Sing to the Lord all the Earth
By Pieter Hermans
We are starting our new ‘worship with the word’ series with an opportunity to consider the “spirit of the tabernacle of David.” The biblical example of David’s tabernacle is one of our key inspirations in how we conduct our meetings at the house of prayer. Having brought up the Ark to Jerusalem, David pitched a tent for it and set singers and musicians to minister to God there, night & day. That is what we have happening here in 1 Chronicles 16:
(v1) So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. (v4) And he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to commemorate, to thank, and to praise the Lord God of Israel. (v7) On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord.
The verses we’ll be singing this month are part of that original inspiration of David to establish unceasing worship around the Ark:
“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!
Sing to the Lord, all the earth; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.”
Minister to God
Whether it is the ‘one thing’ of David’s hidden life, or the ‘first thing’ of his public life, we see an insistence on ministry to God. It is ‘unto the Lord’ that he sets the singers in their places to sing & proclaim His salvation. So while we see some terminology here that might remind us of our efforts in evangelism, it is only ever in the same breath as our worship of God. We are to proclaim to God His wonders in worship AND to proclaim to men His wonders, each in their proper order. It reminds me of Pentecost (Acts 2) when the apostles were found to be declaring the wonders of the Lord, and only later does Peter first preach.
all the earth
David’s tabernacle proved to be a huge operation with some 10,000 staff dedicated to sustaining night and day worship and prayer at the centre of his kingdom, Jerusalem. On the one hand, we still wrestle with the extravagance of it all! So often we’re like Judas Iscariot in response to Mary of Bethany’s waste of precious ointment to anoint the Lord. And yet Jesus says her offering will be inseparable from the gospel going forth. Re-reading these verses I’m challenged that David seems to have had a much bigger vision in his heart than Jerusalem alone! Would that the ends of the earth would be found in unceasing chorus… What did he see that we haven’t grasped yet? Do we truly believe that He is worthy of it?
Reflection:
As we begin to consider the convergence of worship, prayer and missions, I want to ask this provocative question: Is night & day worship and prayer a distraction from the great commission? Or is there indeed a convergence of worship, prayer and missions? What does God want us to hear or see?