Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

4. Where?- “…in the house of the Lord.”

David appointed 288 musicians under the direction of Asaph, Jeduthan and Heman to minister in groups of 12 persons every hour of the day and night in the Tent on Mount Zion. They drew lots peri- odically to determine in which of the 24 hour time slots they would minister. The night seasons were to be as full of praise as the day time hours! “They and their families were all trained in making music be- fore the Lord, and each of them–288 in all–was an accomplished musician. The musicians were ap- pointed to their particular term of service by means of sacred lots, without regard to whether they were young or old, teacher or student.” (1 Chron. 25:7, 8) You could go to the Tent of David, and later the Tem- ple of Solomon, at any time of the night and enter into the worship of Yahweh with these highly skilled and anointed teams of master musicians and their students. Perhaps Paul and Silas received inspiration from this psalm in the dark night when they were im- prisoned at Philippi: “Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.” (Acts 16:25) Jesus fulfilled the demands of this psalm when he and his disciples sang a hymn on the night before his brutal crucifixion: “Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.” (Mt. 26:30) Worship is a form of spiritual guard duty; we watch through the sea- sons of darkness and keep the supernatural lamp of his Church bright with the praises of God. 5. How?- “Lift your hands in holiness, and bless the Lord.” (“Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.” NIV) (“Lift up your hands to the sanctuary…” NAS) The lifting up of our hands can be done in two ways. First of all in a ‘blessing mode’ with our palms extended towards the heavens con- veying our praise to God. Secondly in a ‘receiving mode’ with our palms faced inward in a cupped po- sition that signifies the receiving of his mercy in prayer. It must be done ‘in holiness’, which is our complete surrender to the work of Christ upon the cross. The scriptures guide us in this discipline of com- munion with God: • “Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary.” (Ps. 28:5) • “I will honor you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.” (Ps. 63:4) • “Each day I beg for your help, O Lord; I lift my pleading hands to you for mercy.” (Ps. 88:9) • “Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering.” (Ps. 141:2) • “Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven…” (Lam. 3:41) • “So wherever you assemble, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.” (1 Tim. 2:8) The physical act must convey the spiritual attitude; our hearts can be so overflowing with grateful- ness and desire for him that our hands become extended in sincere communion. We are children reach- ing out for our heavenly Father. Now the priest who watches over the house of the Lord by night, turns to the group of Levites (sons of Asaph, Jeduthan and Heman) and blesses them as they end their shift and the next group of twelve musicians slip into their place to continue the unending praise of the Tent/Tabernacle. The blessings of both the heavenly and earthly realm are released in the atmosphere of ‘Zion’, the place of worship. This is a shortened form of Aaron’s High Priestly blessing upon the people: “May the Lord bless you and pro- tect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Num. 6:24-26) The worship service is both a place to bless the Lord and to be blessed by him. Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, is in heaven receiving the blessings of our worship and is re- sponding by pouring out the benefits of his salvation: “So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered the great, perfect sanctuary in heaven, not made by human hands and not part of this created world.” (Heb. 9:11) Even in the night seasons, in the dark trials of our lives, he stands ready to receive and dispense his blessings! II THE LORD BLESS YOU - 3- The Response of the Lord “May the Lord, who made heaven and earth, bless you from Jerusalem [Zion].” (3)

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