What Would David Do?

The Door - The Man of Worship

Man - The Door Of Worship

I don't know what your job is, but imagine for a while that you are an author. Perhaps you love to sew, so you choose to write a book about sewing. As an intelligent author, you realize how important it is to begin the book in a way that will both grab peoples' attention, as well as give them an understanding of what the book is all about. Which of the following lines would you begin your book with:

Most cars in America today have either 4 or 6 cylinders, and are fueled with gasoline....
In building homes, it is important to keep the desires of your potential customers in mind....
Fractures can occur in patients in a number of ways, but in the event of a fracture, the primary concerns are....
Sewing may at first appear complex, but to many people, it is both a delight during sewing, as well as afterwards, when you are rewarded with comments like...

I assume of course that you probably chose answer number one, like most people would. You didn't? Don't you realize the obvious connection between sewing and driving cars. After all, the first thing you have to do in order to sew is drive to a store and buy thread, fabric, needles, thimbles.... No, the average person wouldn't begin with a sentence about driving.

Now, try for a moment to understand the mind of God. He has chosen to author a book about worship. This book will be a worship songbook and worship manual for thousands of years, and millions of people. How then should it begin? How about:

Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse. Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!

In my opinion, that would be an excellent way to begin the book of Psalms! Look at the structure of that chapter. David begins by telling us what to do. 'Praise the LORD!'. Then he tells us where. Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse. Then he tells us what to praise God for, Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. Then he tells us what we instruments we are to praise Him with, Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel.. Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals. He even tells us some of our actions, Praise Him... dancing. And for a grand finale, he tells us who should worship, Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Yep, that's how I would have began the book of Psalms. Let people know what this book is all about. No questions, this is a book about praising God. But the chapter just quoted isn't Psalm 1. It's Psalm 150. The very last chapter in the book of Psalms.

While going through this Bible study, I did a couple of things. One was to look at each verse, and try to fit it into a category. The second thing I did was to look at each chapter, and give it a title. Some of my titles were:

Chapter 2 - The Object of Worship - The King
Chapter 3 - The Object of Worship - My Deliverer
Chapter 4 - The Object of Worship - My Safe Keeper
Chapter 5 - The Object of Worship - The Judge and Refuge

The Character of the Worshiper

I had a number of other chapters labeled. But I really struggled with chapter 1. Why in the world would a book about worship begin with chapter 1. The obvious answer is that you can't begin a book with chapter 2. But the question I had was, why did God select the content of chapter 1? It doesn't seem to be about God at all. In fact, in the end, I gave Psalm 1 the title, The Man of Worship. Psalm 1 isn't about God very much, but it is about the person who can (or does) worship God. Let's take a look at Psalm 1.

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.

For a book on worship, this seems a strange way to begin. After running into a few passages in Psalms like this, I had to ask myself, ' Why are these here?' My conclusion is that it matters to God who worships Him. Not everyone is qualified to worship. What kind of things qualify us to worship God, or disqualify us? The first qualifications here are that we can't lead sinful lives. God blesses the man who doesn't lead his life based on the counsel of people who are wicked. He doesn't walk in the same path as they walk. And he doesn't sit in the seat of scoffers.

Counsel has to do with what we think. Our path relates to what we do. And sitting in the seat of scoffers relates to what we say about others. The person who worships God has to think right, do right, and speak right. (Or not speak wrong, in this case)

It's interesting that David didn't say, 'How blessed is the man who sings songs of joy to the Lord...' or 'How blessed is the man who plays a harp of ten strings...' God blesses the person who leads a life of integrity. That is the kind of person who enters His presence. It's not that we earn his presence, (we'll see that later,) but that God does have some requirements, and they don't relate to musical talent.

Now how can a person live like that? Those requirements seem to be pretty high to me. But David continues with the man's heart attitude. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. A person's outward actions can be observed, but this man's heart was on God. It's interesting that David was known as a man after God's own heart, and that's what seems to be focused on here. His delight is in the law of the Lord, and he is thinking about it all the time.

That has not always been my picture of a worshiper. I thought of a worshiper as someone captivated by beautiful songs about God. Their eyes caught fire when certain songs were sung, and their hearts were tender. But if that kind of person doesn't delight in God's Word, it doesn't count.

I remember hearing about guys on the battlefields during war. A highlight of their lives was getting mail from home. They didn't get new mail often, so they'd treasure the letters they received. Sometimes, they'd read and re-read letters over and over, 'til they were too blurred to read anymore. Why? Because they were treasuring a relationship, and those words captured and expressed that relationship. We need that same attitude toward the Word of God.

The following verses describe how God will reward someone like that. In Hebrews, it says that in order to approach God, we have to believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder, (Heb. 11:6) This verse in Psalms isn't describing a qualification, it's describing a reward.

The importance of this is that in order to be a worshiper, we've got to be people who obey God, and love His Word.

Psalm 24:3-6 also talks about qualifications to be a worshiper.

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face even Jacob. Selah.

In a sense, one of the goals of worship is to enter into the presence of God. David asks the question, 'Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place?' What is it that God demands of us in order to come before Him? And then David gives us the answer:

Purity of our works (hands) and our heart
Truth in our souls and our words
Seeking Him

David recognized that not everyone was qualified to come before God. One of our problems in worship is that we want to come before God and enjoy His presence. We want to sing and celebrate and enjoy each others' fellowship. But we can't just do that whenever we want. We have to meet God's character qualifications. David asked the question Who can... and ended with the answer He who has... (this lifestyle and heart)

Again in Psalm 15 David follows this same type of thinking:

Psalm 15:1-5 O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the Lord; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.

