A Primer for Praise

On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord:

Oh, give thanks to the Lord! 

Call upon His name;

Make known His deeds among the peoples!

Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; 

Talk of all His wondrous works!

Glory in His holy name; 

Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!

I Chronicles 16:7-10

Upon bringing the ark up to Jerusalem and establishing the worshiping order of priests, David gives them this psalm to sing. I wonder if that means this was the very first psalm in the Hebrew psalter we now know as the book of psalms? If so it would have been a very good place to start because it walks God's people through all the basic methods of worshiping God. It's like a primer for praise. 

First we give thanks. What a simple but effective way to begin worship! Everyone knows how to say thank you, plus by fixing our mind on the blessings God has given us we are naturally led into other forms of praise. 

Next, we're urged to call on God in prayer which we should never forget to do. Then we give Him glory among the nations by telling of all His glorious deeds. Following that we lift our voices in songs and conversations of praise. Finally, we lose ourselves in worship, seeking nothing from God, but only God Himself.

Verse 10 serves as a powerful reminder of how different God is from other gods. Whether we consider the idols worshiped in King David's day or the idols of Hinduism and Buddhism worshiped today, these gods are all pursued as a means to an end. Worshipers pray to them and offer sacrifices to them to get something from them. They seek a good harvest of crops, or a child amid infertility, or more success and prosperity. We seek all of these things from God as well, but they are not the core reason why we seek Him. God is the only god who is good enough and worthy enough to be sought not as a means to something else but as an end in Himself. We come before God in worship to seek Him, not just gifts from His hand. 

So, use this pattern of praise to seek God's face today (v11). He is worth it, and you'll find a joy like no other in His presence.

A Rhythm of Praise

Every morning and evening they burn to the Lord burnt offerings and fragrant incense...

2 Chronicles 13:11

They are to stand every morning to thank and to praise the Lord, and likewise at evening,

1 Chronicles 23:30

This past week my family went on vacation to the beach. As every parent dearly hopes will be the case, on the very first morning of our vacation our kids made sure that my wife and I were awake a full hour before sunrise! My wife decided to make the best of it and made sure that we caught the sunrise on the beach that morning together as a family.

Later that same day, after a swirl of activity, we found ourselves back on the beach enjoying the sunset. That's when it occurred to me that every single day God gives us these two amazing gifts, these works of art: sunrise and sunset. Yet, I never even notice them. I certainly don't stop to take them in and appreciate them.

This made me wonder, what other gifts is God giving me on a daily basis that I fail to notice? What other blessings am I taking for granted? The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that it's probably more than I could count.

How can we change that? What can we do to help ourselves appreciate the millions of big and little ways God blesses us each and every day? Here's where the rhythm of sunrise and sunset, morning and evening might be able to help us.  

In the Old Testament, morning and evening created a kind of rhythm for Israel's worship at the tabernacle and later at the temple. Each morning and evening burnt offerings and incense were offered up to God. In fact, I Chronicles 23:20 tells us that this practice was more than just ritual. Every morning and evening the Levites were to stand to thank and praise God.

I think this gives us a great example to follow as New Testament believers! Why not allow the natural rhythm of our days, and the natural beauty of sunrise and sunset to serve as a prompt for us to thank and praise God? Why not spend time in prayer each morning and each evening thanking God for the infinite number of ways He blesses us each and every day? Blessings that we are so used to that we no longer even notice them. And spend time praising Him for what these gifts and blessings reveal to us about His nature, who He is.

Let's pause right now and take notice. Thank God for something that you normally take for granted and praise Him for what it reveals about His character.

I'll go first. I thank God for the unrivaled beauty of the sunrise and the sunset; and I praise Him for making this beauty a daily part of a world that is often cold and ugly. I praise Him for giving this beautiful gift to both evil people and good people (Matthew 5:45). This shows just how good and gracious God is. And I praise Him that one day sunrises and sunsets will stop altogether because God will give His people a gift far greater: His presence. Scripture tells us that in eternity we will no longer have the sun for the Lord will be our everlasting light, and God will be our glory (Isaiah 60:19).

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. 

I Chronicles 29:11

Greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty- these all belong to God and to Him alone. Not one ounce of any of these qualities rightly belongs to anyone but to the Lord. When I find my wicked heart craving after any of these I can be sure that I am encroaching on the Lord's territory. 

Yet, consider how willingly God shares them with men. Though these qualities belong to God fully, He bestows them on men. I Chronicles 29:12 says "Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all." So God makes some men rich and some men great. He gives some men power, while to others He gives victory. But these qualities always come from God, they belong to God and ultimately their purpose is to be laid back at His feet as an offering of worship.

God gives men greatness that they might use their influence to point others to Him. He gives men power that they might reflect His goodness by wielding it to give justice to the oppressed. He gives men riches to show His generosity and so they may in turn be generous to the poor, the widow, and the orphan. He gives men victory that they might choose to fight His battles to advance His kingdom. He gives men majesty that they might reflect a portion of His own majesty and in so doing whet men's appetite for the One who is truly majestic. 

So it isn't wrong for men to have any of these qualities. It isn't wrong for a person to be powerful or great. But it is wrong for us to use these qualities for our own means, to make our own names great. And it is wrong for us to desire these qualities selfishly, to spend our lives clambering after and grabbing at what only God can give and what properly belongs to Him anyway. 

I fear I have often been guilty of trying to steal God's glory. I've worked hard to take for myself and for my own ends what rightly belongs only to Him. Forgive me for my wicked desires, Lord. Renew within me a right heart, Father, and help me to use what gifts You have given me to maximize Your glory, Your honor and Your praise.