What is True Worship?

"To worship is to quicken the conscience by the Holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God and to devote the will to the purpose of God. In other words, worship is all that we are responding to all that He is."
William Temple, former Archbishop of Canterbury

Worship, according to scripture, involves the participation of the whole man; body, mind and spirit. It includes passion, intelligence, emotion, will, thought and physical expression. Can we really say we love someone and yet not express some or all of the attributes? Are we to be more moved by natural events than the love and mercy of our Heavenly Father? We have a God given right to show our joy and gladness in Christ our Saviour. Accordingly, 1 Peter 2:5 states that we are New Testament priests raised up to minister unto Christ worship due to His name. This was never meant to be a dead ritual; mere words without heart or feeling.

 

WORSHIPPING THE LORD WITH OUR VOICES:


The voice is a wonderful gift of God. May we use it to glorify Him. Wesley wished for a thousand tongues to praise Him!

"Let the high praises of God be in their MOUTH and the two-edged sword in their hands" (Psalm 149:6).

"Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, THE FRUIT OF OUR LIPS, giving thanks to His name" (Hebrews 13:15).

 

SINGING:


"Sing praises unto God, sing praises, sing praises unto our King, sing praises" (Psalm 149:6).

 

SHOUTING:


"Let those who put their trust in thee rejoice, let them shout for joy" (Psalm 5:11).

"Cry out and shout thou inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee" (Isaiah 12:6).

 

WORSHIPPING THE LORD WITH OUR HANDS:


Scripture commands us to use our hands in worship. Most of us find our hands expressive in everyday conversation.

 

LIFTING THE HANDS:


"Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and bless the Lord" (Psalm 134:2)

"I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath or doubting" (II Timothy 2:8).

The universal sign of surrender is lifting up the hands!

 

CLAPPING THE HANDS:


"O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph" (Psalm 47: 1).

Our hands can be used to play musical instruments

"Praise the Lord!

Praise God in His sanctuary

Praise Him in His mighty firmament!

Praise Him for His mighty acts;

Praise Him for His excellent greatness!

Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;

Praise Him with the lute and harp

 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance,

Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes

Praise Him with loud cymbals:,

Praise Him with clashing cymbals,

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord!" (Psalm 150)

 

WORSHIPPING THE LORD WITH OUR BODIES:


The bible declares that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19) and that, "we are created for His pleasure" (Revelation 4: 1 1).

 

STANDING:


"Praise ye the Lord, praise ye the name of the Lord; praise Him o ye servants of the Lord. Ye that stand in the House of the Lord, in the courts of our God" (Psalm 135: 1-2).

 

BOWING OR KNEELING:


"O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our maker" (Psalm 95:6).

 

DANCING:


"Praise Him with the timbrel and the dance" (Psalm 150:4). "Let them praise His name in the dance" (Psalm 149:3).