Verse Text: “He is good; his love endures forever.” (5:13)
The song “Lord, let your glory fall” is taken from the book of 2 Chronicles, chapters 5 to 7. I think this must be one of the most powerful and inspiring examples of congregational worship in the Bible. The work for the temple had all been done, and in an amazing procession, they brought the ark of the Lord into the temple. It was an occasion that those present would never have forgotten for the rest of their lives. There were 120 priests sounding trumpets, cymbal, singers, and other instruments. It must have been the best band they’d ever heard! The trumpeters and singers joined in unison and sang, “He is good; his love endures forever.” (5:13) It would have been an amazing sound. And yet, that wasn’t the thing that impressed itself upon their hearts the most that day. The life-changing event that day happened next: “... the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.” (5:14) The priests were totally overwhelmed by the cloud of God’s presence, so much so that they couldn’t continue to perform their services. Solomon went on to pray a powerful prayer of dedication. But that’s not the end of this awesome encounter. Fire comes down from heaven and consumes the burnt offering and sacrifices. The glory of the Lord fills the temple again (7:1), yet this time seemingly even more powerful, because not only can the priests not carry on ministering, they can’t even enter the temple of the Lord (7:2).
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The people worshipped again, sang the song again, made more sacrifices, and the trumpets started up once more.This is a section the bible we’ve often returned to at our church. That’s where the song, “Lord, let your glory fall” grew from. It’s recalling that ancient day where God met his people so powerfully, and asking that we might see something of that here and now, as God’s people in church. That we might know what it really is to bring meaningful sacrifices before Him, and that we might also know what it really means to be enveloped in the cloud of God’s presence. That’s what I love about these chapters – it shows congregational worship as an exciting, powerful encounter. It’s a 2-way event. Notice the cycle that seems to happen – God’s people respond to who He is, and then the cloud of His presence comes down. They can’t help but respond again, and He seems to inhabit their praises even more powerfully. Again, this makes them want to worship Him even more, and they throw their hearts into yet more songs, music and sacrifices. This is the wonderful, gracious pattern of worship that God invites us to enter into as His people.
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