"..Call upon His name.." - 1 Chronicles 16:8-11 (NASB)

This is only a portion of a song of praise offered by Asaph at the celebration of the return of the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem.  

Asaph was one of the Levitical priests who was appointed by King David to serve before the Lord.  Asaph was a worshiper, and he played the “high sounding cymbals” as a form of his worship.  Asaph wrote many of the Psalms (songs) recorded in the bible, you can learn a lot about Asaph by being drawn into the depth of his worship by reading his songs.  These songs were meant to transport you from your present reality into a God-centered reality in which God reigns and has complete rule and authority.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord” is a common theme throughout the Psalms.  Giving thanks and appreciation for what the Lord has done in the past only stands to reason that He will do even greater things in our present and our future.

 

For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting. And His faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100:5 (NASB)

We are told by Asaph to “call upon His name”, the Lord is known by many names in the bible, but one name stands out as most significant, it is the name “I AM”, in the Hebrew this name is described as “the becoming one”, in other words what the Lord is saying His name is “I will become what I will become”.  The Lord becomes what we need in our time of need, so that we can be sustained and fully supplied.

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:14 (NASB)

As part of worship we are also told to “Make known His deeds among the peoples.” The purpose of this recounting is not to evangelize, this is to call to remembrance the things that the Lord has done so that we have those things at the front of our minds.  It is so easy to forget what He has done, so we need to be reminded daily!

“Sing to Him, sing praises to Him.” When we sing praises audibly with our mouths to the Lord we are enacting a battle plan, we are securing a strategy against the wiles of the enemy who is against anything that resembles what is good in our lives.  

Singing is not only a “battle cry”, but it is also a way for us to express what is in our hearts to the Lord.  Songs of worship which are crafted well declare that we have claimed ground for the Lord upon which we stand as overcomers against the enemy.  Praises declare where we stand and where we plant the flag of victory!

“Speak of His wonders,” another rendering of this would be “meditate on His wonders”.  When we meditate on the wonders of the Lord we are setting our minds on Him and considering what He has done in the past as being enough for our future. We need to recognize that we have so much more than we need in Christ Jesus, we have an abundant supply.

For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance.  Matthew 13:12a (NASB)

“Glory in His name,” take the time to enjoy the Lord, His name is descriptive of who He is.  Even though much of the Lord is shrouded by mystery, what we do know is that He loves us and desires to be with us.  It is when we take the time to enjoy Him and His presence that we become aware of our need for Him.  We glory in Him because He is worthy of our affection.

“Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.” One of the attributes of seeking the Lord is we are filled with gladness of heart.  It is the response of the Lord to us when we seek Him, we can tangibly know that the Lord loves us by the way our hearts are changed by our gratitude expressed back to Him for who He becomes in us. 
Coming to the Lord is a reciprocal relationship not just a one-sided effort on our part.

“Seek the Lord and His strength,” here is where the people of Israel have one up on us, they experienced the Lord take them out of the bondage of Egypt and brought them to their promised land, they saw it with their eyes.  We must trust by faith and not our eyes which in some ways is better because the Lord can demonstrate to us personally and directly what our promised land looks like, Christ in us is our promised land and we trust in His strength to protect us and provide for us in every way, we have all things in Christ Jesus.

 

that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  

Colossians 1:26-27 (NASB)

“Seek His face continually,” Asaph makes a point here which is to seek the presence of God all the time and to not let your guard down but always make it your priority.  Paul also makes it a point when writing to the believers gathering in Thessalonica:

“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NASB)

We are a blessed people who have the benefit of the songs, stories, and the sufferings of so many people who came before us and have left us their testimonies of what they have witnessed regarding the Lord’s goodness and His mercy.  

We can take those lessons and make them our own to develop our own songs and stories which empower us to become mature sons and daughters of the Lord.

Be Blessed;

Stephen Barnett