Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.-1 Chronicles 16:8-11
This is the beginning portion of the first praise song that was written after the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem. You should notice several things that stand out immediately when you read this passage. The first thing that you should notice is the writers constant call for us to praise God. Why would the writer constantly remind us to praise? Is praising God actually necessary? Yes praising God is necessary because it shows our gratitude for the things that God has done for us. The second thing you will notice is that the writer is, also, constantly talking about seeking God. In fact he says, “let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice”, and then he says, “seek his face always”. What is all this talk about seeking God mean? Is God lost and are we trying to find him? No God is not lost, but we are trying to find him because we, as a result of our sinful nature, have forgotten about God. So when the writer is telling us to seek God, he is reminding us to ever mindful of God’s presence in our lives and to be actively looking to do his will for our lives.