, they become aware of God’s glory. But we can see God’s glory even in our ordinary circumstances when we align our faith with God’s Word through meditation. Then, we will not be able to contain the holy urge to sing praises to our glorious God. We will call on others to join in our singing through our testimonies and long for the day when “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10-11).