Worship (2)
Casting A Vision • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
What is your definition of worship? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines worship as “to honor or show reverence for as a divine being or supernatural power.” Interestingly, worship can be honoring or showing reverence for something other than a divine being or supernatural power. We can worship people, places and things. Worship could be seen as a time, like 10:45 on a Sunday morning. I want to be clear this morning to define worship as a means to express praise, thanksgiving, adoration, etc. to God. As a people of God, we need to be about worship. There are several passages in Scripture that give is directions in our worship. One example is Psalm 29:1-11
1 Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes
with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;
the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord twists the oaks
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.
This passage gives us four primary reasons to worship the Lord.
The Prominence of the Lord (vs. 1-2)
The Prominence of the Lord (vs. 1-2)
The very first word of verse one is “ascribe.” It means splendor, honor and reverence. We are are ASCRIBE to the Lord. We are to give Him splendor, honor and reverence. Three times in the first two verses, we are called to ascribe to the Lord. This should tell you about the prominence of the Lord. He is above all. I love what the writer of this Psalm does. He says, “ascribe to the Lord, O Mighty Ones.” There are two words in Hebrew that helps us understand the translation “mighty ones.” Ben el are the words and they mean great men, mighty heroes, or angelic beings. In fact, some newer translations use the words, “you heavenly beings.” I think in the context of this verse, we are looking at this being a reminder to the angels to worship the Lord. But, it is a reminder that you and can learn much from these heavenly beings. Here’s what I mean. There are three named angels in the Bible, Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer. Two of them are still in place, one is not. Jesus said one of them fell like lightening. He saw satan fall like lightening. He had instruments in him. He could sing better than any one or group you have ever heard. Instead of the worship coming through Him, that fallen angel chose to make the worship come to him. God kicked him out because no one is worthy of worship but the Living God. The reason the enemy hates you so much is because we have a choice whether to worship God or not. Satan is mad that he got kicked out for failing once. We fail over and over yet God still wants to hear from us! God is above all! We are to ascribe glory and strength to Him, not to us. He is almighty! We are to ascribe to Him the glory due to His Name. His name is about His reputation. He is a good, good Father. True worship reflects back to God His glory and splendor. God is Authority! His splendor and His holiness set Him apart. Our Lord is prominent and there is no god greater than He! The prominence of the Lord reveals the power of the Lord.
The Power of the Lord (vs. 3-9)
The Power of the Lord (vs. 3-9)
Verses 3-9 tell us about the voice of the Lord. We could go back to Genesis 1 where we see the first mention in the Bible of the voice of the Lord.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
But it doesn’t stop there. We see recorded in Genesis 1:6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26 instances of God speaking. God spoke and the world was created. His voice is dominant and that carries over into Psalm 29. It is over the waters. We are very familiar with how water can be destructive. A few weeks ago when a pipe busted downstairs, we had an enormous amount of damage in just a little amount of time. God’s voice is dominant over the destruction of the waters.
God’s voice is dynamic. We see in verse 4 that “The voice of the Lord is powerful.” Psalm 29:4
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
The word in Hebrew refers not just to power, but specifically to the power of God. It is majestic. It breaks cedars. Just His voice breaks the cedars! Cedars in the Bible days were used for making durable, longstanding items. Cedars were used to make strong sea worthy ships. David used cedar in his palace. Solomon used cedar in building the temple. Cedar was also used in purification. The Psalmist is saying here the voice of the Lord is dynamic and powerful over even the strongest things like cedar. Notice again verse 5:
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
The voice of the Lord can break up the things that are strongholds in your life! God can humble the proud in brokenness of heart. Through repentance the cedars will become like splinters!
The voice of the Lord is decisive. It makes creation respond. Psalm 29:6
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord cuts through like lightning.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes
with flashes of lightning.
The voice of the Lord moves over the wilderness.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;
the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
Because the voice of the Lord is dominant, dynamic and decisive, those in His temple cry out:
“Glory!”
The prominence of the Lord and the power of the Lord help us understand the place of the Lord.
The Place of the Lord (vs. 10)
The Place of the Lord (vs. 10)
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood. First, what does it mean that the Lord sits enthroned?
The word for enthroned is yashab. It means to inhabit, to dwell, and to abide. So what does God inhabit? Where does God dwell or abide? One of the greatest characteristics of God is that He is omnipresent. That means He is everywhere. If He is everywhere and He sits enthroned over the flood, that means that God is over the deluges in our lives. When God told Noah to build an ark, He said:
17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.
This reminds me that God is in control. If God is in control and He is over the floods that come my way, then not only can I trust Him, but I can worship Him! Again, this is a reminder that God has power over the most destructive forces of nature and He has power of my stuff as well!
