ARRANGING WORSHIP
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Opening Prayer
It is with an open heart I come to meditate on your Word today, Father. Speak to me through it; show me in new ways who you are and give me even greater reason to praise you.
Read 1 CHRONICLES 16:7–43
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
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[a] 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[b] 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[c] holiness.
30 Tremble 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.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 16:15 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also Psalm 105:8); Hebrew Remember
- 1 Chronicles 16:20 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint and Vulgate (see also Psalm 105:12); most Hebrew manuscripts inherit, / 19 though you are but few in number, / few indeed, and strangers in it.” / 20 They
- 1 Chronicles 16:29 Or Lord with the splendor of
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘Give thanks to the Lord.’1 Do that, as you prepare to read his Word.
Asaph has been appointed as worship director (vv. 4, 5, 7) and he begins by using the psalms. A good move! There’s a psalm for every occasion and every mood—laments and praise and much more. Sadly, it seems that fewer churches make use of the psalms in their worship these days. Have we lost something precious? This song of praise ranges from Psalm 105:1–15 (a celebration of God’s works and words, vv. 8–22), through Psalm 96 (which praises his greatness and worth, vv. 23–33) to Psalm 106:1, 47, 48 (a personal cry in which the singers apply the covenant to themselves, vv. 34–36).
The emphasis is very much on God’s works and words, including his promise of land as an inheritance (vv. 15–18) and his protection of his people when they were vulnerable (vv. 19–22). It was indeed a covenant of grace—God would do these things for them, simply because he loved them and not because they deserved anything.2 When we worship, do the words we use reflect the fact that we are utterly dependent on our bountiful, generous God and that we are forgiven sinners who deserve nothing? Or are some of our worship songs rather too me-centered?
The final verses of the chapter detail the responsibilities David assigned to suitably gifted people, to enable worship to happen as it should, whether in Jerusalem or at Gibeon. In our own day, of course, such details will be very different. Have you ever given thought to how much work goes on behind the scenes to enable you to worship each Sunday and how many different people (many of them volunteers!) are involved? One might imagine a church leader today saying, ‘and Ruth will be worship director; Martin can be in charge of the PA system; the band can be led by Wendy… .’
Apply
Who are those in your own church who hold such positions of responsibility? Do you pray for them?
Closing prayer
Lord God, I deserve nothing from your hand, but you gladly and abundantly provide everything I need. I worship you with thanksgiving and praise.
1 Ps 136:1 2 cf. Deut 7:7, 8
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