09WK12 - WORSHIP LIFE OF DAVID -II

WORSHIP LIFE OF DAVID-II

KEY VERSE: Praise the Lord God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. PSALM 150: 1

SCRIPTURE LESSON: PSALM 150: 1-6
PSALM 150:1 Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him, for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, 4 praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, 5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord..

INTRODUCTION
Last week, we looked at how David’s life was consumed by the desire to worship God in his sanctuary. For David, worship was a sacrifice of praise, a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God (Eph. 5:2). God was delighted in the worship that went on in the Tent of Meeting or sanctuary erected by David and commended it in the words of the prophet (Amos 9:12) thus;
After this, I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord and all the Gentiles who bear my name….’ (Ac 15:16-18 NIV)
‘ After this I will return and will build the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up’ (Ac 15:16 NKJV)
David’s Tent of Meeting was not the only sanctuary in Old Testament times. Moses built the first tabernacle, and Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem. Zerubabbel led the rebuilding of Solomon’s temple and Herod also built a temple during the time of Jesus.
Why was God so delighted in the ‘tent of David’? What kind of worship went on in the tent and how did David contributed to the worship? How can we restore this kind of worship and what can we learn from David?

EXPOSITION
5. David developed his talents for worship in the sanctuary David learnt to
play musical instruments while he was young. He played the harp, which brought relief to King Saul when the latter was troubled by an evil spirit (Isa. 16:18-23). David thus learnt to appreciate the role of music in worship. David wrote about half of the psalms which even today contribute greatly to worship in the sanctuary. David was a man who surrendered his talents to the Lord.

6. David’s concern was to house the Ark.
When David became King he made three strategic moves all of which ensured that the Ark was given a permanent abode. He conquered Jerusalem, developed it as the capital and defeated the philistines. These paved the way for him to bring the Ark to its tent in Jerusalem, an occasion which brought great rejoicing to him and the people (2Sa 5&6).

7. David made arrangements which enriched the worship in the sanctuary.
David made elaborate arrangements for the Levites to improve the quality of worship I the Tent of Meeting ( I Ch. 25:1, 6-7) 38,000 Levites were assigned various services in the temple, and of these, 4000 were to praise the Lord with the musical instruments David had provided for that purpose ( 1Ch 25:6). This is part of the instruction that was given to the Levites for worship in the sanctuary:

They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They were to do the same in the evening and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord of Sabbaths and at New Moon festivals and at appointed feasts… and so the Levites carried out their responsibilities for the Tent of Meeting” (1Ch 23:30-32). You can therefore imagine the quality of the singing, the praises and worship generally, that went on at the Tent of Meeting erected by David.

8. David gave his substances for the building of Solomon’s Temple
King David’s ultimate vision was to build an elaborate temple for the worship of the Lord. He told the prophet Nathan; “Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the Ark of God remains in a tent”(2 Sa 7:2). Even though God instructed David not to build the temple, he made all the necessary preparations for the building of the Temple. He told the people, ‘with all my resources I have provided for the Temple of my God-gold… silver… bronze… iron… wood… Besides in my devotion to the Temple of my God, I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the Temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple’ (1 Ch. 29:1-2). David’s whole-hearted giving for the Temple should challenge us on how we give for the Lord’s work and especially to building chapels for less endowed societies. We should also contribute generously towards the purchase of modern equipment that enhance the quality of worship in these chapels.


THE WORD IN OUR LIVES
You enter the house of God for worship. When you leave the chapel after the service, what makes you long to be back in the chapel. One of the signs of growth of a church is that, there is eventful worship. What is the nature of the services in your church? Author Tommy Tenney has written a number of books on worship, one of which is entitled,’ God’s Favorites House, If You Build It He Will Come.

He writes, ‘If God ever became “ homesick “ for any of the houses of worship on earth, which ones would they include? What events would provoke the eternal mind of God to consider a particular Church His favorite? Why would God feel homesick about David’s Tent of Meeting and not the elaborate Solomon’s Temple or any of the other Temples? Tommy Tenney therefore writes, “With our landscape littered with multimillion-dollar steeples piercing into God’s blue atmosphere and stained windows shimmering with His sunshine, we might imagine that God’s choice would be elaborate.”

William Barclay commenting on Jesus clearing the temple, described irreverent worship as follows;
“Worship without reverence can be a terrible thing. It ma be worship which is formalized and pushed through anyhow: the most dignified prayers on earth can be, read like a passage from an auctioneer’s catalogue. It may be worship in which leader or congregation are completely unprepared. It may be the use of the house of God for purposes and in a way where reverence and the true function of God’s house are forgotten.”

Remember, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and therefore it is not how elaborate your chapel is that attracts God into your worship, but the worshipper’s preparedness to meet with God in His house. Are you a worship leader-singing in the choir, singing band or other singing group – a preacher, usher, announcer, or one who has some other things to do in the worship service? What do you do, before, during and after the service to ensure that there is eventful worship in which there is encounter between God and the Worshippers. Are your worship services eventful?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
6. What do you consider to be a Spirit-filled worship service and how can this be achieved?
7. What do you consider to be the role of (a) worship leaders (b) worshippers house?
8. David’s whole life may be said to have concentrated on ensuring spirit filled worship of God. He learnt to play musical instruments and invested in them to enrich worship and also wrote a large number of psalms, all of which took place under a tent. What can we learn from David?
9. We always seem to have problems with those who are involved in the music ministry in our churches. What do you consider to be the cause of this and how can it be remedied?
10. David contributed significantly to the building of Solomon’s temple and he did so willingly. How can we contribute to the quality of worship by investing in the building of chapels and the purchase of musical instruments for less-endowed congregations?


BIBLE LESSON APPLICATION
1. As you get ready for worship services on the Lord’s Day, prepare your mind and heart for a personal encounter with God.
2. If you are part of the worship leading team –chorister, singing band member, other singing group member, preacher, announcer, usher, etc. You will need to prepare yourself spiritually to be used by the Holy Spirit for eventful worship.
3. Share your experiences about your involvement in such services with members of your class.

DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Monday I Chronicles 25:1,6-8 Exalt the Lord with Music
Tuesday I Kings 16:19-23 David Plays his harp in Saul’s House
Wednesday psalm 66:1-5 Praise the Lord with the Harp
Thursday Psalm 9:1-6 Tell of All His Wonders
Friday Psalm 9:7-11 Sing Praises to His Name
Saturday Psalm 67:1-7 Let All Nations Praise His Name