GOD’S WORD AND HIS WORSHIP (2)

“Give to the Lord the glory due to His name; bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, WORSHIP the Lord in the beauty of holiness!”– 1 Chronicles 16: 29b-30

Living by the Word will be incomplete without sound Insight into GOD’S WORD and HIS WORSHIP: “Give to the Lord the GLORY due to His name; bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, WORSHIP the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. The world also is firmly established, it shall not be moved. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns” (1Chr.16:29-31). Worship is a dominant theme from Genesis to Revelation because the God who created all things and redeemed us in Christ is worthy to receive all glory, honour, praise, service, and respect.

Essentially, Worship is ascribing Glory to God: “GIVE to the LORD the GLORY due to His name; BRING an offering…” Whereas the typical attitude of selfish humanity is to ask, request, and take, Worship is about giving and bringing things of Value to God – Glory, Honour, Praise, Majesty, Dominion – not because He lacks any of these, but He is worthy of all the attributions. God is Perfect (Mt.5:48). Nothing can make Him more righteous, more loving, or more holy. Our Worship does not make Him bigger, better, holier, or more glorious; it’s more of a privilege and honour for or us to be counted among those who can commune with and ascribe Glory to the God of the Whole Universe. “All the earth” tremble before Him; and “the heavens rejoice”!

It's a peerless privilege for Man to latch on to the opportunity to be worshipful of the Almighty. God is Perfect in Knowledge: “Do you know how the clouds are balanced, those wondrous works of Him who is PERFECT in KNOWLEDGE? (Job 37:16). He cannot learn anything new, for He already knows everything. God cannot grow in any of His attributes, including His Glory. We cannot increase the inherent Glory of His Being, neither can it be diminished. However, we can – and we are called to – ascribe Glory to God. This involve honouring the Name of the Lord and treating Him with the reverence He is owed. In so doing, we are making Hi Glory known to the world the more. We do not ascribe Glory to God for His sake, but for our sake and for the sake of the world.

Worship is glorifying God for Who He is, the ONLY ONE worthy of our Praise – worthy to be worshipped! Our devotional text explains several ways that we can ascribe Glory to God. We do so by bringing Him offerings (v.29) – not of animals as under the old covenant, but of ourselves as living sacrifices (Rom.12: 1-2). This testifies that He has made us and has Lordship over us. We also ascribe Glory to the Lord in our reverence and fear of Him (vv.29-30). This is what Psalm 95:6 described: “Let us WORSHIP and BOW down; let us KNEEL before the LORD our Maker.” Worship is rendered to that which we believe is greater than we are. By worshipping the one True God, we acknowledge His unsurpassed greatness; the nations are thus directed to His Great Glory!

We ascribe Glory to God by thanking Him for His goodness, and all people are thereby reminded that He is the Source of all good things: “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (v.34). James 1: 16-17 affirms this truth. Finally, we ascribe Glory to the Lord by proclaiming His Sovereignty and living like we mean it, that is, by following His Royal Law – His Word: “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; and let them say among the nations, “THE LORD REIGNS” (v.31). The Lord shines His Glory in and through people who are committed to His Rule and Reign. May we be among such, in Jesus’ name!