Psalm 51:15

Psalm 51:15

The heart of worship

True worship and praise are not all about the ability of musicians or singers. They are not about the spirituality or prominence of worship leaders or the spiritual depth of their hymns and songs. Neither are they dependent upon the enthusiasm of a congregation or its numbers. Sadly, all of those elements are promoted and developed in churches and meetings to try to attain powerful worship experiences, but the key is not in any of them. Worship and praise start in the hearts of those individuals who love the Lord and are eager to tell Him so. Even then, passion and enthusiasm are not enough. How can we worship if we have unclean hands and uncleans hearts. Psalm 24 asks this question, “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.”

All worship experiences are an attempt to ascend the mountain of the Lord, to draw near to Him, to enter His holy place and to proclaim His power and His glory. It is not possible to do this with dirty hands and an impure heart. We can sing the right words and be uplifted by the music but that is just human emotion. If we are in the right place spiritually, of course these moments are uplifting and profound, but if we are not, they can sometimes be no more than a puff of empty air! 

David has been through a time of profound confession and repentance; he has had to face up to the sinful man that he is and how that affects his relationship with the Lord. He has pleaded for forgiveness, and he has a sense of being cleansed and whole once again. Now is the time to praise the greatness of a God who does not forsake His people, despite their sinfulness. There is one final twist here, it is the Lord who opens our mouths to sing His praise. We cannot do it by force or by good intention, true praise comes from the lips of those who have been anointed to sing, from tongues that have been released by the Lord. 

I was leading a service on Zoom just yesterday. As is usual, we sang a song together and I allowed time for people to express their worship. The first to do so was someone who has only recently come to faith, followed by another person who has been suffering greatly of late. Then, one after another, different voices were raised to the Lord, and I listened silently with tears in my eyes for I knew that these mouths were declaring His praise. And I knew that heaven was listening too. Hallelujah!

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