Psalm 111 – A "We Get To" Psalm (Part 2)
Posted on October 23, 2017 by Graeme Wilson in Freedom Fighters
If you missed last week, I want to encourage you to go back and read my blog from last week.
We started to look at the five “get to’s” of Psalm 111 and we started to unpack No.1 – We get to meet God’s people.
We often mix our terms using Sabbath and the Lord’s Day in the same way, and we do the same with worship.
Worship in the Old Testament looked much different than in the early church. In the Old Testament, Temple worship was very festive and lively. It was celebrative as well as contemplative. It involved the five senses.
It was sometimes quiet, and it was sometimes loud. Saints who struggle with drums in the church would not have liked Old Testament worship. Psalm 150 indicates that there were not only cymbals – they were loud crashing cymbals. And even more disturbing to some would be the “D” word – there was dance! Lions and tigers and bears – O my!
In the early New Testament Church, they met in homes and sometimes caves. The setting would be quite different than our American church. Their practice was the teaching of the Word, breaking of the bread, prayer, and fellowship, as well as singing.
Our version of worship is quite backward. We tend to have a team of people on the stage who are “performing.” We have developed a more “spectator” version of worship. I personally believe that worship was never designed to be as a spectator, but participatory. Like life, WE GET TO worship with other believers as we participate together.
Picture it this way: a better representation of worship would be for all of us to be on the platform with Jesus sitting where you and I normally sit. He wants to be our audience of one.
So think about this: what would our Sunday look like if we really believed that Jesus would be there next week?
How would we dress?
What time would we arrive?
How would we sing?
What would we put in the offering?
Would we be looking at our cell phones? Texting?
If we do as the writer of this Psalm suggests, we are going to be thinking about meeting with God’s people before we even get there. Instead of looking at this a “we have to” time each week, we will come prepared with a “thankful” heart anticipating the privilege of meeting with my brothers and sisters.
Singing is just part of what we get to do. But singing throughout Scripture, both in the Old and New Testament is important. I love what Keith and Kristen Getty say about singing:
We do not sing because we have to. We sing because we love to.
We sing because we’re created to, commanded to, and compelled to. And when we sing great truths, great things happen. Christ-filled, Spirit-prompted singing moves out in concentric circles changing your own heart and mind . . . changing your family . . . changing your church . . . and changing this world.
When we sing together as the Church, we are showing how we are a congregation of living stones. Our singing is an audible expression of the bonds we share, testifying to the life that lies within these stones. We are cut from the same elements of faith, united in one Lord, filled by one Spirit, brought into one Church, to offer our praise to Him. We are being chiseled and refined through our singing, just as we are through every aspect of our lives. We are forged together through our singing together.
Wow. That puts it into perspective. We’ll digger deeper into Psalm 111 next week. Thanks for joining me on the journey.
Rejoice! Pray! Give thanks!
Bill Welte
President/CEO America’s Keswick
Written by Bill Welte, President/CEO of America’s Keswick: Bill has been married to his child sweetheart for 40+ years and has four married kids and 11 amazing grand kids. He loves music and is an avid reader.
The Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 4-6| You can download our 2017 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here
Think About This: You are what you sing! Keith and Kristen Getty
This Week’s Verse to Memorize:
He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. Romans 14:6