Sing to the Lord a New Song
1 Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!
2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.
5 Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment written! This is honor for all his godly ones.
Praise the Lord!
Psalms 149
Worship is beautiful and is a definite mark of a Christian. In Hebrew, worship refers to bowing down in worship and humbling ourselves before God. In verse 2, Scripture says God is the Maker and our King and so our response should be an honest reflection of our desire to worship Him. Worship is both a physical bodily and mental response to God. When we sing, it should be with a heart that has total adornment for our God. In verse 6 it says, ‘Let the high praises of God be in their throats, and two-edged swords in their hands.’ Singing songs help us to recount the gospel and prepare our hearts to worship God as we gather for corporate worship. How one leads in worship is also a reflection of how to teach and be witnesses to one another. We will often find that worship is intertwined with all of our lives and is displayed in the church, fellowship, and even in the smallest ways.
To reflect on the ways we worship God, I would like us to consider an analogy of a wheel. Feel free to take a piece of paper to do this activity.
First, write the word “Christ” in the middle of your paper.
Now for the next step, think of four areas where you dedicate the most time to God. You can allot any number to each pillar but the sum of the pillars has to equal 10.
For example,
1) Worship – 2
2) Fellowship – 3
3) Church – 2
4) Prayer – 3
The numbers represent the distance or spaces that the pillar can be written down away from the word “Christ”. For example, “Worship” is written two spaces away from the word “Christ” at 12 o'clock. “Fellowship” is written three spaces away at 3 o’clock. “Church” is written two spaces away at 6 o’clock and “Prayer” is written three spaces away at 9 o'clock.
If you draw a circle around the pillars, this is now your wheel. Depending on what numbers you gave to each wheel, you may have a circular or not-so-circular wheel. This analogy is meant for us to think about our well-roundedness in the Christian Life.
Consider how you are prioritizing your time with God and how much energy you are putting into each area whether it be the church, worship, prayer, fellowship, or elsewhere. Other suggestions could be evangelism, small groups, mission trips, witnessing to others through your passions, etc.
If we were to only dedicate time to church and worship without prayer, then the wheel would be very unbalanced. And if our wheel is unbalanced on an already bumpy road, this will delay our journey and hinder us from reaching our final destination.
I hope this short activity allows us to think about worship in all aspects of our lives and helps us to reflect on where we are being called to serve. Think about how your wheel is moving and if it is on a steady path that supports you in your walk with God. One of the most beautiful gifts we have is to express ourselves so let us worship in all the ways that we can.
