Praise out of the Holy Place

2 Chronicles 5:1-14 

1 So all the work that Solomon had done for the house of the LORD was finished; and Solomon brought in the things which his father David had dedicated: the silver and the gold and all the furnishings. And he put them in the treasuries of the house of God.

    2 Now Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, in Jerusalem, that they might bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD up from the City of David, which is Zion. 3 Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with the king at the feast, which was in the seventh month. 4 So all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark. 5 Then they brought up the ark, the tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up. 6 Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him before the ark, were sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude. 7 Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. 8 For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. 9 The poles extended so that the ends of the poles of the ark could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. 10 Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they had come out of Egypt.

    11 And it came to pass when the priests came out of the Most Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without keeping to their divisions), 12 and the Levites who were the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets— 13 indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying:

    "For He is good,
    For His mercy endures forever,"

that the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.

Such praise came from the servants as the priests came from the Most Holy Place, the holy of holies where the Ark of God’s covenant of mercy was placed!  Solomon had finished the house of God, the tabernacle turned temple, and furnished it with precious things to honor the LORD as He directed to Moses and king David.  Then he had gathered all the leaders together to bring the Ark into its rightful place of honor in glorious holiness behind the veil.  They sacrificed innumerable multitudes of sheep and oxen and praised the LORD with trumpet and voice, sanctified and singing to serve Him wholeheartedly!  They added a string section and percussion to back the singers in joyful adoration and thanksgiving.  Those worshiping so thankfully sang of the eternal goodness and the mercy of the Lord, and God responded by shaking the house with His cloud of the glory of the LORD.  The cloud of God’s revealed glory made it impossible to continue ministry as they were engulfed in that glory!  Do we realize His presence in and among us as we gather in the beauty of holiness to worship Christ our Lord and our Father in heaven by the Spirit filling each of us with His glory as if the cloud told of in this passage?  Our joy should respond to His indwelling presence in each of us and in us as we gather in His name by such awestruck wonder at His majesty and in His merciful goodness of grace in Christ!  We should be singing, He is good for His mercy is eternal, enduring forever.  This is our praise as we come out of the holy place where we meet Him in worship, especially since Jesus has torn the separating veil of works to earn salvation that He may give us access by freely-given reconciling grace to the Father now. Amen and amen.