Last night before going to bed, I watched the final moments of the NFL game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Chicago Bears. The game was of interest to me because I grew up in Chicago as a Bears fan (and was elated when they won the 1986 Super Bowl during my senior year of high school), and I had pastored 12 years in Boston, where our family became big fans of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (who won six Super Bowls together).
But the veteran quarterback made a colossal mental error at the worst possible time, and his team ended up losing the game 20-19.
Mental errors result in missed opportunities.
This same principle applies to worship. Our mental engagement, of lack of it, directly impacts the outcome of our time together as God’s family. So stop and think before you go to church.
Psalm 95 helps us to do that. This text tells us not only what to do when we gather for worship, but also why. As I read this psalm, it occurred to me that our weekends can get so busy, that we can just “get up and go” to church on Sunday without really thinking about what we’re doing. So I’m grateful for how this psalm helps me to pause before I praise, so that I make the most of this precious opportunity to worship God with his people.
WHAT We’re To Do
Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! … Oh, come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! (Psalm 95:1-2, 6)
This exuberant call to worship includes several key exhortations:
“Let us come” — This command is repeated three times for the sake of emphasis. The only way that we can worship God corporately is to gather with his people for that purpose. The New Testament word for “church” is ekklesia, which means “assembly.” We must actually come together in order for corporate worship to happen.
“Let us sing” — “with thanksgiving.” The gratitude in our hearts will gush forth in vocal “songs of praise” (v. 2). Twice the psalmist says, “Let us make a joyful noise.” The point isn’t whether you’re on perfectly on pitch, but that you’re pouring forth praise! The best choir in the church is the congregation. Individually, we may not sound all that great, but when we put our voices together as a thankful throng, we make beautiful music together!
“Let us worship … bow down … kneel” — Such actions show reverential awareness of God’s transcendence, namely, that he is both above and independent from all creation. There is no other created thing that can match his infinite power, thwart his sovereign purpose, or withstand his holiness. Humble worship will mark those who recognize the “ infinite distance …between us and God, and how much we are in danger of his wrath and need of his mercy” (Matthew Henry).
WHY We’re To Do It
Why are we to worship God together and so expressively? Psalm 95 gives us two good reasons:
“For the Lord is a great God” — In verses 4-6, the psalmist extols God’s greatness: “He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too.” Read those verses again and ponder their significance. God created it all; God owns it all.
“For he is our God” — Considering the infinitude of God’s greatness, power, and majesty, it is utterly shocking and stunning to think that is our God! He is the “rock of our salvation" (v. 1). The God who is infinitely above us came and made his home among us in the person of Jesus Christ. In love he offered himself as an atoning sacrifice for our sin, so we could be forgiven, reconciled to God, and live with him forever. “He is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand” (Ps. 95:7; see also Ps. 23).
In John 10:27, Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.” For this reason we are told, “Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Ps. 95:7-8). When God speaks, we must listen, lest we be like the wilderness generation of the Israelites of whom God said, “'They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways. Therefore I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest’” (Ps. 95:10-11).
Talk about a missed opportunity! Unbelief bars us from the rest that God has prepared for those who love him. Charles Spurgeon wrote,
There can be no rest to an unbelieving heart. If manna and miracles could not satisfy Israel, neither would they have been content with the land which flowed with milk and honey.
This warning regarding worship is so important, that it is referenced three times in the book of Hebrews (Heb. 3:7; 3:15; 4:7). In Hebrews 4:7, the emphasis is on the word today, emphasizing the urgency of listening to God with a soft heart today.
So stop and think before you go to church. Then make the most of this God-given opportunity to worship him joyfully with his people. He is a great God, and he is our God!
