In many places, it’s rare to hear a whole congregation saying, “Amen!” But imagine a whole nation!
As we come to the end of David’s mega-psalm (1 Chron 16:7-36), we read that “all the people said, ‘Amen!’ and praised the Lord” (v 36). “Amen” is the word that people use who want to co-sign a petition or a praise that has been lifted up to God in their presence. It means “So be it” or “I agree” or “That’s the truth.” One reason Christians in New Testament days were not to speak in a language unknown to the audience was that the attendees would not be able to say “Amen” if they had no understanding of what had been said (1 Cor 14:16). Of course, the opposite should also be true. A hearty Amen is an affirmation of our united prayer. (Notice the exclamation point in our lead verse after the Amen!) And please notice, this time of worship at the arrival of the ark was not a one-off proposition. David “left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister before the ark regularly, as every day’s work required” (1 Chron 16:37). But it wasn’t just the singers that kept going. There were “gatekeepers” (v 38) for security. And of course, those involved in the sacrifices, “Zadok the priest and his brethren the priests” (v 39). We should not only be a praising people; we should be a protected people, and a productive people. There is to be worship, there will be warfare, and there is a great work to be done for the Lord. All three must be in place. Do we like to sing, but are careless about our spiritual safety? Are we happy to celebrate on any occasion, but lazy in doing the hard and necessary work the Lord has given us? If we, like David, want to be a blessing to our house, to our local church, and to our community, let’s be seriously consistent in our work, our warfare, and our worship of the Lord.