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Paying divine honors to the Supreme Being

Oh worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. I Chronicles 16:29b

Psalm 29:2 says, “Give unto the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” Psalm 96:9 says, “Oh worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” God desires that we worship him, and how we do that is very important. John 4:24 says we must worship Him in spirit and truth. We should also be reflecting the character of God to those around us in our daily lives, or we are dishonoring God by our hypocrisy. He desires the praise, love and devotion of those that follow Him rather than a false religion like the Jews in the book of Malachi.

That brings us to a question, exactly what is worship? The Webster’s dictionary of 1828 says it is “The act of paying divine honors to the Supreme Being; or the reverence and homage paid to Him in religious exercises, consisting in adoration, confession, prayer, thanksgiving, and the like – or to perform acts of adoration.”

James Walch wrote a worship song in 1876 titled, “O come my soul, bless thou the Lord.” Another song written by Charles Wesley in 1739 says, O for a thousand tongues to sing.” Hundreds of songs, hymns, and psalms have been written, and are an important part of worshiping the true God. But why is singing and worship important to us today?

Many of the people who helped to settle this great land came here for religious freedom; to worship God in a way that was pleasing and acceptable, in accordance with His word. A part of their worship included singing, the playing of instruments, and the preaching of the God’s Word.

“The first amendment to the United States Constitution says, “Congress shall make no law respecting (regarding or concerning) an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging (lessening or depriving) the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Reference,The World Book Encyclopedia, volume 18, with my additions.

For those of us who live in Pennsylvania, we have seen our religious rights affected by our governor’s edicts and mandates. We have been forced to stop gathering in our churches (buildings) as groups of believers. Even now we are told that we shouldn’t sing together as a congregation. Some of these freedoms were part of the main reason our ancestors left their homes and came to this unsettled land. How important are those freedoms? What does the Bible have to say about singing and praising God in worship?

King David actually appointed specific people for that task; that’s how important he thought it was, I Chronicles 16. In verse 23 it says, “Sing to the Lord all the earth; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among all peoples.” In II Chronicles 29:28 it says, “So all the congregation worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. The amount of Scripture that focuses on singing should cause us to see the important role it plays in worship.

Psalm 22:22 says, “I will declare your name to my brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will sing praise to you.” Worshiping God by singing and praise are taught in Scripture from Exodus to Revelation. We have only begun to scratch the surface on the subject of worship and singing. Psalm 98 tells us, “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!” Singing is definitely an important part of our congregational worship. So how are we going to react to mandates that are given by people who won’t abide by their own rules. This is something we must all decide for ourselves, between us and God. Will Scripture play a part in your decision?

Comments or questions, contact me at: thoughtsonword@gmail.com

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Lyndon Stimeling, of Richfield, has been writing about faith and family for many years. He has self-published three books, “Common Thoughts on The Word” in 2016 and “Eye of a Needle” in 2017 and “Common Thoughts on The Word II” in 2019. He has also had articles published in The Coming Home Journal and local newspapers and has written a children’s book.

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