As we recall God’s faithfulness, it elicits a response from within us. Whether remembering, singing, or telling others, we cannot sit silent when we have encountered the mighty hand of God. Join Dr. Marty Baker as he walks us through 1 Chronicles 16:7-22 and unpacks another story of God’s faithfulness to the Israelites.
The Ark of the Covenant represented one of the most cherished religious items in Israelite history. Explicitly designed by God, this gold overlaid box measuring 3.75 feet long and 2.25 feet wide and 2.25 feet high (Ex. 25:10-22; 37:1-9), contained the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, a golden urn of manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded (Heb. 9:4). On its lid rested two cherubim class angels who, in turn, represented those special angels who are closest to God and His glorious throne (Ezek. 1). And the golden lid of the Ark was classified as the Mercy seat, or the place where God said He would specifically dwell and show mercy to sinners. Finally, this holy Ark was placed in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle tent. Its presence in Israel, therefore, had extreme spiritual and national significance.
You can imagine, then, how excited David was to bring the Ark to Israel’s new capital, Jerusalem (1 Chron. 15). From its construction not long after Israel departed Egypt in 1446 B.C. to David’s day (1011-971 B.C.), some 475 years had passed. Finally, after all those years of carefully moving the Ark here and there, it would be positioned to have a final resting place at the seat of the government’s power base. Its presence would show that God was not only with His people, but that worship of Him was central in their thinking.
Great fanfare accompanied the Ark’s movement to Jerusalem. There was music, stringed instruments, cymbals, chants of joy, trumpets (dancing, I’m sure), and sacrifices to cover the sin of the people (1 Chron. 15:16-28). When the Ark made it to Jerusalem, according to 1 Chronicles 16, David offered more burnt offerings to cover the people’s sin, followed by peace offerings to show that the cleansed people now had a peaceful relationship with their holy God (1 Chron. 16:1-3). In all the excitement, David turned and commanded various forms of tasty foods to be given to the people (1 Chron. 16:3 . . . he must have been a Baptist, right?). After this, David, appointed Levites to minister before the Ark perpetually and to guide in corporate worship around the sacred artifact. Lastly, as a musician and poet in his own right, the spiritually sensitive king wrote his own new worship Psalm to commemorate this special day. We no longer know the tune but know the words because they appear in 1 Chronicles 16, verses 8 through 36. As a songwriter, Chris Tomlin could be inspired by reading and reflecting on these words.
We can certainly gain some inspiration from this new song because, like David, we are poised to enjoy and celebrate a festive day in our church’s history, that being our 50th Anniversary. What can we learn from David’s song that we can, and should, apply to our lives? Moving through this Psalm, we quickly learn that expressing thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness over the years calls for specific, concerted action on our part.
From verses 7 through 22, David pinpoints what genuine, godly thankfulness for God’s faithfulness should look like in our lives. For starters, we should, like ancient Israel, . . .
Recall His Faithfulness (1 Chron. 16:7-22)
Since it is impossible to cover every single verse in this lengthy passage in the allotted time, please permit me to highlight the key verses of the psalm.
With verse seven, we learn that David established a family line of singers and musicians who would always lead the nation in worship of the living God:
7 Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the LORD.
This would be something akin to us saying that since Monica is our Director of Worship Ministries, she will now have a formal and perpetual family line responsible for our corporate worship. Talk about job security. Hey, Monica, perhaps your husband and children must think about what they are doing, or dream of doing, with their work lives! The fact that David did this also demonstrates how vital worship of the Lord is to the life of God’s people. It is one thing to preach and teach about God’s faithfulness, and quite another to emotionally and spiritually get involved in worshipping His faithfulness through music.
Verse 12 introduces us to the crux of David’s first point in this song of thanks to God.
12 Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, His marvels and the judgments from His mouth, 13 O seed of Israel His servant, Sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!
Underscore that the imperative “remember,” which is from the Hebrew verbal root zacar (זכר), strategically appears twice here. The imperatival force, which permeates the entire psalm, informs us that thanking God by remembering His actions is not optional. It not only glorifies Him and shows Him we are thankful for stepping into our worlds, but it also brings us much comfort, especially if we are experiencing hardships and trials again.
