Crafting a Prayer of Praise: Lessons from 1 Chron 16 (part 2)

Sing to the LORD, all the earth.

Tell of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous works among all the peoples.

For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;

he is to be revered above all gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are idols,

but the LORD made the heavens.

Honor and majesty are before him;

strength and joy are in his place.

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,

ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;

bring an offering, and come before him.

Worship the LORD in holy splendor;

tremble before him, all the earth.

The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,

and let them say among the nations, “The LORD is king!”

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

let the field exult, and everything in it.

Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy

before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth.

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever.

Say also:

“Save us, O God of our salvation,

and gather and rescue us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name,

and glory in your praise.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.”

Then all the people said “Amen!” and praised the LORD.

Background

We continue looking at this prayer hymn which praises God. It was offered by the musicians, at the order of King David, for the celebration of the return of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. As a prayer of praise, it provides us with a good model for our own prayers of praise.

In the first part of this prayer-hymn, the priests called all the people to praise God, gave reasons why He should be praised, and described what he had done to deserve praise.

In the second half of the prayer, the singers offer praises directly to God.

Meaning

God is Sovereign Over All (vv23-33)

Verses 23–33 are almost the same as Psalm 96—the author simply used the Psalm.¹ The prayer praises God as the one who is above all nations and their gods.

It may seem strange that the prayer assumes other gods exist. Yet the author of the prayer-hymn write that all of those gods are “idols, but Yahweh made the heavens.” There are a few different Hebrew words that are translated as “idol” into English. This one, ʾeliyl, comes from a root word meaning “worthless” or a “thing of nothing.” So, we can see that the writer means that while other nations worship meaningless statues, God is the one who created the universe.

This section praises God as a king who is sovereign over everything. Since He will be the one to judge the entire world (v33) this is another reason to worship Him and only Him. Note that the coming of judgment is a time of joy for the earth.

Save Us So That We Might Praise You (vv34-36)

Now, the writer of the prayer-hymn repeats a phrase that is found throughout 1 and 2 Chronicles. These verses may have come from Psalm 106.1, but are closer to Psalm 106.47-48, where it is noted that God will gather all of his followers (Israel) from all over the world. The rest of Psalm 106 is not used here, which discussed Israel’s disobedience in the desert and God’s anger and punishment. It is easy to see why the singers do not use that part—this is a celebration of the Ark returning to Jerusalem; the sin and redemption of Israel are not the focus. Yet, if the people knew the full form of the Psalm, it would come to mind as an important part of the background of praising God.

The hymn closes with this request for God to save them, to bring them all together, so that then they can offer thanksgiving and praise. The final line is a blessing upon God, that He be blessed forever (“from everlasting to everlasting”).

A Prayer of Praise for Yesterday and Today

This study indicates that a prayer of praise can be long and complex, with many parts and a strict structure. Yet the context might be difficult for us to make an application. After all, we have no Temple or place for the Ark. Church buildings are not anything like those, except it is where people gather to worship God.

Yet God protects us, too—perhaps not from physical enemies in the form of other nations, but from “the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6.12). That is, against the forces of evil at work in the world which tries to seduce us away from God, or, more likely, seduce us into a “Christian faith” which is fairly secular and self-focused.

God has also delivered us—not from Egypt or physical enemies, but from our own sinful nature that continually wishes to focus on ourselves and our own desires. Through the sacrifice of the Cross, He has enabled us to connect with Him, in Christ, to be forgiven, reconciled, and redeemed, and then given us the Spirit to help us live like it.

Application

Those are reasons we can pray a prayer of praise just as the Israelites did on that day when the Ark returned to the city.

Use the structure of this entire hymn of praise to write an outline for your own prayer, using God’s works and promises to you as they stand today—not limited to the deliverance from Egypt, or the giving of the Promised Land, or even the return from Exile much later. Include the protection offered to us by the words and actions of Jesus, and the salvation offered through the same. Fill in the specifics you choose to the outline:

1. Call to Praise (“I come to praise you today, Lord…”)
2. Why I Praise Him (“You are the God who is…”)
3. What He Has Done to Deserve Praise (“I praise you because…”)
4. God’s Sovereignty (“You are above…”)
5. Let All Praise Him (“Let the…praise him”)
6. A renewed call to praise. Here, you might use these words, often found in the Bible: “O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Close the prayer by praying the last section, beginning with “Save us, O God of our salvation” in your own words.

1. There seems to be no clear reason why it the author and editor of Chronicles might have left out the reference to God’s kingly reign (Ps 96.10)—perhaps it is just a different version of the prayer. ↩