“Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!” (Psalm 150:2)
I went to a hockey game last night. Our home team, at the bottom in the playoffs, played a team higher up. The game would not affect their playoff standing, but the arena was sold out — and lively. Fans cheered and booed, raised their arms, leaped to their feet, and made it known they wanted their team to win. I’m thinking, in most cases, a hockey team gets more vigorous worship than God.
Charnock says that spiritual worship is performed with an active understanding of God’s excellency and an active will to embrace Him. We are to do our best to praise Him — according to who He is. Our worship should match the object of our devotion. The more our hearts are dead to sin, the more they ought to be alive to God. We have been made ‘kings and priests’ to God, thus our hearts should rise to what God has done in them. We should behave in a royal manner and offer our very best spiritual sacrifices.
Yesterday’s devotional thoughts also made me evaluate my devotion to God. I read an article in a writing magazine without my mind drifting; not once did I need to reread a sentence. That was not true while I was reading the Bible. During prayer, my wandering mind had trouble sticking to conversation with God. Not so as I later planned a quilt layout.
I know that God is far more excellent than anything else that grabs my attention. He is worthy of honor and my full affection. Yet far too often giving Him the praise that is due Him, praise that measures up to His greatness, is too easily replaced with a meager offering that is more a reflection of my weaknesses.
In Psalm 80, the psalmist pleads to God to restore His people. He asks the Lord to let His hand be upon them and says, “Then we will not turn back from You; revive us, and we will call upon Your name.”
Unite my heart? Revive my heart? Reveal more of Yourself? Show me what You are doing? Show me the wonder of who You are? Fill me with that wonder? Or is this just a matter of obedience?
I want to honor You, Lord — whatever it takes.
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