What did David command Israel to remember? Three things: God’s wonderful deeds, His marvels, and [His] judgments. “Wonders” (NIV) or “wonderful deeds” (NAS) is a translation of the Hebrew, pala (פָּלָא). It is used in Exodus 3:20 to describe the jaw-dropping miracles God performed in the ten plagues against Egypt. Turning the entire Nile River instantly into non-potable, thick, gooey blood from the strike of the waters with a staff in the hand of an old, Israelite, weather-beaten man was nothing short of a wonder (Ex. 7:14-25). Striking all the Egyptians’ homes and living areas with thick darkness, while leaving some form of light in the homes of the Israelites by raising the hand of Moses was, again, an extraordinary deed that defied all logical, scientific analysis (Ex. 10:21-29). Saints who thank God for His faithfulness don’t forget times like this.
David also commanded the people to remember God’s “marvels.” The Hebrew, mophet ( מוֹפֵת) was a divine action designed to serve as an irrefutable sign that verified God was at work. The word is used in Exodus 7:9 and is translated “miracle.”
9 “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Work a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.'” (Exod. 7)
WTT Exodus 7: כִּי֩ יְדַבֵּ֙ר אֲלֵכֶ֤ם פַּרְעֹה֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר תְּנ֥וּ לָכֶ֖ם מוֹפֵ֑ת וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן קַ֧ח אֶֽת־מַטְּךָ֛ וְהַשְׁלֵ֥ךְ לִפְנֵֽי־פַרְעֹ֖ה יְהִ֥י לְתַנִּֽין׃
Turning a hardened, knotty, weathered old staff instantly into a venomous, squirming, hissing serpent was a marvel that would grab anyone’s attention. Picking it up and having it instantly turn back into a piece of non-living wood was equally a marvel. Again, no one should ever forget how God did things like this to show His faithfulness to His people.
David also commanded his people to remember God’s judgments. The Hebrew word, mishphat (מִשְׁפָּט ) describes how God acts as a righteous Judge to bring true justice in given situations. When God removed Korah and his little band of rebels (Dathan, Abiram, and On), plus 250 of their followers, for rebelling against the leadership of Moses, this was a just legal decree. The localized earthquake that swallowed the leaders of the coup d’état, followed by the divine fire from a clear sky that vaporized the 250 cohorts (Num. 16:31-35), was a divine marvel that validated the just capital punishment. Once more, who could forget this? Who could not learn from it? Who could not thank God for being faithful in rooting out those who sought to destroy the nation from within? Insurrection against God’s appointed leaders would, from God’s holy perspective, not be coddled; hence, He considered the evidence against these rabble-rousers and made a just decree to deal with them forthrightly.
Reflecting on and remembering the judicial side of God, moved David in verse 14 to remind us:
14 He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth.
ה֚וּא יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֔ינוּ בְּכָל־הָאָ֖רֶץ מִשְׁפָּטָֽיו׃ (1 Chr. 16:14)
The Hebrew language begins with the third person singular pronoun at the head of the sentence to make it, or to make God’s activity, highly emphatic. There is no main verb in the sentence. Grammatically, this is called ellipsis, and it is another way to make a sentence emphatic. David clearly designed this verse to arrest your attention. God doesn’t just step into human history with His people, Israel, but with the world as well. For instance, when King Nebuchadnezzar walked around his palace and prided himself in the powerful, wealthy kingdom he had personally built, God heard his arrogant, ill-founded statement and made him go mad so that he would learn to give the living God the glory for what he had achieved (Dan. 4:28-33). Those who understand this side of God and see how He has acted in history are thankful for His presence, and they waste no time recalling those specific times they have seen His gavel in action.
