Ascribe To The LORD

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness...”
Psalm 29:2

Throughout the Older Testament Scripture we read many times that when ever the act of worship occurred it required a sacrifice. A bull, a ram, a goat, a broken heart, a life given, whatever it was it always involved a sacrifice. Praise God that through Christ’s sacrifice we don’t have to offer a daily physical sacrifice to atone for our sins or to worship, however, because of what Christ did do for us how much greater should our “sacrifice of praise” be towards our God?

As we read what God requires of us and what He wants for our lives, bottom line it is us who He desires not the “things” that we bring to Him. Remember Micah 6:8? “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

One of the offerings of worship that we see in Scripture is music. Music is seen as a tool of responding to God for all He is and what He has done. When you read the Psalms, you are reading a musical response to the Creator of the Universe! So, indeed, music plays a mighty role in worship. However, we have in many ways come to the point now that whenever we refer to worship, our minds automatically think of music or musical styles. But as Matt Redman reminds us though his song, “Heart of Worship”, it’s about “more than a song!”

Scripture reminds us over and over again that the quality of worship, bottom line, is about the condition of our hearts. Whether you brought an animal, gifts from the ground or a song, God weighed the condition of the heart over all other factors. And He still does. Since worship is a heart issue, we are reminded once again that we are to worship an Audience of One. That Audience is God and God alone. He is the sole person that needs to be pleased with our worship.
Today as we worship consider this: worship always involves sacrifice. It always cost something. It did for every biblical character, and it does for us today. If it doesn’t cost us something it’s not sacrifice. David reminds us of the importance of this in 1 Chronicles 21:24: “But King David replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing."” What is your sacrifice of praise costing you today; pride, fear, being uncomfortable? What are you willing to set aside in order to present to the Lord all He is worthy of?