22.1 Worship: Awesome God

Table of Contents

The Text

Psalm 113 (CSB)
1 Hallelujah! Give praise, servants of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD.

2 Let the name of the LORD be blessed both now and forever.

3 From the rising of the sun to its setting, let the name of the LORD be praised.

4 The LORD is exalted above all the nations, his glory above the heavens.

5 Who is like the LORD our God— the one enthroned on high,

6 who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?

7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the trash heap

8 in order to seat them with nobles— with the nobles of his people.

9 He gives the childless woman a household, making her the joyful mother of children. Hallelujah!

The Chapter

The light of nature shews that there is a God, who hath lordship and sovereignty over all; is just, good and doth good unto all; and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the heart and all the soul, and with all the might. But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God, is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imagination and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures.

The Confession

The light of nature shows that there is a God, who has lordship and sovereignty over all; is just, good and does good to all; and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the heart and all the soul, and with all the might

Jeremiah 10:7 (CSB) Who should not fear you, King of the nations? It is what you deserve. For among all the wise people of the nations and among all their kingdoms, there is no one like you.

Mark 12:33 (CSB) And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

This is the call unto all of God's creatures: worship the Lord your God. We of mankind, whom are made in the image of God and originally like Adam, a son of God, sinned against God and fell from grace unto sin--breaking the entire cosmos and continually breaking our hearts and crushing us by the weight of sin.

We are called to worship God and we cannot. We have failed though we have tried in our own way. In the garden, Adam and Eve exchanged the righteousness of God and the proper worship to God in exchange for their own self-righteousness and worship unto self which is sin and only leads to death.

Nevertheless, God is no less God and no less deserving of our praise. God is not a god that is needing praise but rather the One True God maker of heaven and earth and us. By his sovereignty, he is to be worshiped and adored with everything we got.

We cannot because everyone of us is broken and marred by sin.

But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God, is instituted by himself

Deuteronomy 12:32 (CSB) Be careful to do everything I command you; do not add anything to it or take anything away from it.

This law is in full counter defense and attack to the world. The world thinks they can approach God at will and in their own way. They think that there are infinite ways to God and we get to pick and choose how e get to God. It is often said, "There are infnite ways to God but the there is only one way that has the almighty divine righteous protection from his just wrath and that is under the strongest arm of the Lord Jesus Christ."

How are to worship God is carefully dictated by God.

and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imagination and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures

Exodus 20:4–6 (CSB) Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands.

Now, in one sense, everything that we do, we do unto the glory of God:

1 Corinthians 10:31 (CSB) So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.

In the holiest ways, we are to worship God in the way that he has specifically told us to do. We don't have to take cues from the world on what they like so we scramble trying to please the world only for the world to still not attend church. Why are we trying to entertain the world when worship is not to entertain the world but for the children of God to adore our Father in heaven and worship the King of kings.

As RC Sproul has said, "Church is not a place to entertain goats but to feed the sheep." How are we fed? The preaching of the word, the spoken prayers, and the singing of hymns and the declaration of what we believe. All of that is to fix our eyes on Jesus.

We are called to worship God by the way God has told us to worship him.