David moved in verse 15 to give the people another “remember” command:
15 Remember His covenant forever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations, 16 The covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac. 17 He also confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, 18 Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, as the portion of your inheritance.” 19 When they were only a few in number, very few, and strangers in it, 20 And they wandered about from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people, 21 He permitted no man to oppress them, and He reproved kings for their sakes, saying, 22 “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.” (1 Chr. 16)
What covenant was David speaking about here? The Abrahamic Covenant God gave to Abraham with no conditions whatsoever. God just freely and graciously chose Abraham, a polytheist, to convert to the truth of monotheism and follow Him to a Promised Land. In this land, God promised to grow his little family in his old age into a mighty nation that would eventually bless the world through the coming of the Seed, or the Messiah (Gen. 3:15; Zech. 14:1ff; Psalm 2; Isa. 2:1ff; 9:6ff). God reiterated his unconditional covenant to his sons, Isaac and Jacob, as Abraham’s family grew by divine design. And from that time until David’s, God miraculously and sovereignly worked to bring this covenant to fruition. David remembered God’s faithfulness over the last 1,000 years (Abraham entered Canaan around 2091 B.C. and David reigned from 1011-971 B.C.), and called his people to remember it also, so they could appropriately thank Him. The fact that they looked at God’s holy Ark in Jerusalem was a clear sign that the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant was right on track. How exciting this must have been for them. How instructive it is for us.
As we thank the Lord for fifty years of ministry in this area, we must remember His great acts. Back in 1979, when the young church was starting to grow, families with teens showed up, but there was no full-time youth leader. To acquire one would be a big step for a small church, but leadership decided it was God’s timing. So, they stepped out in faith. God brought Mike Floch and his wife, Carol, who were fresh out of Wheaton College, to be the new youth leader, or should I say, leaders. For the next eight years, this godly, visionary couple poured their lives into the teens and many others. As such, they laid a strong, stable foundation for our flourishing youth ministry. And it all started when leadership took a calculated step of faith and trusted God to lead and bless accordingly.
And while you are thinking about God’s provision and faithfulness to us over the years, how about His faithfulness to a man like Zander? To save a man steeped in Islam is no small order, but God did it. Now, Zander represents all who have come to this church and experienced a life-changing faith relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I think, therefore, it is true that the Abrahamic Covenant is blessing the nations, and some of that blessing is poured out in our church every time a sinner becomes a saint at the feet of Jesus, a descendant of Abraham.
From the opening verses of this psalm, we learn that true thanks to God first starts with recalling exactly what He has done and then articulating that to Him. A second logically flows from this:
Relay His Faithfulness (1 Chron. 16:23-36)
It is one thing to recall God’s faithfulness to you, and quite another to tell others about it. But that is precisely what a thankful believer does. When they consider what God has done, this, by definition, moves them to share this information with others excitedly. Watch how David develops this point in this psalm/song:
23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. 24 Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
All the main verbs here are imperatives, underscoring, once again, that these words are not optional, but mandatory.
Do you sing to the LORD? You say, Have you heard my voice? Well, even if your voice isn’t up to that of a Chris Tomlin, you can sing to the Lord when you think of His faithfulness. Sing as you garden. Sing as you are out on a walk. Sing when you’re in your car. When you recall His provision either in the past or of late, pause and sing. As a young married man working for a landscape company in California, I used to hoe weeds in massive planter areas at a commercial facility and sing to myself:
I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses; and the voice I hear, falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses.
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own; and the joy we share as we tarry there none other has ever known.
I sang this quite often because I reflected on the instances of God’s goodness in my life at that juncture. Those were sweet times of worship. Do you have them?
Corporately, we sing to the Lord to worship Him because of who He is and what He has done for us on the cross. This morning we sang, Jesus Paid It All. What an appropriate song to sing when people get baptized. Because He paid the penalty for their sin, they are new people, and their baptism merely demonstrates this new spiritual reality.
As I think back over the last 50 years, and especially the almost 18 that I’ve been here, I’ve heard testimony of His faithfulness and I’ve seen it firsthand. And when I see it, I’m always prompted to think of the old hymn, Great Is Thy Faithfulness:
Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!
When’s the last time you sang to the Lord concerning His faithfulness to you? I pray this word from David will prompt you to sing a little more. God loves to hear it, and so do others.
David also commands us to “proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.” What does this mean? It means what it literally says: Look for opportunity when you recall that the Lord saved you to tell others what happened. This is precisely what Paul did in his trial before Herod Agrippa, his wife, Bernice, and Festus, the Roman governor/procurator of Judea in Acts 26.
12 “While thus engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13 at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. 14 “And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 “And I said, ‘Who art Thou, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 ‘But arise, and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; 17 delivering you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, 18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’ 19 “Consequently, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance. (Acts 26)
Paul remembered how the Lord saved him, and he couldn’t wait to relay this to all those high-minded politicians at the Herodian theater in Caesarea that day. I love it when Paul says, “[I] kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God . . .” It sounds like he read 1 Chronicles 26.
