Psalm 34:1-3 reads, "I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise
shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the
LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with
me, and let us exalt his name together!" (ESV)
I love reading & studying the Psalms. It is the songbook or hymnal
of scripture. Most of the psalms teach us about praise & worship.
As we use the psalms as our model, we will draw closer & closer
to understanding what worship is all about.
Now as we look at these verses from Psalm 34, notice that in three
verses, there are five references to the Lord (no less than five of
six phrases refer to Him). Three times the word is LORD, referring
to God Almighty, Holy in His character and action. He is the God
who alone is worthy of all our praise, adoration and worship.
Why do you sing in the choir or play in the orchestra? What is
the focus of music in the Bible? The focus of all music is ALWAYS
Almighty God, the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Worship that is not
trinitarian in nature is NOT Christian worship. This is the problem
today, in that many times a "worship service" becomes man-focused
more than God-focused. When we MAGNIFY the LORD (i.e. praise
Him in such a way that His character & nature can be seen more
clearly), the focus is taken off man and us (or the music). The
ultimate concern should NOT be what people think of our songs;
how much they are blessed or not blessed by it. A big way that we
evaluate worship is to ask and answer the question, "Was God
pleased with my praise/thanksgiving & worship today?"
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Liked this post. I was once in a church with a big (talented) choir. Productions were amazing and awesome. I know most were absolutely worshipping the Lord from a heart of gratitude. At some point the music became the focus. The polishing, planning and performances became the focus. It feel apart of course. I love music and enjoy singing the LORD. I am in a small church now and truthfully the music is suffering due to leadership. But, funny God is teaching me to "worship" Him beyond the music, beyond the noise. Ya know? It's so cool to just focus on Him and praise Him. It's all about JESUS!
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