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Glory in His Holy Name
Monday, March 6th
1 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always.
Psalm 105:1-4
What is the purpose of worship?
God created us to be in a relationship with Him. Our relationship with God should be marked primarily by our worship of Him. He is God and we are not. He is the creator and sustainable of all things and we are part of His creation. We fit into God's world. It is not the other way around. Our right and proper posture towards God is worship because He alone is worthy of it.
How do we worship God?
There are innumerable answers to that question. Some of those answers are rooted in Scripture and God's description. Other answers are rooted in our own desires that may or may not lead us to a faithful answer to the question. John Stott, author and pastor, in his book The Living Church pointed to Psalm 105:3 for his answer to this question where it says, "Glory in his name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice." We worship God through glorying in His holy name and rejoicing as we seek Him.
What does it mean to glory in His holy name?
The descriptions of God's name in the Bible point to His revealed character and who He is. God is holy which means He is set apart from and above all others. Therefore, once we get glimpse of the holiness of His great name we see the reason for glorying or reveling in it. We respond to His glorious and holy name through worshiping Him.
A.W. Tozer, 20th century pastor and author, wrote the following about worship in his writing, "The Purpose of Man: Designed to Worship":
"Worship is man's full reason for existence. Worship is why we are born and why we are born again. Worship is the reason for our genesis in the first place and our regenesis that we call regeneration. Worship is why there is church, the assembly of the Redeemed, in the first place. Every Christian church in every country across the world in every generation exists to worship God first, not second; not tacking worship at the end of our service as an afterthought, but rather to worship God primarily, with everything else coming in second, at best. Worshiping God is our first call."
Going Deeper:
- What comes to your mind when you think of the word, "worship"?
- What do you see as the purpose of worship in light of this devotion?
- Psalm 105:3 says, "Glory in his name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice." What does it look and feel like to glory in something? What does it look and feel like to glory in God's name?
- Do you tend to try to fit into God's world or do you try to fit God into your world?
- What can change as we gain a greater understanding and appreciation for the greatness of God?
Prayer:
Almighty God, heavenly Father, you are alone are worthy of my worship and praise. You have created everything and you sustain everything by the power of your word. I confess, however, that I put things out of order in my life. I try to fit you into my world as opposed to recognizing that I am part of the grand story that you are writing. I ask that you help me to see how great you truly are. I want to know you more and then I want to worship you more and more. Please give me the grace to move in this direction. I ask for all of this in the great name of Jesus. Amen.
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