| |
| Bowing
to Jehovah |
| William
Mikler |
| "Bless
the LORD, O my soul; |
| and
all that is within me bless His
holy Name! |
| Bless
the LORD, O my soul; |
| And
forget not all His benefits |
| Psalm
103:1-2 |
Once
I saw a wrecking ball swing back and forth
from a huge crane and demolish an old brick
building. When the wrecking ball had done
it's job, there was nothing left of the old
building but a dusty, mangled rubble heap.
If
you're like me, there have been times when
you've wished a divine wrecking ball would
demolish the human pride that stood like
an infernal Babel against the purposes of
God in your life. My friends, I have found
the wrecking ball. It is worship.
To
learn something more of worship we'll turn
our attention to a psalm of David. David,
of course, was a conqueror and a warrior king.
But before he was a king, he was a man of
worship, and thus he remained throughout his
life. David's many psalms have endured as
an anointed contribution to believers in countless
nations, generations, and languages. We can
learn something from a man whose worship has
been so enduring.
David's
worship was a key to David;s success as
a king. David's worship and the dominion
he enjoyed were connected to each other.
We need to know this. It is as we bow before
Jehovah's throne in worship that we properly
position ourselves to receive the blessing
and power we need to comprehensively reign
in life by Christ Jesus.
So,
lend me your attention as I set forth three
main points. First, we'll discuss how
David blessed the Lord; secondly, we'll
look at what he blessed the Lord with; thirdly,
we'll note the benefits that worship
is designed to make the worshiper recall.
"Bless
the LORD, O my soul"
In
the opening words o David's psalm, we find
David commanding his soul to bless God. Much
like an athlete might talk to himself to wring
more discipline from his soul and body, David
was ordering himself to worship God.
A
definition of the word "bless" will
be helpful here. Wilson defines the Hebrew word
for bless (barak) as "to kneel;
to kneel for prayer, praise . . . hence to praise,
to thank, to salute, to wish well to.""
The word has to do with worship, and the point
I want to make is this: For the soul of man
to truly worship God it must first bow before
God. Only then can the soul praise God properly.
When David commanded his soul to bless God,
he commanded his soul to bow before Almighty
God in worship.
The
motives for bowing one's soul before Jehovah
are respect, awe and godly fear. The soul
that reverences God will worship him. The
soul that bows before God expresses that respect.
Thus, bowing is the proper posture of the
soul in worship. (Bowing the soul has primarily
to do with the attitude of the soul -- one
can bow one's soul before Jehovah while standing
-- but sometimes, especially during times
of prayer or worship, it is most appropriate
to bow one's body before Jehovah. Some traditional
liturgical churches have kneeling benches
in their pews for this very purpose.)
The
Book of Revelation, a book of worship, reinforces
the principle of bowing in worship. For instance,
the twenty-four elders seated around the throne
"fall down before Him who sits on the
throne and worship him who lives forever and
ever" (Revelation 4;10). (The Greek word
for worship, proskuneo, carries the meaning
of prostration oneself.) In Revelation 5,
after the lamb took hold of the scroll, "the
four living creatures and the twenty-four
elders fell down before the lamb, each having
a harp, and golden bowls full of incense,
which are the prayers of the saints"
(Rev. 5:8). From the prostrate position
they sang a 'new song' which celebrates
the worthiness of the lamb, the redemption
of the church into a kingdom, the constituting
of the church kingdom into a priesthood, and
the promise to the church to reign on the
earth. Finally, chapter 5 of Revelation closes
with these words: "And the twenty-four
elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives
forever and ever." In short, the
Revelation pictures worshipers who were bowed
in body and soul.
Only
God is worthy of such reverence. The object
of David's worship was Jehovah, the "I
AM THAT I AM," the unchangeable,
omnipotent, transcendent, holy, merciful God.
We worship the same Jehovah, and Jesus Christ
His only begotten Son. Our mortality must
bow before the immortal God. Our flesh must
yield to the Holy Spirit of God. Our humanity
must acknowledge and praise its maker.
Bowing
to God positions us to receive His mercies.
Notice the connection between fear (or reverence)
and mercy in the following texts, which are
taken from Psalm 103:
| "For
as the heavens are high above the
earth, |
| So
great is His mercy toward those who
fear Him" (Ps. 103:11). |
| |
| "As
a father pities his children, |
| So
the LORD pities those who fear Him"
(Ps. 103:13) |
| |
| "But
the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting
to everlasting |
| On
those who fear Him" (Ps.
103:17) |
The
lesson is simple: As we fear God, we receive His
mercies. If you're short on mercy, maybe you've
been short on reverence . . . Friend, the bowing
Christian will receive God's mercies. The Christian
who benefits from God's mercies will stand among
men. A Christendom which bows before Jehovah will
rule the earth. David worshiped and ruled his
world in his day. Let us do the same in ours
| ."O
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" (Ps.
