Worship & Psalm 33, part 3
Verse 1 tells us who should worship. As I said in Monday's post, the righteous should worship God. I described what the Book of Psalms means by a righteous person -- not a perfect person, but one who trusts in God and is grateful for his help.
Some worship for the wrong reasons, but at least they are worshiping. In Philippians Paul spoke about people who preach Jesus with the wrong motives. He describes these preachers as selfish and competitive (Phil 1:15-17). They are neither humble nor gentle in their approach. Nevertheless, Paul says that it's okay. Even though their reasons might be all wrong, they are still preaching Jesus. And he rejoices because Jesus is still proclaimed.
So it is with those who worship for the wrong reasons. They may be show-offs or show-ups or camouflagers. But at least they are praising God.
Some who are righteous, however, do not praise God. Perhaps they were originally grateful to God. Over time, though, they drifted off into self-righteousness. They were thankful for the gift of righteousness but have now lost sight of the One who gave them that righteousness. They might now think that they make themselves righteous, so they wrongly think they have no reason to praise God.
God's compassion is His primary mode of relating to us. Receiving His mercy results in our movement toward righteousness. This should produce in us a never-ending gratitude and a constant awareness that we are insufficient on our own.
Luther summed this up beautifully in one of his 95 theses. For the purposes of our discussion of Psalm 33, you could easily substitute the word "righteousness" for Luther's word "grace" and (presto, change-o) you would now have the theology of the Book of Romans. Luther wrote
[16] The person who believes that he can obtain grace by doing what is in him adds sin to sin so that he becomes doubly guilty.
[17] Nor does speaking in this manner give cause for despair, but for arousing the desire to humble oneself and seek the grace of Christ.
[18] It is certain that man must utterly despair of his own ability before he is prepared to receive the grace of Christ.
(as quoted and translated by Douglas John Hall, The Cross in Our Context)
I need to read and reread these words along with the words of the psalmist every day.
God, I thank you for your mercy. May my life be a living praise shouting out thanksgiving to You, the mighty and compassionate One.
Some worship for the wrong reasons, but at least they are worshiping. In Philippians Paul spoke about people who preach Jesus with the wrong motives. He describes these preachers as selfish and competitive (Phil 1:15-17). They are neither humble nor gentle in their approach. Nevertheless, Paul says that it's okay. Even though their reasons might be all wrong, they are still preaching Jesus. And he rejoices because Jesus is still proclaimed.
So it is with those who worship for the wrong reasons. They may be show-offs or show-ups or camouflagers. But at least they are praising God.
Some who are righteous, however, do not praise God. Perhaps they were originally grateful to God. Over time, though, they drifted off into self-righteousness. They were thankful for the gift of righteousness but have now lost sight of the One who gave them that righteousness. They might now think that they make themselves righteous, so they wrongly think they have no reason to praise God.
God's compassion is His primary mode of relating to us. Receiving His mercy results in our movement toward righteousness. This should produce in us a never-ending gratitude and a constant awareness that we are insufficient on our own.
Luther summed this up beautifully in one of his 95 theses. For the purposes of our discussion of Psalm 33, you could easily substitute the word "righteousness" for Luther's word "grace" and (presto, change-o) you would now have the theology of the Book of Romans. Luther wrote
[16] The person who believes that he can obtain grace by doing what is in him adds sin to sin so that he becomes doubly guilty.
[17] Nor does speaking in this manner give cause for despair, but for arousing the desire to humble oneself and seek the grace of Christ.
[18] It is certain that man must utterly despair of his own ability before he is prepared to receive the grace of Christ.
(as quoted and translated by Douglas John Hall, The Cross in Our Context)
I need to read and reread these words along with the words of the psalmist every day.
God, I thank you for your mercy. May my life be a living praise shouting out thanksgiving to You, the mighty and compassionate One.
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