PRESCRIBED PRAISE

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done.

Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts.

Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always.

Remember the wonders He has done, His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced, you His servants, the descendants of Israel, His chosen ones, the children of Jacob.

He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. He remembers His covenant forever, the promise He made, for a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, the oath He swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant:

“To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.”

When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it, they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another. He allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake He rebuked kings:

“Do not touch My anointed ones; do My prophets no harm.”

Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim His salvation day after day.

Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples.

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy are in His dwelling place.

Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 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. Tremble before Him, all the earth!

The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”

Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them! Let the trees of the forest sing, let them sing for joy before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.

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.”

Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.

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

1 Chronicles 16:7-36

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In 1 Chronicles, Chapter 15, and the early verses of Chapter 16, we read about David ensuring the ark of the covenant made it successfully to Jerusalem from the house of Obed-Edom.

The ark, carried by the Levites as directed by God, was placed in the tent David had pitched for it before sacrifices were presented and blessings were asked for the Israelites. This was followed by worship as David appointed some of the Levites to extol and give thanks to the Lord with very specific guidance given as to the praises that were to be lifted up. Let’s call them prescribed praise. Look at these words:

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

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts.

Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always.

Remember the wonders He has done, His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced, you His servants, the descendants of Israel, His chosen ones, the children of Jacob.

He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. He remembers His covenant forever, the promise He made, for a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, the oath He swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant:

“To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.”

When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it, they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another. He allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake He rebuked kings:

“Do not touch My anointed ones; do My prophets no harm.”

Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim His salvation day after day.

Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples.

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy are in His dwelling place.

Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 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. Tremble before Him, all the earth!

The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”

Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them! Let the trees of the forest sing, let them sing for joy before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.

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.”

Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.

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

Note how the praise guidance is very comprehensive. It wasn’t enough for David to simply tell the people to praise. He needed to be very specific as to what they were to say and why they were to say it. Let’s examine some of his specific references as they hold important keys for us as we frame our praise unto our Lord today.

1. Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Remember the wonders He has done, His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced, you His servants, the descendants of Israel, His chosen ones, the children of Jacob.

Before we can proclaim the wonderful acts of the Lord and make known to others as to what He has done, we need to first account for everything He has accomplished. We need to remember the wonders He has done to include His miracles and judgments. When we do this, we can’t help but find ourselves in a place where we glory in His holy name and want to praise Him as we fully understand just how almighty and good He is.

2. Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always.

When we come to cherish and desire the strength of the Lord, a strength He is always ready to impart on us, then we will want to always seek His face because we know that no one else can be our ever-present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1).

3. He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. He remembers His covenant forever, the promise He made, for a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, the oath He swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.”

As we consider the Lord’s judgments, and they were many, let’s use just one as an example as to how we can move from what could be considered bad memories into a spirit of praise after we remember the covenant promises God has made with His people.

So consider the story of Noah and the ark. You’ll recall that God sent a great flood over the earth that destroyed all mankind with the exception of Noah and his family who were preserved along with different species animals. When the rain stopped and flood waters receded, you’ll recall that the Lord made a covenant promise with Noah that He would never again send a flood that would annihilate all people. And as a reminder, He created a sign, the rainbow, that would remind us of God’s promise very time we see it.

I don’t know about you but when I see a rainbow, I remember God’s promise and it always brings me to a place of praise.

4. When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it, they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another. He allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake He rebuked kings:

“Do not touch My anointed ones; do My prophets no harm.”

David urged the people to remember how God protected and delivered His people Israel from the oppression of Egypt into the Promised Land. We get the sense the Israelites would have been easy pickings had any of the kings of the day been left to their own devices. But as it was, God rebuked the kings and issued stern warning to not mistreat His anointed ones.

Today, think about how close we come to peril daily and yet God guides us safely around potential pitfalls. The same God who watched over and protected Israel is the same God who watches over us and protects of from harm today.

For that, we should feel obligated to praise Him.

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

Think about where you would be without the salvation promise given to you by God through Christ Jesus. You should see that you would be without hope otherwise and give praise to God for His love that would not allow us to perish but rather have the chance to live with Him and His Son forever.

6. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy are in His dwelling place. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”

The God of all creation, the Lord who made the heavens and firmly established the earth, this Lord is our Lord and His splendor and majesty are on full display every day. This Lord, the Lord who reigns over everything in the heavens and the earth, is our Lord God Almighty and He is with us.

If you can’t praise Him for just that alone, then you just don’t have an ounce of legitimate praise within you. For the scriptures sum it up nicely:

“For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise.”

7. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.

Any piece written about praising the Lord would be incomplete without discussing His love for us and it’s not a love that will ever fail but rather one that endures forever. No one loves us like that and no one deserves our praise from everlasting to everlasting except Him.

And so there you have it. Praise prescribed by King David for the Israelites but I hope you see it as much more than that. I hope you see it as prescribed praise for everyone from the word of God.

So how will we respond to this scripture. My prayer is that we will respond as the Israelites did at the end of the passage:

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

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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