WORSHIP

Oh, WORSHIP the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth” – Psalm 96:9

WORSHIP is so worthy our meditation on it spills over into a second day! Yesterday we focused on ‘What,’ today on the ‘How’ and ‘Why.’ Psalm 95:6 says, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.” The Psalms consist of hundreds of poetic anthems used in Israel’s religious celebrations that clearly instructed them how to worship God. Worship in the Old Testament often had a corporate expression, which was meant to encourage God’s people to serve him faithfully in their individual lives (Isa.1:10-17). Although the NT rarely applies the specific word “worship” to Christian meetings, prayer, praise, breaking of bread, and submission to God’s will were central to congregational gatherings (Acts 2:42-47; 4:23-37; Eph.5:18-20; Col.3:16-17). Worship, to us, is therefore an expression of the total life-response.

In the New Testament, the main word used for Worship depicts an attitude of submission based on profound reverence.  Worship in the Bible is always demonstrated by doing something, such as bowing down prostrate on the ground or lifting up holy hands. Much more, it must be an action that shows how much God is valued. Worship is a way of showing “worth-ship.” We worship God because He is God! Worship is also often connected with giving a sacrifice. We show how much we value God by what we are willing to give up having Him: in terms of time, attention, respect, loyalty, love, devotion, and material things (Psa. 96: 7-8). We must “give to the LORD the Glory due to His name” – the Glory He deserves (v8). Worship is to honour Him with extravagant love and extreme submission. Acceptable worship flows “in the beauty of holiness”!

True worship is defined by the priority we place on who He is in our lives and where He is on our list of priorities. It is a matter of the heart expressed through a lifestyle of holiness. If your lifestyle does not express the beauty of holiness through an extravagant love for God, and you do not live in absolute submission to Him, then there is still room for you to make worship a non-negotiable priority in your life. Singing to God is an important aspect of corporate worship, but it is not the supreme or only way of expressing devotion to God. Worship is not the slow song that the choir sings. It is more than the amount you place in the offering bag or volunteering in a church department. These may be acts or expressions of worship, but they do not define what true worship really is.

Why worship God? It is very proper to thank God for all the things He has done for us. However, worship is shallow if it is only an acknowledgement of God's wealth (Psa.96:5-6).  We do not worship God only for what He does or can do for us. Our worship must be toward the One who is worthy simply because of His Identity as the Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent King, and not just because He is wealthy, able to meet our needs or answer our prayers. We must worship God more for His worthiness than for His wonders or “wealthiness”! The primary promise is that when we worship God with profuse love and extreme submission, He will come and commune with us (v.13). What a privilege to have God come!