From Praise to Worship

 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,

  the name of the Lord is to be praised. (Psalm 113)

As nice as church services can be, as helpful as it is to have a time and place to gather with other Christ-learners, it is a disservice to this passage to think of a constant church service. Church services are potentially very helpful, but they are not life. Unfortunately, they are often places to identify with a certain ideology rather than walk with others with Jesus. Worship is identified as a church service will end up poisoning this text.

The other problem is that God may receive praise, but he is looking for worship. More specifically - he is looking for worshipers. We know mouths praise, but hearts worship. Jesus criticized some who drew near to God with their mouths while their hearts were far from him. This is the problem. How do we draw near with our hearts, worship him in spirit?

This may seem to contradict what was just said, but we can draw near with our mouths. When I was in high school, I could cuss the wallpaper off a wall, espcially at the video game arcade (what is that?). I wanted to stop cussing, so I began with my mouth. I changed the words into something less offensive. Then I began to just cuss on the inside. Then I just would get angry. Then I started dealing with my anger.

What happened? Well, when I cut off the automatic flow of anger that spewed out of my mouth, I became much more aware of its presence inside. I realized I was an angry person. I did not think that was inevitable because of Jesus and his teaching and his life and his words to me. So with his help I began to deal with my anger, my fear, and my distrust of God.

Similarly, in the opposite direction, if a person praises God all day long, and not just in front of other people, he will likely become aware of what is on the inside. Is there worship? Is there gratitude? If not, the praise will ring hollow and empty. Then that person is in a position to change. . . or give up. This is where to grace of God comes in: strength for change, mercy for failure.

Discipline is what you can do with your body to bring about change in your heart and soul. It's good to think about it, but not enough. It's good to talk about it, but not enough. Discipline is the nest where the Holy Spirit can roost in our lives. Without it, our relationship with God remains abstract and distracted. Our hearts end up far from him.

So the Psalmist emphasizes a moral imperative of God's worth and our need: worship and praise. Yet he also is speaking wisdom about how life is best lived. Discpline will destroy your life witht God if it becomes righteousness instead of wisdom. That is the trap of legalism, externalism. Instead of allowing discipline to eat you alive, learn how to be nourished and strengthed by your discipline. Become a Christ-learner more than a Christ-pleaser. He will be pleased with your learning. He will grow you from the inside out.