CHALLENGING WORSHIP
Opening Prayer
Lord, Your people take delight in blessing Your name daily.
Read PSALM 145
1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you, Lord;
your faithful people extol you.
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.
14 The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“The Lord is King; lift up thy voice, O earth, and all ye heavens rejoice! From world to world the joy shall ring: ‘The Lord Omnipotent is King’” (Josiah Conder, 1789–1855).
This is a psalm to read slowly and meditatively, identifying the different qualities and actions of God which shine through. If you have time, go through it again.
Here the God we have glimpsed in Proverbs emerges in full glory. The psalm starts with a determination to praise and concludes with an invitation to praise. In between, the psalmist celebrates God’s character and actions. Little comment is needed, for each statement about God’s character and activity, each ascription of praise, speaks for itself. They range from the glory of creation (5,6) to the wonder of a God who cares for and supports struggling individuals (14) and provides for their needs (15). As elsewhere in the Old Testament, God’s mighty acts encompass creation, salvation and providence. The psalmist celebrates this God with a sense of delight, based on a personal relationship—“my God” (1).
Praise affects the world. To worship God as king is to assert an alternative reality. Our worship asserts that whatever human pretensions to power may exist, it is God who reigns supreme. However things appear, or however we might want them to be, it is not we who are in control but God. Pliny, governor of Bithynia, wrote to the Emperor Trajan in AD 112 seeking advice on how to deal with Christians. His concern was that, because they met before dawn on the first day of the week and sang a hymn to Christ as to a god, they were thereby proclaiming Christ to be king and the subject of worship rather than Caesar. In worship we declare to the powers, both secular and spiritual (Eph. 3:10; 6:12; Col. 2:15), that our God reigns and that he will have the final word.
Apply
How will the truth that our God reigns supreme affect the way in which you worship today? What deeper realities will your worship proclaim?
Closing prayer
Lord, to You alone belongs worship. Your people worship You because as creator and sustainer You are worthy of our worship.
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