(35) The Heart of Worship is Humble

(Note: This is part of a continuing series of posts on The Heart of Worship & Psalm 95)

Come, let us worship and bow down

(Psalm 95:6)

The Hebrew word translated “worship” here means, “to prostrate oneself, to bow in homage, humbly beseech, do reverence.” The word translated “bow down” means to bless or praise and is related to kneeling. These words convey one of the many physical responses of one who comes into the presence of the God of creation. It reflects a heart of humility.

When we come to a right belief about the God we worship, we will be filled with the humble recognition of our unworthiness. Sadly, in Christianity today, we have lost this sense of humility before God. We have lost true biblical reverence for God. Why? Because we have made man the center of the universe, the highest of all beings, the ones God exists to exalt and serve and bless. We have lost sight of the reality of the Creator - Creature relationship.

Now, you certainly don’t like being called a creature. And this just goes to illustrate and prove the reality of our confusion and pride. But again, my words are futile, and in the end, meaningless unless they express the truths of scripture. So, let’s see what scripture says about man apart from God grace.

All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. (Isaiah 40:6-7 NAU)

Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust. . . . All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless. (Isaiah 40:15,17 NAU)

It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble. (Isaiah 40:22-24 NAU)

If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes, how much less man, who is but a maggot-- a son of man, who is only a worm!" (Job 25: 5-6 NIV)

Nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; (Acts 17:25 NAU)

But by the grace of God I am what I am, (1 Corinthians 15:10 NAU)

Here’s a vital truth we all need to get crystal clear in our minds: I am nothing. I have nothing. I can do nothing. Except by the gift of God’s grace. He’s God and I’m not. He’s the Creator, I am His creation. I can’t draw another breath if He does not graciously give it to me. And I don’t deserve it . . . or anything else . . . Let alone the gift of forgiveness, redemption, righteousness, relationship. I am nothing, He is everything. Be humbled before the God of glory!

Louie Gigglio puts life in perspective for us:

The story already has a star, and the star is not you or me. And here's why it matters – if we don't get the two stories straight, everything else in our lives will be out of sync. We'll spend our days trying to hijack the story of God, turning it into the story of us. Inverting reality, we'll live every day as though life is all about you and me.. We'll live as thought life is our one-act play and His-story is Our story – as though creation is our habitation alone, existence our playground, and God our servant (that is, if we decide we need Him at all). We will throw every once of our energy into the fragmented and fleeting story of us. Calling the shots ourselves, me-centered thinking will dictate every move we make and how we feel. (From I Am Not, but I Know I AM)

Be humbled before the God of glory!

It’s not about you.

This is His-Story for His glory!

Soli Deo Gloria

Next:  (36) The Heart of Worship is Expressive