Psalm 100:4 – Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.
2 Samuel 6:14 states that David, when he and others were bringing the Ark of God (Where they encountered the presence of God) into the City of David (Jerusalem), he was dancing before the Lord with all his might and V15 states that they were joyously shouting out their praise of God and also the joy they had because of Him. They also had trumpets with them and they were dancing, singing and in rapture as they contemplated the goodness of God. V16 states that as the Ark of God was entering the City of David that King David was “leaping and dancing.” Imagine the head of the city, state, or country you live in dancing and singing wildly in the streets celebrating God. Wow, how wonderful the expression and what a great impression it would leave on the people. Even us, what if we, like King David, didn’t care about the scoffers or about how we might be ridiculed and we publicly (maybe in a busy park, or at the beach) just danced and praised God? Of course we do that at Christian concerts, but what about at non-Christian events. What if students at schools got together during lunch or break not to just hang out (a good thing), but also to unashamedly sing and dance in exultation of the Lord Jesus? What if they did and just didn’t care that they made be fun of by the other students? What if those at work, during lunch time, did the same thing? What if parents came home and excitedly told their families that they did that at work and, what if, that got their kids excited about following that example? What if, in praise to God, we just threw our hands in the air like we just don’t care! What if we did that? It would seem like that kind of boldness to identify ourselves with Jesus and to please Him would be something God could use to change the world. Too bold? It wasn’t for King David.
Family, David did not start to praise God when he entered into the entrance of Jerusalem. He was, with his brethren, praising God all along the way. His wife despised him for praising God with complete unconcern about his earthly position (V16). David danced and praised God to show his love of God and was not concerned what anyone else might think. The point is, that David and the group with him did not start praising God as he was entering Jerusalem, or after he entered Jerusalem, he entered Jerusalem as he continued to praise God. He didn’t start to joyously praise God, he continued to praise God! Too often we think that if we can grit our teeth and finally and laboriously cross the gates of Heaven that then the celebration will start. Family, too many of us will do that. But it should not be so. We should be celebrating our God and making our love for Him manifest to all. Let us enter the Holy City like King David, having been publicly celebrating our God before arriving at our eternal home. Let’s let Heaven hear our celebratory voices reverberate from earth to Heaven. Let the angels rejoice as they hear our praises getting closer and may they look to God with great smiles as our praises to God testify of the beauty and greatness of Him. Yes, let the trumpets start blowing, let us sing and dance with all we are. Let us do that right now and continue so that we bring a continuous song of praise unto our God from now unto eternity. Let’s start the celebration and continue it to “that day” and into eternity. Joel 2:1 “Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near…”
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.