The Time of Silent Prayer is Over
1 And they brought in the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.
2 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord
3 and distributed to all Israel, both men and women, to each a loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins.
4 Then he appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel.
5 Asaph was the chief, and second to him were Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, who were to play harps and lyres; Asaph was to sound the cymbals,
6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.
7 Then on that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord by Asaph and his brothers.
Yesterday we talked about kneeling in prayer in silence before anybody woke up. Today, it’s gonna get loud.
David and the people are celebrating the fact that God’s presence is now in their midst. It’s almost like Pentecost for God’s People Under the Law. David appoints Levites to play music and sound the alarms.
On the musical side, they have harps, lyres, and cymbals. We’re most familiar with harps, of course. Lyres were more like a guitar, except instead of frets they worked more like a sliding steel guitar and often used a turtle shell as the resonator. Some historians even think they had sections on them to bend the sound from the 5–7 strings like a whammy bar!
Did you notice what Asaph the chief worship leader was playing? Cymbals! Imagine the worship leader on cymbals! You start to get an idea of what is going on here.
The trumpets weren’t instruments. The trumpets we have today weren’t invented until 1820, about 2000 years after King David made this racket. The trumpets they were blowing were animal horns, not metal. They would only be able to play a few different notes according to how Benaiah and Jahaziel were able to hold their lips. They were more like air horns or vuvuzelas.
They were blown as a warning and a proclamation:
Here comes the mercy seat of God.
The power of God to save or to curse.
Behold, the presence of the living God.
So with all of that, get ready.
Find a spot and read what David and the people prayed that day. Read it out loud. I mean really loud. I mean stand on the back porch and scare the chickens loud. I mean people on the street hear the Apostles praising God in the upper room on Pentecost loud. Blow a trumpet. Honk your horn. Rev your obnoxious truck engine.
The God of Israel, Creator of Galaxies and Strawberries, is for us. Jesus has come to live among us and to share His life with us! The Holy Spirit is in us to show off God’s glory!
8 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!
9 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
11Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!
12 Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered,
13 O offspring of Israel his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
14 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
15 Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
16 the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,
17 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
18 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, as your portion for an inheritance.”
19 When you were few in number, of little account, and sojourners in it,
20 wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people,
21 he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account,
22 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!”
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place.
28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, 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 holiness;
30 tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
32 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it!
33 Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
34 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
35 Say also: “Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.
36 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!“ Then all the people said, ”Amen!” and praised the Lord.
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