Ethos #6 Worship Series

The next three verses continue to explain why we give Him thanks….

3 For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,

and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

He is the sole ruler and creator of the universe. Without Him, the world in which we live, and even our very existence, is suspect. If you have trouble grasping this concept of creation, ask yourself what role you played in being born? Did you choose to be born here and now? Did your coming into this world revolve around your choices? Of course not, God, who creates, created you for a time just as this. This is what praise is all about. We come before God to recognize His role in our creation. He created us – uniquely, powerfully, in his image. It is in our praise we acknowledge how amazing this is – not for him but for us. It’s a declaration of our understanding of his power. He has provided all we need (I didn’t say want) and asks only one thing from us, to return the only thing He does not already have: our will. How do we do this? How do we return our will to Him? I am so glad you asked. Let’s jump to the next two verses.

6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.

I came from a catholic upbringing. I can remember what I call the stand up, sit down, kneel down, stand up, fight, fight, fight of every Saturday night worship service. I really don’t think I understood any of the reasoning behind the kneeling. I thought it was just another way to help keep us awake. However, today I have a different understanding. The act of bowing down symbolizes a reverence or respect. I worked for a Japanese company for years and the sheer act of bowing to a superior was a considered appropriate. So why wouldn’t I want to show respect to God in this way. I can show even more vulnerability through the act of kneeling. A person on their knees is not be able to respond quickly to any threat. It does not allow one the opportunity to withdrawal quickly should the situation require it. It was common in the days of kings for a person to come before the Ruler’s throne and kneel with your head down between your knees or to lay prostrate on the floor. Each demonstrates more and more submission. A person is totally at the mercy of the person before them. No escape. No withdrawal. It is a position of total surrender. This is the idea of presenting ourselves as wholly and living sacrifices to Him. By bowing and kneeling we are saying, “all respect and honor is yours and our trust is in you.” Is this how you understand your moment of worship?

Today, if only you would hear his voice, 8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, (means quarrelling)as you did that day at Massah (means testing) in the wilderness, 9 where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did. 10 For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’ 11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”