Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you will hear His voice:
“Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
Psalm 95:6-8
I am always so amazed at how expressive worship is often being described in the Bible. Here in Psalms 95, the writer encourages us to sing (v.1), to shout (v.2), to bow down (v.6), and to kneel (v.6)–even the word used for ‘thanksgiving’ (v.2) in Hebrew also implies a raising of hands in praise. I am reminded today that the worship The Lord desires most from us is total worship–more than just opening our mouths to sing along to some lyrics, worship is about centering the spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional aspects of our lives, the totality of who we are, on the Lord.
But it all starts in our hearts. I find it really interesting that we are cautioned here not to harden our hearts in the middle of a psalm written about worship. It sounds harsh, but the reality of life is that sometimes the challenges, trials, and disappointments we experience can harden our hearts when it comes to worship, preventing us from experiencing the fullness of God’s presence and power, just like how calluses form over skin like a barrier. These calluses of the heart often manifest themselves in some combination of unbelief, pride, lethargy, and resistance to what the Lord is saying and wants to do in our lives.
The converse is that the Lord wants us to keep our hearts soft before Him. Softness implies teachability and openness to His leading, and the level of how hard or soft our hearts are towards the Lord actually reveals the level of how total our worship really is. The Lord is a gentleman, and He will never force our worship–but as we allow Him to move in our hearts in total surrender and worship, He molds it to become more like Jesus.
David Chan
Lord, reveal to us areas in our hearts and lives that have become hardened. We want to worship You in Spirit and in truth, with the totality of our lives, so we ask that you keep our hearts soft and teachable before You. Thank You for your unfailing grace and the empowerment of The Holy Spirit to help us in Jesus’ name, amen!
