1 Chronicles 16:23-36 NIV
“Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place. Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, 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 the splendor of his holiness. Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them! Let the trees of the forest sing, let them sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.” Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”
INSIGHT
-The essence of the Levites is viewed in the installation of the Ark of the covenant in Israel. The Ark of the covenant was a representation of God’s presence, having the image of two cherubim at the edges to indicate the preservation of His presence. The people then presented their burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, acknowledging that indeed the Lord is worthy of all praise and adoration. David then gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each Israelite man and woman. This was a picture of the body and blood of Jesus crucified. A selected number of Levites were also chosen to minister before the ark of the Lord, to extol, thank, and praise the Lord, the God of Israel. They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals, and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God. David also left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon to present burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering regularly, morning and evening, in accordance with everything written in the Law of the Lord, which he had given Israel. The value of ascribing all glory and strength and worshiping Him daily, in the morning and evening is clearly stipulated for continued spiritual growth and maturity.
PRAYER
We give praise to You Lord, proclaim Your name, and make known among the nations what You have done for You are worthy. We sing praises to You and tell of all Your wonderful acts. We glory in Your holy name, rejoice in You Lord and offer our hearts as a pleasing sacrifice to You. We continually offer to You Lord Jesus a sacrifice of praise, that is the fruit of our lips that openly profess Your name. We look to You Lord and Your strength, seeking Your face always. May You help us to worship You in spirit and in truth. May You teach us to worship and pray to You regularly as You please. May You help us in our daily needs and answer our hearts desires. May You journey with us throughout this week and guide us in all our thoughts, plans and every area of our lives. May You instill in us Your wisdom, grace and favor. May You teach our president to take on the mantle of worship like king David. We sing to You Lord and proclaim Your salvation day after day. We declare Your glory among the nations, and Your marvelous deeds among all peoples, for great are You Lord and most worthy of praise. We adore You and exult Your name, now and forever. Amen
Further reading: Genesis 3:24, Hebrews 13:15
Hebrews 3:1-6 NIV
“Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.”
INSIGHT
-The analogy of the faithful servant is depicted by the above scriptures. A comparison between Christ and Moses is shown, both who were sent by the Father to lead His people. Moses led the Israelites from bondage under Pharaoh to the promised land, and Christ led all believers from bondage under the devil both Jews and Gentiles (Hebrews 2:14-15), to the sabbath rest promised to all who believe (Hebrews 4:3,9). Jesus is seen as the builder of God’s house, for He is God, and we including Moses are a part of it, therefore ranking Christ as definitely greater than Moses. Further, Moses was a servant whereas Christ is the Son, the High priest and great Apostle and worthy of all praise. We therefore rejoice in Him for we have a sure inheritance as heirs together with Christ.
PRAYER
Thank You dear Lord Jesus our Great High Priest and Apostle. For above You there is none, You are great and greatly to be praised. You are worthy to be feared above all gods, for all the gods of the nations are idols, but You Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before You, strength and joy are in Your dwelling place. Oh Lord we thank You and honor You for You are good and wonderful. We give You all the worship and adoration. Dear Lord we humbly repent the many sins that we have done and humbly ask You to wash us with Your precious blood dear Jesus and purify us. We pray that You may help us to fix our thoughts on You and serve You faithfully. May You help us to walk worthy of our calling faithfully as You please. We pray that You will release Your gift of salvation to all who do not have by Your great power oh Lord. Father we pray that You will send Your Holy Spirit to us to guide us and fill us with Your wisdom. We surrender all to You oh Lord may You intervene and take over. May You guide and protect all those who are traveling by road, railway, sea, air and cover them with Your blood. May You send Your angels to protect us, together with our children and shield us from harm. We pray this trusting and believing in Jesus mighty name, Amen.
Further reading: Numbers 12:7-8, Hebrews 4:14-16
Psalms 145:1-3 NIV
“I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.”
INSIGHT
-Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. God’s nature of greatness is evidenced from His creation of the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, creation of man in His own image and likeness, His great works from generations to generations that will never cease. There is no part of Jehovah’s greatness which is not worthy of great praise for His goodness and greatness. Praise to our God should be from our hearts as we worship Him in spirit and in truth, as He empowers us by His Holy Spirit.
