Days 135&136: 2 Chronicles 4-7, Psalms 134, 136, 146-150

I can remember some worship services that I've been a part of, either as part of the gathering of worshipers or as part of the worship leading team, that have been especially moving to me. Sometimes it's sort of hard to pin point exactly what it was that made it so moving. Was it the selection of music? Was it the level of talent leading the service? Was it the place? Was it the circumstances of my life at the time? Was it the group I was with? One thing I know is that it was not the same thing every time.

This leads me to the observation that you can't always plan for a powerful, moving worship experience. It's not like you know these are the elements that make it up so just put those elements together every time and you're good to go. I've been in leadership meetings shortly after a particularly powerful worship experience where the people in the room say things like, "Why can't you do that EVERY week?" Maybe they don't use those exact words but that's the way I hear it.

I think all we can really do is make the conditions as conducive as possible...knowing that most of the conditions for a meaningful worship experience are totally out of our control...because those conditions lie in the hands of the individual worshiper...and God.

I say all that because today's Bible reading seems particularly musical.

First of all, in 2 Chronicles we find a description of the worship service at the dedication of the temple. I would imagine that this is one of those worship experiences where all the conditions were right.  The temple was completed, the people are ready and the talent leading the service was the very best the nation had to offer:

All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang:
   “He is good;
   his love endures forever.”
   Then the temple of the LORD was filled with the cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God. (2 Chronicles 5:12-14)

I find this next verse particularly interesting. Even after all this, it wasn't guaranteed that God would accept this as the place He would be worshiped. Imagine if, after all the years of preparation and construction and all the craftsmanship involved, imagine if God rejected this as the place where His presence was recognized. It was still His choice. But...

When Solomon had finished the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD and in his own palace, the LORD appeared to him at night and said:
   “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. (2 Chronicles 7:11-12)

Psalm 136 sounds like it's the psalm that was sung at the dedication of the temple. It's really the first psalm I've read that really sounds like it could be a song in the way I understand songs today. Maybe because of the repetition of the refrain, "His love endures forever" after each line. It's like a gospel call and response.

One of my all-time favorite psalms is Psalm 150. The last one in the book...and a fitting way to close today's reading:

Praise the LORD.
   Praise God in his sanctuary;
   praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
   praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
   praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with timbrel and dancing,
   praise him with the strings and pipe,
praise him with the clash of cymbals,
   praise him with resounding cymbals.
 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
   Praise the LORD. (Psalm 150)