A JOYFUL NOISE (Week 1)
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Psalm 100 ESV: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! 3 Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! 5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song. Know this: The Lord himself is God; he himself has made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise; give thanks to him and call upon his Name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his faithfulness endures from age to age. -- Book of Common Prayer (BCP) Psalter
Worship is an act of choosing over and over again who will occupy the highest seat of our hearts.
Worship has become a wine tasting experience. We sniff, swirl it in our mouths, pass judgment on its bouquet and miss God in it all.” -Ed Litton
Psalm 61:8 NIV: Then I will ever sing in praise of your name and fulfill my vows day after day.
Worship is more than feelings or expressions. It is choosing to go beyond a statement of belief into an act of affection. It is turning the focus of one’s mind, heart, and body back to a believed Source of true life.
“It is quite right that you should feel that “something terrific” has happened to you (It has) and be “all glowy.” Accept these sensations with thankfulness as birthday cards from God, but remember that they are only greetings, not the real gift. I mean, it is not the sensations that are the real thing. The real thing is the gift of the Holy Spirit which can’t usually be—perhaps not ever—experienced as a sensation or emotion. The sensations are merely the response of your nervous system. Don’t depend on them. Otherwise when they go and you are once more emotionally flat (as you certainly will be quite soon), you might think that the real thing had gone too. But it won’t. It will be there when you can’t feel it. May even be most operative when you can feel it least.” – CS Lewis, The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis (Vol. 3)
Worship is daring to show affection to Christ because you believe He first shows affection to you, despite your sin.
“Look to Christ. He deals gently with you. It’s the only way he knows how to be. He is the high priest to end all high priests. As long as you fix your attention on your sin, you will fail to see how you can be safe. But as long as you look to this high priest, you will fail to see how you can be in danger. Looking inside ourselves, we can anticipate only harshness from heaven. Looking out to Christ, we can anticipate only gentleness.” -Dane C. Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly
“Just as the Spirit was made visible as a hovering bird at creation, so the Spirit was made visible as a hovering dove at Jesus’ baptism, accompanied by the Father’s creative voice, thundering the affirmation, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’ (Mark 1:11). Before a single word of teaching, any wondrous sign, or the calling of disciples, the Father loves and is pleased with Jesus. And I, who have received the same Spirit, am clothed not first in the power of the kingdom, but with the love and approval of the King himself. Will I dare to believe Him when the Father says over me at the beginning of this new day, ‘You are my beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ – Tyler Staton, Lectio 365 (May 13, 2024)
Father, I receive Your love and affirmation right now – not as a reward for good behaviour – but as grace freely given. Like the wandering prodigal, I am welcomed into this day by Your embrace. I dare to believe afresh in Your love this day.”
