“Give unto the LORD the glory due unto His name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” (Psalms 29:2)
David wrote this psalm. In it he pleads to give unto the Lord the glory that is due to His name. David wrote many psalms and invented many musical instruments with which to praise the Lord. He delighted in worshipping the Lord and in this psalm, he urges everyone to delight also in the Lord. He was intentional in his worship to the Lord. It reflected his relationship with the Lord. He established musicians and singers to sing continually to the Lord. “Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand. Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the LORD; and six thousand were officers and judges: Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.” (1Chronicles 23:3-5) He understood that God’s presence was in the praises of His people, and he wrote, “But Thou art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” (Psalms 22:3) He understood how important God’s presence was in battle and had worshippers in the armies. “Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was: Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph, which prophesied according to the order of the king.” (1Chronicles 25:1-2) The word hosts meant soldiers in the original Hebrew. And the word prophesy means to sing with inspiration. These were not songs written out, but they played as they were inspired. King Jehoshaphat also understood this. “And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for His mercy endureth for ever.” (2Chronicles 20:21)
We see the importance of praise and worship in our lives. We think we can handle the ordinary daily tasks of life on our own, but how much better would it be with the presence of the Lord as we worship Him in our coming and going about in our lives. You may ask, what do I sing or praise? Lift up a tune, even if it doesn’t sound good to you, it’s received as incense to the Lord. Sing His goodness in your life, His greatness in creation, in His salvation and in His wisdom. You may even have a mental block at first. This doesn’t matter. Repeat phrases of your love for Him. It is beautiful to His ears.
“Give unto the Lord...” There is only one God and one Lord. There is no other. Although David went through rough times and times when he waivered, he never abandoned his love for the Lord. Even in those times, he upheld his love for and honor for the Lord. David says give Him the glory that is due Him. To Him is due all honor, all praise and all worship. It’s through Him and by Him that all things are. There are no other gods worthy of praise. Nothing in this world or the unseen world of God is worthy of praise and adoration, but Him.
What does it mean to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness? Some translations have translated the word beauty to splendor. This involves reverential fear. One translation says “...tremble before Him...” “O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.” (Psalms 96:9) We worship in reverential fear because He is God. Paul wrote: “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2Corinthians 7:1) It’s not our perfecting holiness, but the work of God in us through His provision of ministries, His Word and the Holy Spirit. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13) It’s recognizing this and submitting to it, whatever the perceived cost to us.
We come to the issue of surrender to the Lord in this lesson again. It’s a surrender to the Lord because He is God and worthy above all things. This surrender is praise and worship in the sight of God just as beautiful to Him as David’s singers and musicians singing continually. It’s a type of worship that recognizes His greatness and work in us when we surrender in the beauty of holiness, holiness wrought by His work, holiness that is worthy of Him and holiness that is acceptable to Him.
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