Specify Our Praises

1 Chronicles 16:8-13
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!
Seek the LORD and His strength;
Seek His face evermore!
Remember His marvelous works which He was done,
His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,
O seek of Israel His servant,
You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!

David said this psalm to thank God for what He had done for Israel when the Ark of the Covenant came to Jerusalem. The Ark represented God's presence to Israel. It showed that God had been among them, to give Moses the 10 Commandments.

David took this opportunity of triumph to thank God and to remind the people what He had done for them. He goes on to specify what He did for them. I've said this before: take David's example. Specify what you're praising God for, or thanking Him for. Don't just say 'thanks God' and then move on. Say, for example 'Thank You for this day, this life that you've given me, the things and people in it, (insert thanking/praise here)'.

Think of it this way: would you rather hear: 'Good job' or 'Good job on this essay. It had great descriptors and used metaphors well...'? I would much rather hear the second one.

The other thing I got from David's psalm was His timing. He made a public thank-You to God in his own way. He got his job done, and then thanked God with his psalm. When He finished, everyone who heard him joined in (verse 36).

We need to praise God for the things He does for us, and praise Him in the open (for His glory, not our own)

In His Service,
Joyce