A look at worship from Psalms 29.
Introduction
The book of Psalms was the Israelites worship song book. Consisting of 150 beautiful hymns written by various songwriters including Solomon, David, the Sons of Korah as well as Asaph, the Psalms had one key theme: worship of the LORD God of Israel.
Today, as we turn to Psalms 29 we will answer a few questions that will allow us to understand the heart of worship. Very often we find that we get caught up in the atmosphere of worship, but we often forget the crux of worship.
What is worship?
Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, Give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. (Verse 1)
When we read psalms of praise by David, the term “Ascribe to the Lord” often comes up. The term “ascribe” in the Bible is the Hebrew word yahab, which means “to give.”
So what does it mean to give to the LORD glory and strength, the glory due to his name?
Taking a closer look at the word, we learn that ascribe does not just entail a physical giving, but an accreditation and acknowledgement. In essence, David teaches us that worship is acknowledging God as glorious and powerful.
Pfft. Isn’t that easy? I wonder about that. As we progress through life, how many times do we ever think of God as someone glorious or powerful? How many times do we even think about God at all? We claim to follow Christ, but we live our lives as if it is our own business and not God’s. Acknowledgement is not just about saying God is great. If we recognize that God is great, there will be a paradigm shift in our mindset.
If God is glorious, then He deserves my attention even when I am in a bottleneck.
If God is strong, then I can trust in Him even if I find myself lacking.
"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so you may be careful to do everything written in it." Joshua 1:8
How many of us do ponder over these facts?
Who do we worship?
...The voice of the Lord is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The Lord is over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, Yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon. He makes them also skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; The Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth, And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!” (verses 2-9)
A.W. Tozer once said “The first thing that comes to mind about God is the most important thing about you.” So, what do we think about God? We get a glimpse of God in the verses 2 to 9.
This image of God is unfamiliar to many of us: ruling with full superior might and power over nature, destroying and taming nations at his whim. Is this the same God that we sing about at church? He’s terrifying! Yet, this is the same God that we sing wimpy love songs to while jumping like monkeys in church.
Does this form of worship make sense? Isaiah’s response would be more realistic:
“Woe is me!... I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, yet my eyes have seen King, the LORD Almighty.” Isaiah 6:8
The God of the Bible is not just a loving Father, He is also the King of Reality itself. All that we have and do not have belongs to him; in fact, all that we are is His. Some of us think that because we are “children of God”, we can claim everything we want from God – from wealth and health, to spiritual fruit and personal growth? What is the difference between such a mindset of a spoilt child making a scene at the toy department?
How should we worship?
The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood, And the Lord sits as King forever. The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace. (Verses 10-11)
At the end of the Psalm, the Psalmist concludes with a scene in the Throne Room of throne rooms – God enthroned over everything as King, and reciprocally displaying His favour to His people. (v10-11) A king is the ruler of his respective nation; it is his duty to protect and bring his nation to prosperity. At the same time, he is there to crush all that opposes him and his people.
As we conclude, the question we have to ask is this: is God our King? If He is our king, then it is our duty to recognize his authority to shape our lives according to His word, and to daily leave our choices to Him. If He is not, then we should resolve to face him as opponents. Either we are citizens of the Most High, or we are the opposing army at Armageddon. There is no in between.
Which side are you on?
References:
1. Worship Words: “Ascribe” (https://www.theworshipcommunity.com/worship-words-ascribe/)
2. “Worship the Lord in the Splendor of His Holiness.” Kek, Peter, Pr; Grace Reformed Church, 7th March 2021.
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