Again David asks the question of who can live in God's tent. If you think about it, that's an incredibly profound question. David recognizes that God is completely holy, is the Judge, and is all powerful. Yet David asks who can live in His tent. If it weren't for verses like this, I would have expected the answer to be, 'No one.' But it's not. God invites us to live with Him. If...

Who can live in His tent, and abide on His hill? The person who:

has a walk (character) of integrity
has works that are righteous
has thoughts that are true
has speech that is not slanderous
does not do evil to his neighbor
doesn't reproach his friend
despises those who are reprobates
honors those who fear Him
swears to his own hurt and does not change
does not put out his money at interest
doesn't take a bribe against the innocent

This is a lot longer list than we saw in Psalm 24. Again though, David includes both his works (good, and the avoidance of bad) and his heart. David is talking about a man of integrity, a man whose actions and heart all say the same thing. He will do what God wants him to do. He will be a man of character.

Those things are all obvious from the Scripture. We know God wants us to be people of character.

But that is God's requirement for worshipers. We can not be worshipers if we have sin in our lives. In fact the Bible goes so far as to say,

Psalm 66:18 If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear;

Notice that it doesn't say that He cannot hear, but that He will not hear. It's not a matter of His ability, it's a matter of His choice. He refuses to hear us if we keep sin in our hearts. And if He refuses to hear us, He must refuse our worship.

In fact, an interesting pair of verses on that is..

Genesis 4:5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.

1 John 3:12 not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous.

Do you see it? In Genesis, it says that for Cain... He (God) had no regard. God paid no attention to Cain, or his offering. It is not simply that Cain's offering was unacceptable, Cain himself was unacceptable. We then see this brought out in 1 John, where it says that Cain slew his brother because his deeds were evil. Cain was not acceptable to God, his deeds were evil.

Have you ever thought about it this way before? When this passage is discussed, we usually hear that, 'Cain offered a sacrifice of grain, which was unacceptable, but Abel offered a sacrifice of sheep, which was acceptable.' The truth of it is that God asked for both offerings in the Old Testament, grain and animals. And Cain was unacceptable, not just his offering. We usually hear it discussed in the light of technique, not character.

We've got to be the right kind of person to be a worshiper.

The Forgiven Worshiper

God has qualifications for worshipers. The problem is, do we really measure up? While we can probably say we are somewhat like the descriptions David gave, what if we blow it? David said,

Psalm 51:1-5,7 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.

David was a man who had blown it. He had committed adultery, lied, murdered, and then married the woman he had committed adultery with. He didn't confess his sin until he was confronted by Nathan. We had a list of qualifications in order to approach God above. David didn't meet many of them at this time of his life. Yet David realized that there was something that would go beyond his own works and thoughts. God's grace and forgiveness.

David starts out by asking God to be gracious to him. I've thought some about that word. What does it mean to be gracious? I used to think it meant to be kind or nice to someone. The root word however, is grace. God giving us something that we do not deserve. Mercy is an extension of this grace when we deserve punishment. David wanted God to give him forgiveness, to completely cover his sin. That's the whole concept of 'blotting it out.'

Have you ever written something down, and then wanted to erase it, but couldn't? Or you've seen something someone else has written, and you wanted to eliminate it? One of the things I've done is write other words over the previous word. It's very difficult then to figure out what the original words or combinations of letters were. But if you can completely cover up the word, it is impossible to figure out what it was. David wanted that kind of removal of his sin, he wanted it covered completely.

Then, he wanted to be cleansed. That's a remarkable thing. To commit adultery, lying and murder, and then ask God to be cleansed. It is one thing to be forgiven, meaning that God does not hold it against us any more. It is another to be cleansed, meaning that the contamination of the sin, the smell of the sin, the 'disease' of the sin is removed from us.

David confessed his sin, and asked for God's forgiveness.

Psalm 51:17,19 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, In burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

And after asking God for forgiveness, (this is the same chapter) David expected God to again be pleased with his sacrifice. Notice David doesn't say his sacrifices make him acceptable. Rather that God wanted to see his spirit and heart broken. After that, God would accept and delight in his sacrifices.

Psalm 65:3 Iniquities prevail against me; As for our transgressions, You forgive them.

David expected God's forgiveness. Furthermore, David said this in the present tense. God is forgiving them right now. I used to think that a certain time period had to pass before God could forgive me (don't know where I got that idea.) But the fact is, when we confess to God that we've sinned, and ask for forgiveness, we've got it.

Psalm 79:9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; And deliver us and forgive our sins for Your name's sake.

There is an additional concept in this whole issue of forgiveness. God does forgive our sins. And He is glorified in doing that. Our confession actually becomes a means of worship, because we are recognizing who He is, and what He Has Done, and Is Doing. And He is glorified in that.

We've established that we have to be people of integrity to worship God. It is not enough that we simply sing the right songs, or feel the right things. Our hearts, tongues and works have to be pure if we want to approach God.

Matthew 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Table Of Contents

Email: Ron Bremner

References:

The Importance of Our Character, versus the Importance of Our Technique

Psalm 150 - Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary...

The Character of the Worshiper

Psalm 1- How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
Psalm 24:3-6 - Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place?
Psalm 15:1-5 O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill?
Psalm 66:18 If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear;
Genesis 4:5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.
1 John 3:12 not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous.

The Forgiven Worshiper

Psalm 51:1-5,7 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin.
Psalm 51:17,19 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices
Psalm 65:3 Iniquities prevail against me; As for our transgressions, You forgive them.
Psalm 79:9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; And deliver us and forgive our sins for Your name's sake.
Matthew 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.