Saturday, September 23, 2017

Worship and Revival

II Chronicles 29:25 And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the commandment of David and of Gad the king's seer and of Nathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the Lord through his prophets. 26 The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song to the Lord began also, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel. 28 The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished. 29 When the offering was finished, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. 30 And Hezekiah the king and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.
This was a time of great revivial when Hezekiah was king over Israel. The chapter begins with a cleansing process, both individually and nationally. They got rid of the places and items of idol worship.  They then offered sacrifices for sin - denoting an admission of guilt and request for forgiveness. Now they are consecrating themselves to worship and serve the Lord. The symptom of what was going on within them was this bursting forth of corporate worship - they sang with joy, and they also knelt and fell down, acknowledging God's rightful place as LORD over all.  Revivals used to be commonplace in our nation. To be sure, some were more a ritual than real.  But they included some of the things above which are so rare - cleansing, confession, consecration, and a renewal of heartfelt worship.  Revive us again, Lord!

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