LESSON NEWEST

Worship That Never Ends

Memory Text: “I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being” (Psalm 104:33).

As our experience of God’s grace and power increases, we are prompted to ask with the psalmist:

“What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” (Ps. 116:12). The inevitable reply is to devote one’s life to being faithful to God.

Praising the Lord in the congregation is ideal worship. The individual’s worship of God feeds the communal worship (Ps. 22:22,25).

SUNDAY March 17 Lift Up Your Hands in the Sanctuary

Read Psalm 134.

Where is the worship offered here?

Psalm 134:1

“Who by night stand in the house of the LORD!”

Does it mean we are to worship God only when we attend church?

No because by faith in Christ we are now in the heavenly places or in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary:

Eph 2:6 ...

What is the outcome of the worship of the Lord?

The short Psalm 134 three times encourages us to “bless the Lord”

What does it mean to “bless the Lord”?

When we read in the Bible that we all were blessed by God in Christ we can understand it (through Christ’s life and death God gave us forgiveness eternal life, and peace).

But what does it mean that we should bless the Lord?

If blessing means to give something that would make God exceedingly happy, what we can give God to make Him so happy?

There is only one thing that He wants us to give Him to make Him so happy. What is it?

It is our faith in Him, trust but especially our hearts!

In addition, to Bless the Lord = praise the Lord:

“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” (Psalm 34:1)

“Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever” (Psalm 145:1–2)

Read Psalm 18:1; Psalm 36:1; Psalm 113:1; Psalm 134:1, 2; and Psalm 135:1, 2. How are the worshipers depicted (described) here?

The Psalms often depict the worshipers as the servants of the Lord “who by night stand in the house of the Lord” (Ps. 134:1)

“by night” (idiom) = at night, during the night

“stand” = pray (watch) Jews prayed in standing position

We are to pray praising the Lord day and night

Why?

Matthew 26:40-41 “Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”.

We are to pray and praise the Lord for His love, the salvation, freedom, and victory over sin day and night (at least one hour).

We are to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) because we have 2 deadly enemies that are much stronger than us.

1. Army of invisible demons

2. The law of sin and selfishness and death in us

It refers to the night guard of the Levites (1 Chron. 9:23−27) or to the praise that was offered to God by the Levites both day and night (1 Chron. 9:33).

“Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:4,5).

What we see here, in the words of Peter, is a New Testament expression of the same ideas presented in these psalms, that of God’s people, now a holy priesthood, offering praise and thanksgiving to their Lord Jesus Christ, their Creator and Redeemer, for all the good things that He had done for them.

2 Peter 1:4

‌”Exceedingly great and precious promises (were given to us), that through them we may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

As New Testament believers, we, also, have a priestly role in that we are called to mediate the good news of the gospel to the world. What are the most effective ways we can do this?

PRAYER UNTIL LORD ANSWERS

MONDAY March 18 Sing to the Lord a New Song

Read Psalm 33:3, Psalm 40:3, Psalm 96:1, Psalm 98:1, Psalm 144:9, and Psalm 149:1. What is the common motif in these texts?

Read Isaiah 42:10–12, Revelation 5:9, and Revelation 14:3. What can we infer about the “new song” from these biblical texts?

PSALM 96:1-3

1 Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth. (not only chosen but all the world should sing to the Lord and praise Him for salvation John 3:16)

2 Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

3 Declare His glory among the nations.

What is the new song all about?

- Good news of salvation! (Not good advice but good news!)

How many people should sing this song of salvation?

- All the earth! It means salvation is for all! (2Cor 5.21)

What is the second aspect this new song includes?

- God's glory!

What is it? When Moses asked God to show him His glory, what did God do?

Exodus 34:6

6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth...

What is God's glory? It is His character and agape.

What is the highest level of revealing God’s love?

“Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute you that you may be sons of your Father in heaven… Therefore be perfect as your Father...”

The new song is to be sung by 144,000. Revelation 14:1-4

It is also named the song of Moses and the Lamb... Dwell on God’s blessings in your life. If you were to sing a new song, what would it be?

TUESDAY March 19 Lord, Who May Abide in Your Tabernacle? Read Psalm 15

Who are the people worthy of worshipping in God’s presence?

This question is synonymous with the question, who can be saved?

According to the Law, only perfect in keeping the law can live forever and the wages of any sin is death. If we don’t keep the law perfectly we are under the curse!!!:

Gal 3:10

YOUNG RICH MAN THOUGHT HE WAS PERFECT ...

...

Read Psalm 24:3–6 and Psalm 101:1–3

What does it mean to be holy?

Perfectly righteous

How we can be perfectly righteous?

1Cor 1:30

How can we make conscious choices to avoid the things that push us away from God?

What are some of those things, and how can we avoid doing them?

WEDNESDAY March 20 Declare His Glory Among the Nations Read Psalm 96

What manifold aspects of worship are mentioned in this psalm?

Worship includes:

- singing to the Lord (Ps. 96:1, 2) NEW SONG,

- Declaring His glory among the nations (Ps 96:3)

- bringing gifts to His temple (Ps. 96:8)

- proclaiming good news of His salvation from day to day (Ps 96:2)

Worship springs from the inward recognition of who the Lord is...

God is love.

Compare this psalm with the three angels’ messages (Rev. 14:6–12).

In what ways does it teach the same basic truths as does this end-time message that we are to proclaim to the world?

proclaiming good news of His salvation from day to day (Ps 96:2)

Rev 14:6 “I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people”.

THURSDAY March 21 When God Does Not Delight in Sacrifices? Read Psalm 40:6–8, Psalm 50:7–23, and Psalm 51:16–19

What important issue do these texts address?

Why does God not delight in the sacrifices that He prescribed in His Word (Exod. 20:2)?

Psalms are not preaching against sacrifice and worship but against empty worship, outward expression of worship and the correct inner motivation for worship.

Read John 4:23-24

“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

What point is Jesus making here that fits exactly with what the psalms for today are warning about?

Jesus, quoting Isaiah, expressed it like this:

“These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matt. 15:8).

How can we make sure that we, as Adventists, with all this light and knowledge, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that merely knowing truth and going through the rituals of the truth is enough?