We also see that God is enthroned forever. How long is forever? It is forever!!! The Hebrew word translated here means a continuous existence. It never ends. The Lord’s rule is forever! No wonder the composer George Frederic Handel got so excited when he compose the Hallelujah Chorus is his Messiah. “And He shall reign forever, and ever, Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”
Our God is enthroned! That is in itself is worthy to be worshiped!
We see the prominence of the Lord, the power of the Lord and the place of the Lord. So what does that mean for the people of the Lord?
The People of the Lord (vs. 12)
The People of the Lord (vs. 12)
11 The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.
You and I are given His strength. We are given His might, His boldness, and the ability to change the nation in which we belong for His glory! The Lord gives strength to His people fighting the storms and whirlwinds of life. The Lord grants us His blessing. He did not grant Satan His blessing. He kicked Satan out and banned him forever more! You and I are given the opportunity to be reunited in our fellowship with Him through His Son Jesus. What a blessing that is for us and oh how it should compel us to worship Him!
Lastly, we are gifted with His peace. Shalom. It is our completeness, our soundness, our welfare, our health, and our prosperity. What a beautiful way to close this passage of scripture. One writer puts it this way, “Closing with the word peace is like a rainbow arch over this Psalm.”
God comforts His people.
God calms His people.
God consoles His people.
So how do we respond to the commands of this passage as individuals and a church?
As individuals, I want to encourage you to regularly practice private worship. There ought to be specific times when you worship. Just you and God. You can read this Psalm and do what it says.
“I ascribe to You oh Lord! I ascribe glory and strength!”
Spend time naming the attributes of God in your personal worship time.
Sing songs of praise. Allow for His voice to speak mightily to you.
Spend time in confession and prayer. Spend time in thanksgiving. Worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.
As a church, make coming to the worship services a priority. Prepare by getting your heart and mind ready to hear from God. It might not come from a sermon, but it very well may come in a moment of quietness. Pray going into the time of corporate worship and celebrate who God is. Don’t put God in a box. (There was a great devotional about that in the newsletter this week!) Participate don’t anticipate. What I mean by that is that when we are active in worship, it doesn’t matter what is coming next. Join in prayer, singing, and listening. Pray in your spirit beyond the voiced prayers. Focus on the Lord and watch what happens!
Our experience as a people of worship, both individually and corporately, will help us cast vision and carry out the things of God. The more we put into it, the more we will get out of it and the more our Lord will be glorified!
Jack Hayford is a pastor, author and song writer. He is well known for the chorus “Majesty.”
In 1977 my wife Anna and I spent our vacation in Great Britain, traveling throughout the land from the south country and Wales to the northern parts of Scotland. It was the same year as the 25th Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, and symbols of royalty were abundantly in evidence.
For years I have been convinced that the provisions of Christ for the believer not only include our forgiveness for sin; but provide restoration to a royal relationship with God as sons and daughters born into the family through His Majesty, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Within that relationship, as people of The Kingdom, I felt the Bible disclosed a new dimension of dominion over “all the works of the devil” bequeathed to us as heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.
While visiting many of the castles of the land, I began to sense the influence one might feel if raised as a child in such regal settings. For example, while at Blenheim – where Churchill was raised – it became quite credible how a person, accustomed to such an environment, might more likely conceive of themselves as being bred to influence their world. Of course, Churchill was not directly of the royal family, but the sense of regal destiny pervades many of those sites and influences many of those people.
One day, as Anna and I drove along together, the opening lyrics and melody of “Majesty” simply came to my heart. I continued driving, asking Anna to jot the words and melody line in the notebook she had beside her. (Because of this, she still laughingly insists that she “wrote” “Majesty”!)
So powerfully did the sense of Christ Jesus’ royalty, dignity, and majesty fill my heart; I seemed to feel something new of what it meant to be His! The accomplished triumph of His Cross has not only unlocked us from the chains of our own bondage and restored us to fellowship with the Father, but He has also unfolded to us a life of authority over sin and hell and raised us to partnership with Him in His Throne – now! (Ephesians 2:1-6).
It would not be until returning to our home in California that I would complete the song. Nevertheless, the Spirit-borne influence bringing the concept so vividly to my soul is as described above. “Majesty” describes the kingly, lordly, gloriously regal nature of our Savior – but not simply as an objective statement in worship of which He is fully worthy. “Majesty” is also a statement of the fact that our worship, when begotten in spirit and in truth, can align us with His Throne in such a way that His Kingdom authority flows to us – to overflow us, free us, and channel through us.
He has birthed us into His eternal Kingdom, with dynamic implications for the present and for eternity. We are rescued from death, restored to the inheritance of sons and daughters, qualified for victory in battle against the Adversary, and destined for the Throne forever in His presence!
“Majesty, Worship His Majesty!”
