Giving God his own stuff back.
This passage is phenomenal. I noticed a few things that I'd like to highlight.
First, David refers to "Abraham, Issac, and Israel" in this passage. Two times, in fact, he refers to Jacob as Israel. That is significant. To call him Jacob is to refer to him before God gave him a new name. David is aligning this prayer with the covenant-keeping God of Israel. David is rejoicing in God's faithfulness. In the midst of a prayer following a mighty offering given to the Lord, David is rejoicing, not in the people who just gave so sacrificially, but in God who keeps his covenant.
The second thing I noticed is that David led by example. He gave sacrificially.
The third thing I noticed is that, in order to pray a prayer like this, David had a perspective on giving that is totally foreign to me. His prayer is rooted in who God is. I would be so tempted to go one of two routes, either self-deprication ("O Lord, I know it's not much, but would you use it?") or self-glorification (Lord, we have laid all we have at your feet. We've done our part").
David does neither of these things. his prayer begins with the wonderful proclamation "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all." He again leads by example here. After giving a sizable amount (publicly), he immediately prays to the one far bigger than even his gift. He shows even the most smug religious person in the assembly, who thinks their gift made God happy, that the real giver in this story is God, who extends mercy and grace.
David doesn't give to make God smile. David gives as a result of God's smile. May we, who have the crystal clear picture of God's smile in the empty tomb, give as a inevitable result.
First, David refers to "Abraham, Issac, and Israel" in this passage. Two times, in fact, he refers to Jacob as Israel. That is significant. To call him Jacob is to refer to him before God gave him a new name. David is aligning this prayer with the covenant-keeping God of Israel. David is rejoicing in God's faithfulness. In the midst of a prayer following a mighty offering given to the Lord, David is rejoicing, not in the people who just gave so sacrificially, but in God who keeps his covenant.
The second thing I noticed is that David led by example. He gave sacrificially.
The third thing I noticed is that, in order to pray a prayer like this, David had a perspective on giving that is totally foreign to me. His prayer is rooted in who God is. I would be so tempted to go one of two routes, either self-deprication ("O Lord, I know it's not much, but would you use it?") or self-glorification (Lord, we have laid all we have at your feet. We've done our part").
David does neither of these things. his prayer begins with the wonderful proclamation "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all." He again leads by example here. After giving a sizable amount (publicly), he immediately prays to the one far bigger than even his gift. He shows even the most smug religious person in the assembly, who thinks their gift made God happy, that the real giver in this story is God, who extends mercy and grace.
David doesn't give to make God smile. David gives as a result of God's smile. May we, who have the crystal clear picture of God's smile in the empty tomb, give as a inevitable result.
