Sometimes when we the church become stale through rituals, religious practices, and orders of worship we forget who God is and what He has done!  We can also and so easily become complacent in our worship of God. We hear the songs of praise; but our minds wander to who is singing it best, or who is messing up the harmony or playing his/her instrument poorly. Who is singing to Whom?  The enemy is pleased when we are distracted from God.  He revels when we perform rather than worship God.  God sees our hearts and knows who is worshiping who.

The Israelites sinned before God, turned their backs on God, by giving in to a parade of evil practices of worshipping the manmade gods of other nations in their history. Their “hearts are hardened”, God proclaims, and they know longer know me. King Saul was not a great example, either.  His dominating ego promoted self-worship and demanded that he be not only the king but the god of Israel.  So, God turned from Saul to David, who ran after the heart of God. God appointed and anointed Daivd to be the next King. David brought the worship of the One and Only God back into focus with the return of the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God’s Presence and Promises, back to Israel.  King David taught worship to a people who forgot how to worship God in spirit and in truth by teaching who God is first!  It is God we worship; nothing and no one else!

King David sets the example for worship by worshiping himself before the people. Then he retrains the Levites The Law of God along with reteaching God’s purpose and assignments as priests set apart by God.  Look for the assertive verbs in his training of all who come to praise our God! I’ll get you started; “Give, Look, Remember, Sing, Praise, Glory”—all to God alone!  (Which is the first commandment of The Law; Worship the Lord Your God only.)  Why?  “His love endures forever!” There is no one like our God!

1 Chronicles 16

Ministering Before the Ark

They brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before God. ² After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. ³ Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each Israelite man and woman.

⁴ He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to extol, thank, and praise the Lord, the God of Israel: ⁵ Asaph was the chief, and next to him in rank were Zechariah, then Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals, ⁶ and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.

⁷ That day David first appointed Asaph and his associates to give praise to the Lord in this manner:

⁸ Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.
⁹ Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
¹⁰ Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
¹¹ Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.

¹² Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,¹³ you his servants, the descendants of Israel, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.
¹⁴ He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.

¹⁵ He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations,¹⁶ the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.
¹⁷ He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
¹⁸ “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.”

¹⁹ When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it,
²⁰ they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.
²¹ He allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings:
²² “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.”

²³ Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day.
²⁴ Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

²⁵ For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.
²⁶ For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
²⁷ Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place.

²⁸ Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
²⁹ Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
³⁰Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.

³¹ Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
³² Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!
³³ Let the trees of the forest sing, let them sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.

³⁴ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
³⁵ Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.”
³⁶ Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.

Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”

³⁷ David left Asaph and his associates before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister there regularly, according to each day’s requirements. ³⁸ He also left Obed-Edom and his sixty-eight associates to minister with them. Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun, and also Hosah, were gatekeepers.

³⁹ David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon ⁴⁰ to present burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering regularly, morning and evening, in accordance with everything written in the Law of the Lord, which he had given Israel. ⁴¹ With them were Heman and Jeduthun and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the Lord, “for his love endures forever.” ⁴² Heman and Jeduthun were responsible for the sounding of the trumpets and cymbals and for the playing of the other instruments for sacred song. The sons of Jeduthun were stationed at the gate.

⁴³ Then all the people left, each for their own home, and David returned home to bless his family.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

BACKGROUND: This same account is recorded in 2 Samuel 6:17–20, but the priestly and Levitical priorities of the Chronicler caused him to include many more of the details of the arrival of the ark in Jerusalem.  Although worship continued in the tabernacle in Gibeon, the ark hadn’t been housed there for over twenty years (see 1 Samuel 7:2). The Ark had also been in exile ever since it was lost to the Philistines while Eli was priest and before Saul came to the throne. Then it was kept at Obed-Edom’s home, and now it was in Jerusalem. The tabernacle (tent made by David) would be the site of worship until Solomon built the temple.

Our response depends on Who we worship!

What a jubilant day of rejoicing for the Israelites then but what a day of rejoicing we have daily in knowing God is with us, too!  I’m reminded of the old gospel song of my youth, “When we all get to heaven,” which gives us a glimpse of this form of pure, honest, habitual praise for the One who saved us and set us free, knowing without a doubt that Jesus has prepared for us to live there eternally with Him!  What a day that will be, indeed! 

What a day of worship for the believers who have stood firm in their faith when Jesus comes back to claim His own!  Jesus IS coming back, you know. We don’t know the time or place but we are taught by Jesus to be ready. In the meantime, we are to live joyfully expectant and confidently ready as we live redeemed lives on earth. 

Who knew that the shepherd boy who wrote songs of praise to God while watching over the sheep, would be the King whose songs of praise and worship would be sung by the nation of Israel?! God knew.  God prepared David in the pasture to be King of His people.  God’s will and purpose will prevail.

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.” Psalm 40:3

King David writes a new song to represent the turnaround lives of a nation whose God is the Lord! God puts a new song in our hearts as we give our lives to the Singer who redeemed us, namely, Jesus!

So, Who do we worship?  What is our response to God who is God alone? Who gets our undivided attention as we gather to worship with others?  Remember God sees and knows our hearts.  Worship begins from the depths of our being whose hearts are fully committed to Him. (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Lord,

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.
Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you.
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God;
may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

For your name’s sake, Lord, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;destroy all my foes,
    for I am your servant.” Psalm 143

My prayer and my grateful song of redemption to You!

In Jesus Name, Amen