Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

This is the first of the twelve Psalms of Asaph, the chief musical prophet of David’s Tabernacle. The additional eleven Psalms are 73-83. He was one of the three main worship leaders during the golden age of praise and worship and played the cymbals during the procession of the ark when it was placed in David’s Tent on Mount Zion. “ Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were chosen to sound the bronze cymbals.” (1 Chron. 15:19) Asaph was appointed to minister continually before the Ark after it was placed in David’s tent. “ David appointed the following Levites to lead the people in worship before the Ark of the Lord by asking for his blessings and giving thanks and praise to the Lord, the God of Israel. Asaph, the leader of this group, sounded the cymbals.”(1 Chron. 16:4,5) Heman and Jeduthun were appointed to minister in the Tent of Moses on Mount Gibeon. David employed 288 musicians divided up into 24 groups of 12 who were to play before the Ark of the Lord every hour of the day. “ David and the army commanders then appointed men from the fami- lies of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to proclaim (prophesy) God’s messages to the accompaniment of harps, lyres, and cymbals.” (1 Chron. 25:1) Asaph’s sons led 4 groups, Jeduthan’s sons 6, and Heman’s sons led 14 groups. It is no coincidence that there were 24 music groups that ministered continually as God created 24 keys of music and there are 24 elders leading worship before the throne of God in heaven. Asaph and his sons were specially gifted in prophetic music: “ They worked under the direction of their father, Asaph, who proclaimed (prophesied) God’s messages by the king’s orders.” (1 Chron. 25:2) Jeduthun and his sons were gifted in thanks and praise while Heman and his 14 sons and 3 daughters excelled in exalting the Lord. “ All these men were under the direction of their fathers as they made music at the house of the Lord. Their responsibilities included the playing of cymbals, lyres, and harps at the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman reported directly to the king. They and their families were all trained in making music before the Lord, and each of them–288 in all–was an accomplished musi- cian. ” Asaph is now listed as the leader of the musicians and all three of them reported directly to David. The worship leaders should have a direct relationship with their pastor as this is one of the most vital functions of the public service. Asaph’s greatest accomplishment was the writing of 12 Psalms, second in volume only to David’s compositions. Some of the distinguishing marks of his psalms are the use of God’s name ‘Elohim’, the emphasis on his presence in Zion, his references to the history of Israel and the direct prophecies from the Lord. Asaph left a lasting mark upon the worship ministry and his example is still being felt today. • One of his descendants prophesied victory during the reign of Jehoshaphat: “ …the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel …a descendant of Asaph. He said…Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but the God’s.’” (2 Chron. 20:14,15) The prophetic anointing God gave Asaph is still available to his musicians today. • The great revivals of worship included his Psalms of Praise: “ King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to praise the Lord with the psalms of David and Asaph the seer. So they offered joy- ous praise and bowed down in worship.” (2 Chron. 29:30) The words of his psalms are examples for songwriters now. • The great revivals of worship followed the pattern set by David, Asaph and the other singers: “ The musicians, descendants of Asaph, were in their assigned places, following the orders given by David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, the king’s seer.”(2 Chron. 35: 15)) God is again laying the foun- dations for worship in his church building upon the prophetic insights of his servant Asaph. “ The mighty God, the Lord, has spoken; he has summoned all humanity from east to west! From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines in glorious radiance. Our God approaches with the noise of thunder. Fire devours everything in his way, and a great storm rages around him.” (1-3) Three glorious names for God are mentioned here: El, Elohim and Yahweh. God puts the full force of his royal name upon the legal document he is sending to all of humanity. This is a summons that someone cannot easily ignore. Just as God displayed his glory in the giving of the Law of Moses on I THE SUMMONS BY GOD - 1-6

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