Repeat the psalms? Of course! “Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life” (P.P. Bliss).
For the occasion of the ark arriving in Jerusalem, David wrote a delightful poem, and “On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord” (1 Chron 16:7). Asaph? Did you notice the instrument he played? They had “stringed instruments and harps, but Asaph made music with cymbals” (v 5). Imagine that! I never learned to play any musical instrument, sad to say, but I did get to play the cymbals in kindergarten! No need to acquire the tune—but timing is everything. So it is with life. Many of us never quite hit the high notes or master the trills. But we can pay attention to the Grand Conductor of our lives and follow His lead in everything. Will we ever concede that the rests are as important as the notes? They are, of course. Cymbal players and Jesus followers do well to learn how to “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Ps 37:7). The psalm is in fact a compilation from three psalms with only minor differences throughout. Psalm 105:1-15 is used for 1 Chronicles 16:8-22; 1 Chronicles 16:23-33 matches Psalm 96:1-13; and 1 Chronicles 16:34-36 aligns with Psalm 106:1, 47-48. Obviously there are times when one psalm is not enough, and this was one of those occasions! One has to be impressed with the wide variety of ways that David finds to celebrate the Lord. Just in the first few verses, he calls us to “give thanks…Call upon His name; make known His deeds…Sing to Him…Talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice…Seek the Lord” and “remember” (vv 8-12). That should be enough to keep us busy this week, this year—or this life. In fact, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting!” (v 36).