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Why Worship
Psalms 146:1-147:20 |
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Some people go through life like Calvin, the obnoxious little seven-year-old in the comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin is the prototype for Mudville. If you recall that old poem “Casey at the Bat” – there was no joy in Mudville, because “…mighty Casey had struck-out.” Now, Calvin has a sense of humor, but it is all cynical and gruesome. There is no joy connected with the humor. It is as unwanted as the faces of those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, but live life as sour as a lemon dropped in pickle juice! On the other hand there are folks like Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who, I’m certain never heard of Calvin. He once said, “Praise is the honey of life which a devout heart extracts from every bloom of providence and grace.” How different the two outlooks on life! Praise is the act of worship most required of humans toward God Almighty. Yet it is often the missing quality of so-called worship services. In the Bible the word “worship” appears in only a few forms. One word literally means “to serve”, and it is where the term worship service originated. Another word is “dox-a”, meaning “to give glory”. We sing “the doxology”…Praise God from whom all blessings flow…. A third, most prominent word in the New Testament carries the meaning of “to kiss towards”, as in bending before a king to kiss his ring. This is the center of true praise and worship. We have a King; we bow to kiss towards His throne. Worship is one of only two valid reasons for a church to exist (the other being evangelism). The Psalter (Book of Psalms) constitutes the original worship and praise book for God’s people. Psalm 146 and 147 neatly answer the questions: WHAT…WHY…HOW?
What is Worship?
My soul is the beginning point of praise. I cannot
praise God, except that I have been changed in my heart, by His
grace. Without a spiritual relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ
there is no way to please God.
External praise
Psalm 146:2a Vital praise Psalm 146:2b I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. Singing, in this context, has little to do with correctly hitting those little spots on the lines and spaces. To sing is to bring forth the innermost of who we are as people, created for a holy God. The songs of a people or a culture, tell the pulse of who those people really are.
Our black brothers and sisters sing of trouble and
struggle. Whatever your view of racism and the plight of minorities,
it is hard to miss the sorrow that formed the blues and jazz. Jesus
said, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth
from the heart. In David’s day they sang these Psalms. The choir would sing the words of the praise, and the congregation would echo back HALLELUJAH! Like the cheerleaders want the crowds at a football game to shout back the letters to spell out the home team’s name, the worship leader says the praise, the people echo the praises back towards heaven. We tend to be stodgy, bordering on downright comatose in our “worship” when we refuse to be enthusiastic. We become like the church that had a visitor. The services were always rigid and formal. The minister quietly and systematically read his sermon. He made the mistake of saying something about Jesus being our only Lord and Savior. The visitor said, “Amen.” Everyone was stunned…the minister almost lost his place when he looked up to see what had happened. He continued reading, and the fellow said, “Amen” a second time. The usher got to him this time; “Sir, you have to be quiet.” But later in the service the minister commented on a great truth about the gospel, and the man this time shouted, “AMEN! AMEN!!” This time the usher said, “Sir, if you don’t be quiet, you will have to leave the service.” The man said, “But, I got Jesus, man.” To which the usher replied rather aristocratically, “Yes, indeed…we see. But you didn’t get Him here!” What is worship? Psalm 146 is a hymn written by King David, an individual who had been helped by the Lord. We have something in common with the king; we are all pilgrims who stumble – we are all in need of help. And God is the Great Helper! It’s something that ought to create praise…internally, externally and vitally! Question #1…What is Worship? The offering of praise from the inside out! Why Worship? Because we have a God Psalm 146:3-10
Aside from the obvious, that the Lord is worthy, and He is God [and we are not], and therefore worthy of praise…if He never gave us anything, He is also a God who can be trusted. He is faithful, THE Creator. His providence feeds us, supplies all, loves, lifts, protects. We have a God! Harold Bosley was a great Methodist preacher. When he was a young student at the University of Chicago, he and a few other students went to a black church on the outskirts of the city. They were having a panel discussion of four speakers representing different approaches to the problems of life. One of the speakers was Dr. Charles Gilkey, chaplain at the university. Another was Clarence Darrow, the famous atheist lawyer, who had defended the schoolteacher in the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial. If you recall, Darrow’s opponent was William Jennings Bryan. The issue was whether evolution could be taught in the public schools. Was he successful – well just consider that we can no longer expect our children to hear anything of creation…it’s all evolution in the public schools. God has been evicted. On this particular panel debate when Clarence Darrow spoke, he played on the emotions of the black people and their social misery. This was the heart of the depression – no money, jobs and little hope. He amplified their despair and frustrations. In one moment of eloquence Darrow questioned: But, I don’t understand it – you sing such great music – I have heard you singing here today – amid all the woes of life – how can you sing? What in the world do you have to sing about in the face of life like this? Darrow had asked a rhetorical question, he was neither wanting or expecting an answer; like a flash a woman stood up right in front of him and said, Why do we sing? What do we have to sing about? We have JESUS to sing about! They all shouted “amen”! Well, we have Jesus to sing and shout about! The singing, and the shouting, and anything else we do here [except the lifeless nodding-off during the sermon] is worship, and it’s because we have a God! |
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