Anyway, rather than link it, I've shared it below in its entirety. To put it in context, David was preparing the way for his son Solomon to: (a) take over as King; and (b) build the new Temple to honour our God. At the end of the passage I'll mention how it spoke to me.
David’s Prayer of Praise
Then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly: “O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength. “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace. “O Lord our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you! I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously. “O Lord, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes. Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.” Then David said to the whole assembly, “Give praise to the Lord your God!” And the entire assembly praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and knelt before the Lord and the king.The passage spoke to me in a number of ways (many of them just reinforcing what I suppose I already know, but I needed the inspiration at this time):
- We must keep on praising the Lord for ever and ever, regardless of the circumstances.
- Everything good comes from Him.
- We are here (on earth) for only a moment, so we should make the most of it.
- One of my poor motives for my recent anger was that I almost felt like we were owed some respite, because we had been faithful servants (especially in more recent times). The words, "...you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there..." made me realise the priority of putting Him first in our lives and living with integrity is not to expect a favour in return from Him because we can't give to Him what he has already showered upon us. His rejoicing and grace should be sufficient for me.
- It reinforced to me just how much our dear brothers and sisters from different parts of the globe continue to give their time and energy "willingly" to uphold us. This means more than I can express in a few (or many) sentences.
- Funnily enough, at the time—like the assembly—I was kneeling before our Lord in recognition of who He is, and what He does for each of us (even for those of you who don't know Him nor realise it) every day.
- I joyously await the day when the people of this world collectively bow in praise before the Lord.
