Psalm 7:17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness
and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

The more we know of God, the better we know Him, the deeper and higher our praises will be. And interestingly, the more we praise Him, the deeper our revelation of Him becomes. That fact in itself reinforces for me the validity of Psalm 22:3. The NIV relegates “You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel” to a footnote, but the Japanese clearly says, “You make Israel’s praise your dwelling place” for that verse. The more we know of God, the better we know Him, the less we are dragged down by our circumstances. For this verse, the Japanese renders it as, “I will praise God in a way appropriate to His righteousness/justice.” I think it would be very good if everyone examined their religious activities to see if they were appropriate to the God they say they worship. David famously said, after dancing before the Lord in just a loin cloth, even though he was king, “I will become even more undignified than this.” (2 Samuel 6:22) For David, his God was worth everything he had, material and immaterial. His experience of God was far from academic and theoretical, it was “down dirty” and personal. Christians claim they worship a God who is holy, yet they think nothing of watching TV shows that celebrate immorality. They claim they worship the Creator who provides all that they have, and yet they shrink back from returning even a tenth of their finances to Him. They claim they worship God who is love, yet they look down on and belittle their neighbors for the flimsiest of excuses. As James, John, Paul, and yes, Jesus all proclaimed, our actions must confirm our words, or our words are meaningless. God is totally true, and those who worship Him must do so in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)

This is an issue for every believer, and everyone who is honest will concede that we can never do a perfect job in worshiping God appropriately. That’s a major reason I look forward to heaven: there will be nothing to interfere with perfect praise and worship. I have had moments of deep fellowship with God in very formal worship settings, and I have had them in times of very loud, energetic worship that many formal churches frown on. I have had them in large gatherings of believers, and I have had them when I was the only person visible. The appropriateness of our worship doesn’t depend on style, it depends on our hearts. In the same service, one person might be having deep communion with God and the person beside them be bored to tears. As a pastor, a major danger for me is being more concerned with the mechanics of a service than with the God whom I say I am worshiping. As a human being, when I feel miserable physically, as I do right now from a head cold, it can be difficult to raise my heart in praise and worship. However, knowing that God knows my heart, I can rest in the assurance that He will enable me to worship Him appropriately, if that is my choice.

Father, thank You for Your grace. Thank You for this Word at a time when I do feel so bad physically. I ask You to carry me through not just the service but everything to follow, so that I won’t be a drag on anyone else’ worship, but will lead the way for all to come before You as You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!