95:6) |
Bowing
With Everything in Your Soul
"and
all that is within me, bless His holy name!"
This
section will be brief, but it is important.
Don't let it evade your notice.
In
subjecting all that was within him to Jehovah's
name, David placed the contents of his soul
under the authority of God. This mighty act
of submission was the key to David's relationship
with God, for it positioned him to receive
God's grace
Doubtless,
there were good things in David's soul as
well as bad things. Faith no doubt resided
in close proximity to fear, love was neighbor
to lust, vision struggled against spiritual
nearsightedness, righteousness walked a path
through a forest of sin and regret. It is
that way with all of us. Our souls are a grand
hotel with many guests. Some guests are good,
others aren't. But when we submit our souls
to God we place all things in the soul, whether
good or bad, under the authority of God
Coming
under God's authority positions us to receive
blessing for our strengths and cleansing for
our weaknesses. However, we seem to make two
mistakes with regards to these things. The
first mistake we so often make is to let pride
blind us to the fact that the good things
in our soul need to be subjected to God. Thus,
in pride, even our strengths become stumbling
blocks. We might have a 450 horsepower engine
in our chariot, but without oil it will burn
up. Our strengths need the grace and oil which
the Father only pours out upon the humble
of heart. Thus, strengths need to bow to God
in worship. The other mistake we are prone
to make is trying to deal with our weaknesses
and sins all ourselves. This doesn't work
either. But when we bow our sins and weaknesses
to God's authority the Holy Spirit can deal
with them. Your 450 horsepower chariot engine
may have a scummed up carburetor. If so, submission
to God puts the engine in the shop where the
master Mechanic can get to it to fix it.
This
isn't a theory with me, and I hope it isn't
with you. I am learning -- I wish I could say
"I have learned" -- to submit the
contents of my soul to God. Just last week my
soul was terribly lazy about the things of God.
But God gave me the good sense to bow my soul
to him, and when I did so, laziness was also
made to bow. And what a week of glorious labor
I had after that. Not only was laziness dealt
with but various gifts and talents were anointed
to serve God's purposes. Submitting our whole
soul;, with all it's contents, is the key to
walking in the Spirit and rising above the lists
and works of the flesh. A soul yielded to God
will fulfill the righteousness of the Law.
"Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that
is within me, bless His holy name!"
Bowing
to Recollect
"And
forget not His benefits"
We
come now to godly recall. The bowed and worshiping
soul will recall benefits a proud heart forgets.
The poor of this world who are rich in faith
fill heaven and earth with thanksgiving; but
the rich in this world who are devoid of faith
are ever complaining. Why? Pride complains but
humility gives thanks. "Bless the LORD,
O my soul, and forget not his benefits,"
said David. From the position of humble
adoration, David recalled the benefits God had
bestowed upon him. There were five of them,
maybe six. Let's look at them.
1.
Forgiveness "Who forgives
all your iniquities," said David.
God is the God who pardons iniquities. Iniquities
are the actions which spring from the inherent
depravity of our human nature. But God pardons
us, spares us judgment, forgives us. Without
this benefit we'd be headed for hell and
eternal torment; with it, we are headed
to heaven and eternal blessing. When we
kneel our souls before Jehovah we can be
made aware of this great provision. Forgiveness
is the greatest of God's gifts to men
.2.
Healing "Who heals all your
diseases." Yes, sometimes Christians
die of disease, but more often than not
they live to a ripe old age. God does heal,
and we are instructed to remember that.
Healing is a benefit we should recall when
we worship
.3.
Redemption "Who redeems your
life from destruction." This benefit
is really about rescue from a muddy pit.
All of us have fallen into a pit of some
sort at one time or another. But as with
David, we have been rescued many times.
We are to recall these deliverences in our
worship. God is a delivering God.
4.
Crowning "Who crowns you
with lovingkindness and tender mercies."
God's salvation and care in our lives crowns
us with grace. In worship we recall the
crowning kindnesses of God. A bowing, worshipful
people are made mindful of their crowns.
5.
Satisfaction "Who satisfies
your mouth with good things." I'm
sure emotions and spiritual things are comprehended
here, but I am also convinced that God wants
the American to remember his hamburger,
the Brazilian his fejoada, the Ugandan
his matoke, and so forth. When you
worship, thank God for the wonderful meal
you last had. It came from Him, as do all
things. When we bow before God to praise
Him we should remember the good things He
has given us to enjoy, and we should thank
Him.
6.
Renewal "So that your youth
is renewed like the eagle's." The
old saying goes, "The way up is down."
So it is with the worshiper who truly bows
before God to bless Him. He will be renewed
and soar like an eagle. The door to God's
throne room is "knee-high."
I
close with a prayer. May the Lord God lead
you to worship with a bowed soul, may your soul
offer to God all that it contains, and may you
recall the wonderful benefits God has bestowed
upon you. For God's glory and your good, in
Jesus' name. Amen.
©
1999 William Mikler, Emissary International.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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