What Paul did is what Zander just did this morning. He remembered how the Lord saved Him and seized an opportunity to tell you all about it today. When was the last time you did this? You can tell how thankful you are for His wonderful salvation by how much you tell others about it.
There is more we could say about the concept of relaying what you remember of God’s faithfulness to others, but we don’t need to belabor the point. This month, we are doing a lot of remembering and relaying because we know how faithful God has been to us. I hope this motivates you to do the same in your private life. When you do it, other saints will get blessed, God will get the praise, and the non-Christians in your life will have an apologetic of divine activity that will be hard to argue with.
A third responsibility we have in offering thanksgiving couldn’t be more practical:
Roll Up Our Sleeves (1 Chron. 16:37-43)
I want to read what happened after David closed out this wonderful Psalm, and then reevaluate and offer some observations:
37 So he left Asaph and his relatives there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required;
38 and Obed-edom with his 68 relatives; Obed-edom, also the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah as gatekeepers. 39 And he left Zadok the priest and his relatives the priests before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place which was at Gibeon, 40 to offer burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening, even according to all that is written in the law of the LORD, which He commanded Israel. 41 And with them were Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen, who were designated by name, to give thanks to the LORD, because His lovingkindness is everlasting. 42 And with them were Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those who should sound aloud, and with instruments for the songs of God, and the sons of Jeduthun for the gate. (1 Chron. 16)
What does all this mean? It means that after the Israelites thanked the Lord for His faithfulness by recalling and relaying those instances of faithfulness, they got to work. They didn’t leave their version of church and say, “Wow, that was beautiful. I loved the music and was so overcome by emotion at times. Wasn’t it great, and, oh, by the way, what’s for lunch?” On the contrary, the people worked to make their version of church functional and effective.
- Some, like Asaph and his relatives, made sure music happened when everyone came together for worship. I’m sure they had practice sessions, worked on old and new songs, and made sure it sounded excellent because they did it for God. For fifty years, God has watched as Asaph-types have stepped up to make sure worship happens. That is what is supposed to happen.
- Some, like Obede-edom, Jeduthun, and Hosah, ensured the gates were open to the worship service. These men would be equivalent to our modern-day door greeters. Is this job important? You bet. They made sure folks could come and worship God and ensured that when they arrived, they were met with a smiling, friendly face and a warm, firm handshake. Was being a gatekeeper a high-status job? No. But in our Lord’s mind, a servant is not greater than his master, and since our Lord was a servant when He walked among us, the gatekeepers are extremely key in God’s kingdom (Matt. 20:25-28). And, you know, there are other jobs like this in the body of Christ. It takes 200 people each Sunday to run the children’s program. I thank God for these servants. The Lord has blessed us with 550-600 children, and we are thankful for His faithfulness in this regard. But with this blessing comes responsibility. Thanks to everyone who steps up each week to make it happen with the children, the teens, the Life Groups, caring for people in need, and so forth. No area of service is mundane in God’s eyes. The question now is, where will you serve if you are not currently doing so? Service is one of the most significant ways to thank the Lord for His faithfulness to this church and to you and your family.
- Some, like Zadok, the priest, had the big job of making sure that appropriate sacrifices were offered to cover people’s sins. That was serious, but important business. Today, as believers, we are all priests, as Peter reminds us (1 Pet. 2:5, 9). Hence, we all have the job of making sure that the redemptive work of Jesus is showcased not only in this church, but in our lives, so that the lost can be saved. This leads to a question: Who are you teaching about the importance of the life, death, and resurrection of the Lamb of God to?
After some 445 years, the Ark of God finally came to Jerusalem. It was a day to thank God. How did the people do that? They recalled His acts of faithfulness, they promised to relay those acts to others so they, too, could know and worship the living God, and they, then, got to work to make sure their new worship center functioned well so God was praised, saints were encouraged, and non-believers were challenged with God’s redemptive work.
As we reflect on our 50th years as a church, and do so with the faithfulness of God in mind, let us be thankful in the same fashion. And what’s that?
Main Idea:
Thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness involves recalling, relaying, and rolling up your sleeves.
It’s time to get to work, so let’s get on it to God’s glory.