PRAYER
Dear Almighty Father we come before Your throne of mercy today to obtain grace and mercy. Oh Lord You are our great reward and we honor and bless Your name. We glorify You for You are great and worthy of all our praise. Thank You Father for Your faithfulness and loving mercies. Thank You for all You have done for us. Dear Lord we pray that Your greatness shall shine over all our matters and all our lives. May You intervene in all our issues and answer all the desires of our hearts. May You align our desires to Your will and to Your ways. We surrender this country to You that You may guide our leadership and strengthen our whole nation in all ways. We pray that in Your greatness and healing power may be evident in the healing of the sick. May You release Your power of salvation to all who do not know You. We pray this in Jesus Mighty name, Amen.
Further reading: Jeremiah 10:6, Psalm 86:10-17, Psalms 135:3-5
Philippians 2:8-11 NIV
“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
INSIGHT
-Jesus humbled Himself and emptied Himself by laying aside His glory. Through He was God, He submitted to the humiliation brought by the nature of His death; that is, crucifixion. He was led like a sheep to the slaughter and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. He knew His purpose and shared it with His disciples and Peter rebuked Him saying, “This shall never happen to you” Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Even though it was not an easy task as we see Jesus pleading with God to remove this cup of suffering from Him, and sweating blood at the garden of Gethsemane, He was obedient to the point of death. God then exulted Him giving Him a name that is above every other name, and He is seated at the right hand of God, and He is therefore worthy to receive all glory, honor and praise.
PRAYER
Dear Almighty Father, we come before You today with humble adoration. Thanking You for this half of the year 2023 and for bringing us this far, You have been our Ebenezer. Thank You for Your loving kindness and mercies upon us. Lord Jesus we thank You for You humbled Yourself to the point of death, even death for our sins. We thank You for the humility You showed on the cross and for Your obedience and perseverance for our salvation. May You teach us to be humble and obedient as You are dear Jesus, for You change not. Forgive us where we have been proud and disobedient to Your will. We worship You and bless Your name for You are worthy Lord Jesus. At Your name every name should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus You are Lord to the glory of God the Father. Amen
Further reading: Isaiah 53:3-12, Hebrews 10:11-14
Revelation 5:6-13 NIV
“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”
INSIGHT
-John describes His frustrations as He attempts to find a suitable person or deity capable of opening the scroll sealed by seven seals. He couldn’t find one but an elder encouraged him saying, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals” (Revelation 5:5). The Lamb who is also the Lion of Judah showing strength and power. The seven horns of the Lamb also represent completeness of power and strength even-though the Lamb was slain. The seven eyes display fullness of wisdom, knowledge and understanding therefore worthy all power, wisdom, honor and strength.
SUMMARY
-The Lamb is a picture of the sacrifice of sin. John 1:29 records John’s statement when he saw Jesus saying, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” The Lamb also depicts a mighty conqueror. Revelation 17:14 confirms this stating that. “They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of Lords and King of kings and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” Given such a realization, the heavens and the earth acknowledge Christ as worthy of all exultation. David organized an orchestra of worship to God given such realization. 1 Chronicles 16:23-36 reveals the organization of Levites and skilled instrumentalists charged with worship saying, He is worthy of praise. They also acknowledge that God is to be feared above all gods of the nations for He made all the nations and splendor and majesty are before Him. Therefore all families of the nations ascribe to God glory and strength. Christ is worthy of all praise and His greatness no one can fathom (Psalms 145:1-3). Christ is worthy of all glory since He took the form of man and left His throne and died for our sins. Due to His salvation power and honor we say that He is worthy. God therefore exulted Him to the highest place and has the name that is above every other name, that at His name every knee should bow, heaven and on earth and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:8-11). We are then called to honor God, give thanks to Him and call Him worthy in all circumstances for only He deserves.
PRAYER
You are Lamb of God who was slain, to receive power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and praise. Worthy are You Lord and worthy is Your name. We call You worthy for only You deserve dear Lord Jesus. You are filled with strength, splendor and majesty, we call You worthy. We give You thanks and praise for this far that You have brought us and the far that You are taking us. We thank You for You have good plans for our lives, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. Thank You for Your gift of salvation and for making us kings and priests to You, and we have dominion on the earth. May Your promises and purposes for our lives come to pass in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. May You bless us and keep us Lord. May You make Your face to shine towards us and be gracious unto us. May You turn Your countenance towards us and give us peace. Amen
Further reading: Psalms 145:1-21