May the mumbling commence!
Yesterday, we spoke of proper worship. Today, we will look at some words for worship
that David wrote that are recorded in First Chronicles chapter sixteen:
Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!
Each day proclaim the good news that
he saves.
Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.
Tell everyone
about the amazing things he does.
Great is the Lord!
He is most worthy of praise!
He is to be revered above all gods.
The gods of other nations are merely idols,
but the Lord made the heavens!
Honor and majesty surround him;
strength and beauty are
in his dwelling.
O nations of the world, recognize the Lord,
recognize that the Lord
is glorious and strong.
Give to the Lord
the glory he deserves!
Bring
your offering and come to worship him.
Worship the Lord
in all his holy splendor.
Let all the earth tremble before him.
The
world is firmly established and cannot be shaken.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth
rejoice!
Tell
all the nations that the Lord
is king.
Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
Let the
fields and their crops burst forth with joy!
Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise before the Lord!
For
he is coming to judge the earth.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
Cry out, "Save us, O God of our
salvation!
Gather and rescue us from among the nations,
so we can thank your holy name and rejoice
and praise you."
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
And all the people shouted "Amen!" and praised
the LORD. (Verses 23-36)
It is a song that all creation is called to sing. It is a song of good news that God saves (the
meaning of Jesus’ name). Proclaim this
good news. Sing it. Publish it.
Tell everyone.
And recognize the greatness of our Lord. Give our God glory. Bring offerings and worship the Lord.
Everyone and everything else is praising the Lord. Are we going to hold back or are we going to
join with reckless abandon the concert of praise? Join in with joy and thanksgiving. Shout it.
Raise the roof! Amen and amen.
How does this look in our lives? It means a whole new way of living – the Way
of Christ Jesus as led by the Holy Spirit of the living God. Read from Romans chapter eight:
But you are not controlled by your sinful
nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you.
(And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them
are not Christians at all.) Since Christ lives
within you, even though your body will die because of sin, your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the
dead, lives in you. And just as he raised Christ from the dead, he will give
life to your mortal body by this same Spirit living within you.
So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no
obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you keep on following it, you will perish. But if through
the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are
children of God. (Verses 9-14)
The Holy Spirit of God empowers us to turn from our old
evil ways. For the first time, we will
be living through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Everything before that baptism that we
thought was living will be revealed as nothing but a pale substitute… a lie… a deception.
Yes, proper worship happens at our meeting places on
Sunday morning, but proper worship also guides the way we live from Sunday to
Saturday.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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