Worship & Praise
A Call to Worship
Psalm 95: 1-8a (ESV)
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts…
The word worship is derived from the Old English weordhscipe meaning worthiness; it is giving God the recognition He deserves. We do not worship because God needs our praise, but because it is good for us to praise Him; to recognize who He is.
1 Chronicles 16:24-25a
Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised...
Psalm 7:17 (NKJV)
I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the Lord.
Psalms 34:1-3 (ESV)
I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!
(Blessing the Lord is both reflexive and reflective; He showers blessings upon us, we return them in worship and praise.)
Psalm 86:12
I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.
Psalm 95:1, 6-7a
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God...
Psalm 140:13
Surely the righteous will praise your name...
Psalm 147:1
Praise ye the Lord; for it is good to sing praises unto our God.
Hebrews 12:28b, 13:15a
Let us be thankful and worship God acceptably with reverence and awe...let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise...
Rev. James Smith, predecessor of Charles Spurgeon at New Park Street Chapel in London (1841–1850), in Daily Bible Readings for the Lord’s Household
John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The true worshipper is quickened by the Holy Spirit, and taught to see the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ. He is sincere in his service, simple in his language, and hearty in his petitions and adorations. He only approaches God through Christ, he pleads the atonement for his acceptance, he throws his heart open before God, and means just what he says.
The greatness of God awes him; the goodness of God draws him; the mercy of God humbles him; the grace of God emboldens him; and he worships in faith, fear, and love. He believes God’s word, fears God’s displeasure, and loves God’s character. There is no pretense about him, for he hates hypocrisy, and worships in sincerity and truth.
Dionysius of Areopagite The Cloud of Unknowing
I beseech Thee so for to cleanse the intent of mine heart with the unspeakable gift of Thy grace, that I may perfectly love Thee and worthily praise Thee.
Stephen Charnock
Worship is an act of the understanding, applying itself to the knowledge of the excellency of God, and actual thoughts of his majesty...It is also an act of the will, whereby the soul adores and reverenceth his majesty, is ravished with his amiableness, embraceth his goodness, enters itself into an intimate communion with this most lovely object, and pitcheth all his affections upon him.
"Exposition of John 4:24"
God is a Spirit infinitely happy, therefore we must approach Him with cheerfulness; He is a Spirit of infinite majesty, therefore we must come before Him with reverence; He is a Spirit infinitely high, therefore we must offer up our sacrifices with deepest humility; He is a Spirit infinitely holy, therefore we must address Him with purity; He is a Spirit infinitely glorious, we therefore must acknowledge His excellency...He is a Spirit infinitely provoked by us, therefore we must offer up our worship in the name of a pacifying mediator and intercessor.
F.B. Meyer on Psalm 147
There is a difference between praise and thanksgiving. We thank God for what He has done for us; we praise Him for what He is in Himself.
J.C. Ryle Worship: Its Priority, Principles, and Practice
https://bibleportal.com/author/j.c.-ryle/book/worship-its-priority-principles-and-practice
A.W. Tozer
Whatever Happened to Worship?
God has provided His salvation that we might be, individually and personally, vibrant children of God, loving God with all our hearts and worshiping Him in the beauty of His holiness.
No worship is wholly pleasing to God until there is nothing in me displeasing to God.
That Incredible Christian
The Triune God with all of His mystery and majesty is ours and we are His, and eternity will not be long enough to experience all that He is of goodness, holiness and truth. In heaven they rest not day or night in their ecstatic worship of the Godhead. We profess to be headed for that place; shall we not begin now to worship on earth as we shall do in heaven?
Thomas Case A Treatise on Afflictions
Lip-praise is good, but life-praise is better.
Isaac Watts on Psalm 146 “I’ll Praise My Maker”, The Psalms of David, 1719
http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/l/illprais.htm
I’ll praise my Maker while I’ve breath,
And when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers;
My days of praise shall ne’er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
Or immortality endures.
Isaac Watts “Great God, How Infinite Art Thou!”
Great God, how infinite art Thou!
What worthless worms are we!
Let the whole race of creatures bow,
And pay their praise to Thee.
Thy throne eternal ages stood,
Ere seas or stars were made:
Thou art the ever living God,
Were all the nations dead.
Nature and time quite naked lie
To Thine immense survey,
From the formation of the sky
To the great burning day.
Eternity, with all its years,
Stands present in Thy view;
To Thee there’s nothing old appears;
Great God! There’s nothing new.
Our lives through various scenes are drawn,
And vexed with trifling cares;
While Thine eternal thought moves on
Thine undisturbed affairs.
Great God, how infinite art Thou!
What worthless worms are we!
Let the whole race of creatures bow,
And pay their praise to Thee.
Joachim Neander
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration.
Praise to the Lord, who over all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully, wondrously, made thee;
Health hath vouchsafed and, when heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.
Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.
Praise to the Lord, who, when tempests their warfare are waging,
Who, when the elements madly around thee are raging,
Biddeth them cease, turneth their fury to peace,
Whirlwinds and waters assuaging.
Praise to the Lord, who, when darkness of sin is abounding,
Who, when the godless do triumph, all virtue confounding,
Sheddeth His light, chaseth the horrors of night,
Saints with His mercy surrounding.
Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.
Sir John Bowring Matins and Vespers: With Hymns and Occasional Devotional Pieces, 1824
(Morning and evening prayers and praise)