Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Whenever a monarch of the British Empire ascends to the throne of England, the royal coronation is traditionally held at historic Westminster Abbey, London.

This dramatic service has been the venue for every British ascension since 1066.

On this solemn occasion, the sovereign-to-be proceeds to Westminster Abbey to the playing of “I Was Glad,” accompanied by the acclamations of the Westminster Scholars, representing the shouts of approval of the people.

The sovereign, seated in the coronation chair, is anointed with oil, followed by the crowning with St. Edward’s crown.

This is the most solemn moment of this august occasion.

The sovereign then rises from the coronation chair and moves to the throne, the first time the crowned king or queen is visible to the gathered dignitaries.

This is when the monarch takes possession of the British Empire.

The sovereign, now crowned and visible, is ready to receive the homage of the people.

The archbishop speaks to the congregation three separate times, “I present to you [the sovereign’s name].

Will you do her/him homage?”

The people, seeing their sovereign now robed, crowned, and enthroned, respond three times with shouts of acclamation, “We will.”

Psalm 95 is a passionate call to the people of God to praise the Lord, who is sovereign above all supposed gods, who are but lowly idols of gold, silver, wood, and stone.

We must recognize the truth that our God, the only true God, is worthy of all glory, honor, praise, and worship.

He alone is worthy.

Focus Passage

Outline

A Call to Worship (Psalm 95:1-5)

The Psalmist calls the people of God to worship Him.

He writes Come, let’s sing…Let’s shout…Let’s come…Come, let’s worship.

As the archbishop call out to the people of England to pay homage to their new sovereign, the Psalmist calls out to the people of God and says, will you pay homage, give honor, and worship your King.

The Psalmist calls the people of God to worship God because...

1. God is worthy of all worship for He is the Creator of all - ‘...In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are also His.

The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land...’

2. God is worthy of all worship for He is the King of all - ‘…And a great king above all gods...’

All that we put before God are nothing but idols of wood, hay, and stubble.

They will never amount to anything and will burn up in the fire.

God is King of all.

As Paul wrote to young Timothy about our God and Savior...

He is worthy of worship and praise.

For He is King.

3. God is worthy of all worship for He is the only true God - ‘…For the Lord is a great God...’

The prophet Isaiah wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit...

A Heart of Worship (Psalm 95:6-7)

The Psalmist wants the people of God to realize Who they are to worship and why they are to worship Him.

He wants them to know God is worthy of all worship.

He wants the people of God to have a heart of worship.

He wants the people of God to genuinely worship God with their heart not their motions.

He wants the people of God to have a worship that exceeds the worship of what Isaiah the prophet prophesied of the people of God and Jesus stated of the worship of the religious leaders of His day.

So how does one go from lip service to heart service?

How does one truly begin to worship the Lord?

We begin with with recognizing what a heart of worship is.

1.

A heart of worship has a proper attitude

The Psalmist writes, Come, let’s worship and bow down…before the Lord.

The Psalm tells the people of God to lay prostrate before the Lord.

He is not speaking of a physical laying prostrate before the Lord, but a position of heart.

For one to truly worship the Lord, they must have a genuine spirit of humility.

They must leave ego and pride at the door of the sanctuary.

There is no room for pride in the economy of God.

There is no room for pride in the heart of worship.

As we find throughout the Scripture, God resist the proud but embraces the humble.

2. A heart of attitude has a proper position

The Psalmist once again writes, Come, let’s worship and…kneel before the Lord.

The idea of kneeling before the king was a testament of self humiliation, volunteer servitude, and submission.

We are to place ourselves before God with a position of servanthood.

We are must realize that we are His and we are not our own.

As he writes, For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand (v.7).

As David wrote...

David understood what we must understand today.

We are not the sheep of self, but our Shepherd is God Almighty.

We must begin to take ourselves off the throne of worship and place Him there.

If we do this we will begin to see things in a whole knew light.

As I was preparing for this message I was reminded of John the Baptist.

He was baptizing on one side of the sea and Jesus, with his disciples who were baptizing, were on the other side of the Jordan in Judea.

A disciple of John’s came to him and asked about Jesus’ disciples baptizing on the other side, and John tells them that I am not the Christ but He is.

His joy was made complete in the work of Jesus and he states...

Brothers and sisters if we are to truly have a heart of worship, we must decrease so that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ can increase.

Worship begins with two steps...

Worship Begins With… (vv.7c-10)

Psalm 95:7c–10 (NASB 2020)

7c ...Today, if you will hear His voice,

8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, As on the day of Massah in the wilderness,

9 “When your fathers put Me to the test, They tested Me, though they had seen My work.

10 “For forty years I was disgusted with that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways.

1. Worship begins with the step of repentance - ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah...’

The Psalmist brings to remembrance the time in the wilderness when the Israelites argued with Moses and through accusations against God and Moses.

They cried out, has God brought us here to die.

We are thirsty.

They doubted God.

They grumbled against God’s provision.

God cursed them for this.

Many within the church today, are being as the Israelites in Meribah.

Rather than trust God, they are arguing with God.

They are grumbling against God and God’s man.

Rather than follow God’s word and follow the leadership God has provided, they wish to gripe, grumble, and resist.

Many of us within the church today are stiff necked and hard hearted.

Brothers and sisters, what God wants is for us unstiffen our necks and unharden our hearts through the working of the Holy Spirit and become genuinely repentant and turn from our sin, our pride, and our self worship and come back to the heart of worship.

Many of today need to do as David and ask God to show us the error of our ways and to give us clean hands and clean hearts.

2. Worship continues with the step of faith

We begin to trust God for those things that will be as if they already are despite the fact they are not yet.

This is truly what faith is.

We are called to be a people of faith.

We are live by faith.

We must understand that we cannot please God without faith.

Conclusion

There are those that will never know what is like to have peace, joy, and excitement in their life.

The peace and joy that comes through genuine worship is easily replicated.

The Psalmist writes, let’s sing for joy to the Lord…shout joyfully.

Why was it that the Psalmist could write sing for joy…shout joyfully?

Because he knew that there was one source for joy.