Psalm 147-150 Worship Is All About God, Not Me

This book ends with a bang!  God shows us how to praise Him.  In 147, my commentary picked up three reasons why people then should praise the Lord – His people had been restored, the land had been restored, and the Word had been revealed. 

Some awesome truths were seen in 148:  “The sun, moon, and stars praise God simply by doing what they were commanded to do … The hosts of heaven praise the Lord simply because He made them and gave them the privilege of serving Him and His people and bringing glory to His name.  We have many more reasons for praising Him, and yet too often we do not do it!”

In 149, I read, “Everything that God’s people do in serving and glorifying the Lord must flow out of worship, for without Him we can do nothing.  The most important activity of the local church is the worship of God.”

I read about worshipping the Lord fervently:  “Spiritual fervency must not be confused with fleshly enthusiasm … some people who think they are filled with the Spirit are really being fooled by the spirits…. Our purpose is not to please ourselves or to demonstrate how spiritual we are.  Our purpose is to delight the Lord, and humility is one virtue that brings Him great joy … Worship must focus on God, not on us, and it must be enrichment, not entertainment … The church must take worship very seriously and realize that worship is a part of the believer’s spiritual warfare.  To ignore worship, trivialize it, turn it into entertainment, or make it a routine activity is to play right into the hands of the enemy … Worship is not about the worshipper and his or her needs; it is about God and His power and glory.  Certainly we bring our burdens and needs with us into the sanctuary, but we focus our attention on the Lord.”

Father, thank You for reminding me what worship and praise is all about.  Not about me, but You!

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford