A meditation on Psalm 95
I hate doing something only to find out I did it wrong. Many times, it’s because I haven’t paid attention or did not follow directions, especially if I am putting something together. Often when I do that, I have to start over and in doing so, I have wasted time, energy, and sometimes money. It is annoying to begin again.
What’s more frustrating, however, is I know it would have been so easy to get it right. Had I only taken the time to listen, or to read the instructions, things may have been different. Had I slowed down, not being so excited to get something done, I may have not only taken care of what needed to be done, but I would have done it correctly the first time. My impatience and excitement keeps me from getting it done properly.
This brings us to Psalm 95. Psalm 95 offers two perspectives for us to consider. The first is worship from our perspective (1-7b). The second is worship from God’s perspective (7c-11).
The Psalmist remind us that our worship practices, though exciting and proper and technically appropriate can be to our detriment. We can get so engrossed in the ACT of worship that we miss the VOICE of worship, and in doing so, we miss the voice of God. We can get so caught up in the music, and the singing, and the video clips and the person speaking that what we miss is the still, small voice of God speaking to us. That takes time, discernment, and silence. We have to get away from the noise of life to hear the voice of God.
This Sunday as you attend church, you may get revved up by the rhythm of the music and excited about the speaker. But what of God himself?
God is thankful for the ACT of worship, but what he wants most is that we hear the VOICE of worship, and in hearing that voice, to obey it. If our worship does not result in obedience, it may be that we have not heard the voice of God. And if that is true, it could also be that our worship was not really worship but a pep rally for God that did nothing more than get us excited, but led us to nothing.