The Secret to Uplifting Worship
David was a man who enjoyed worship. He felt uplifted by it, so he said, "I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord!'" (Ps. 122:1).
What was the secret to his eagerness towards worship? Read carefully what he wrote in Psalm 5:7: "But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple" (KJV). Within this short verse we find four things that made David's worship worthwhile. They will make ours more meaningful as well.
1. David considered uplifting worship to be a personal responsibility. Notice the phrase "but as for me." It sounds similar to Joshua's charge, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:15). Joshua wasn't going to depend on others for his faithfulness. Neither did David depend on others to make his worship worthwhile.
Worship is what you make of it. So many of us put little or no time into preparing for worship that we don't enjoy it when we get to church services. It's our own fault. This is not to say that the worship leaders don't bear part of the blame when church services grow stale--they do. But most unfulfilling worship is due to how little the participants put into it.
2. Worship is driven by gratitude. David came to worship considering "the multitude of thy mercy." Worship and thanksgiving go hand in hand. In fact, many times praise is described in terms of "giving thanks" (see Ps. 92:1; 95:2; 100:4; Dan. 2:23; Lk. 22:19; Heb. 13:15). Are you thankful to the Lord for what he has done? Or do you take His blessings for granted? If so, this might explain why your zeal for church has died down.
3. The secret to heartfelt adoration is the fear of the Lord. David worshipped "in thy fear." The secret is not in new innovations or "contemporary" worship services. Aside from the fact that these trends often involve unauthorized practices, they can only satisfy us for a little time, and then we look for something new. The "fire" behind real worship is a deep-seated awe at the wonder that is our God!
4. God is the object of our worship. David said he would worship "toward thy holy temple." The worship trends the religious world follows today are geared toward man, not God. But Jesus commanded theocentric worship, saying, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (Jn. 4:24).
Every church that applies David's methods to its worship services will notice positive changes. The singing will be more joyful. The Lord's Supper, more contemplative. Christians will pray fervantly and give cheerfully. Sermons will be more inspiring. It's worth a try.
