Today I have been musing over something I had heard said at Bethel.... that God inhabits (or dwells in) the praises of His people. I decided to look it up in the bible and find the reference. Psalm 22 v3.
It reads deffiernlty in different versions:
- American Standardized Version - But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
- Amplified - But You are holy, O You Who dwell in [the holy place where] the praises of Israel [are offered].
- New Living Translation - Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
I am so moved by this verse. There 7 Hebrew words used for Praise in the bible; the one used in this passage is 'tehillot' which means to sing songs and hymns in the spirit. So when we sing songs in the spirit God actually dwells, or inhabits in those praises and He is enthroned in them. How awesome is that!
Now I see why we hear angels as we worship God, why things like the
Glory Cloud appear... God is dwelling and being enthroned through our
praises.
We want God to dwell in our churches... in our houses, in our hearts... so we need to be singing praises in the spirit to Him. We have such a responsibly as worship leaders to allow time for (and encourage people) to sing in the spirit. Wow.
