The Attitude of Worship
Psalms 26
February 10, 2019
The prophet Isaiah said:
Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”
The Lord referenced there one of the problems
That was occurring in the worship of Israel.
Namely that people were committed to the form,
But had totally failed to grasp the purpose.
They were good at going through the motions,
But their hearts were not united in what they were doing.
You may remember that Jesus quoted this very verse to the Pharisees.
• In Matthew 15 after they rebuked Him because His disciples didn’t wash their
hands before they ate and thus broke the traditions of the elders.
• Jesus first confronted a specific issue of their hypocrisy and then quoted that
verse to them.
You are a people who come near
You are a people who way the right things
But in your heart, you have no desire to truly worship Me
It was this same group that earned that infamous title from Jesus.
He called them “Actors” or, in the Greek HUPOCRATES,
Or in your Bible, “Hypocrites”
• They just went through the motions.
• Like cups that were clean on the outside and dirty on the inside
• Like tombs that were adorned with jewels but full of dead men’s bones
Their actions were, for the most part, on point,
But the problem was their heart.
From these men we learn a very important lesson.
ATTITUDE MATTERS
It has never been enough to just go through the motions with God.
• Sitting through the worship service
• Singing the songs
• Knowing when to stand and when to sit and how to be quiet
That has never been enough.
God has always looks much deeper.
He looks at the heart.
This reminds us of David’s request back in Psalms 19
Psalms 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.”
It’s not just the words we say,
But the thoughts of our heart as we say them.
The prophet Micah addressed this issue as well.
Namely that God wanted much more than just for people to complete the list of requirements.
Micah 6:6-8 “What God Requires of Man With what shall I come to the LORD And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?”
The heart matters. Attitude matters.
We even have an entire section of Scripture called “The Beatitudes”
They focus on things like humility, and repentance, and purity of heart,
And righteous desire, and submission.
It is attitudes of people who genuinely seek God.
And thus we are certain that right worship with a wrong attitude
Is not acceptable to God.
Perhaps the most definitive statement to this regard came from Jesus as He spoke to a Samaritan woman whom He met at a well.
John 4:21-24 “Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The key is obviously worship and the admonition couldn’t be clearer.
When you worship God it must be “in spirit and in truth”
Now on one hand
We know the dangers of worshiping in spirit but not truth.
• That is nothing more than an emotional frenzy.
• This would be the main problem with the charismatic movement.
You can get all excited, but if the truth isn’t there,
Or if you do the wrong thing or do it in the wrong way
(See Aaron’s sons offering strange fire or Uzzah touching the Ark)
The worship is not acceptable.
But the other problem is just as bad,
And that is to worship in truth but not spirit.
• It is to accurately go through all the motions without the genuine heart of worship on the inside.
• It is to have no internal agreement with your external behavior.
That is not acceptable either.
Can we really say we have worshiped God if we sang, without even contemplating the words?
Can we really say we have worshiped if attended, but didn’t want to?
IT REALLY BEGS THE QUESTION
Why did I come?
Why have I assembled?
The LORD said it through Isaiah:
Isaiah 1:12 “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?”
I mean, why even mess up the courtyard?
HAVE YOU EVER GIVEN THOUGHT TO HOW YOU’RE GOING TO WORSHIP?
• Have you ever considered if your worship is acceptable?
Or do you just sort of come and go through the motions with little concern as to whether or not God is pleased?
That’s called APATHY
And God strongly rebuked Israel for it.
Malachi 1:6-14 “‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’ “You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The table of the LORD is to be despised.’ “But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts. “But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts. “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you. “For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of hosts. “But you are profaning it, in that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.’ “You also say, ‘My, how tiresome it is!’ And you disdainfully sniff at it,” says the LORD of hosts, “and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?” says the LORD. “But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King,” says the LORD of hosts, “and My name is feared among the nations.”
• You see there that the LORD was angry at the priests.
• Because they were accepting blemished sacrifices
• Then they were complaining about how much work it was
And God’s response was, “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,”
In other words, “If you’re not interested in genuinely worshiping, then I’m not interested in having you here.”
• Certainly our ORDER of worship matters.
• Certainly the DOCTRINE of our worship matters.
• But do not forget that equally important is the ATTITUDE of our worship.
Well, with that as an introduction we turn now to Psalms 26.
In this Psalm we get a peek into David’s attitude
Regarding the public corporate worship service.
And it’s a good example for us to follow.
Especially since David is regarded as “a man after God’s own heart”
(David knew a thing or two about worship)
There are 5 realities we find in David here that we wish to express in our own lives.
#1 A REALIZATION ABOUT THE REQUIREMENTS OF WORSHIP
Psalms 26:1-3
You read right off the bat the word “Vindicate”
And we are aware of that meaning.
But the word can also be translated “Judge”
And I think that better fits the language of David here.
For you see 3 other verbs in verse 2 that all speak to that same mentality.
“Examine” – “try” – “Test”
You have here David with a request that
God would thoroughly examine and evaluate him.
Now, that does not mean that David is totally clueless as to his appraisal.
You’ll notice that David has already evaluated himself.
He says,
(1) “I have walked in my integrity”
(1) “I have trusted in the LORD without wavering”
(3) “For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth”
Now if you listen to David you see that AS FAR AS DAVID KNOWS
He is worshiping and walking in a manner that is pleasing to God.
And yet, David knows that is not enough.
So He asks the Lord to judge him.
“Vindicate me, O LORD”
“Examine me, O LORD, and try me;”
“Test my mind and my heart.”
That is David’s way of saying that
Despite what he may think about his own actions,
Ultimately he wants the Lord to examine him.
Anyone with that sort of request obviously cares about doing it right.
We see this mentality from him later as well:
Psalms 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”
Paul made this statement:
1 Corinthians 4:3-5 “But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.”
Paul understood as David did, that
Our own evaluations of our worship are not the ones that matter.
Didn’t we learn from Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 17:9-10 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.”
David knows that.
And so here the first thing he wants is for God to examine him.
What does that indicate to us?
That David’s attitude is one that realizes that worship is about pleasing God not pleasing David.
We read it quite often in Romans 12:
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
We understand that worship must be that which God accepts.
We may have lost this mentality in our world,
But that mentality was certainly alive and well in David’s.
• Every time the priest went behind that veil…
• Every time the sacrifice was laid on the altar…
• It was vitally important that God accept it or people were in trouble.
One had to be very careful to worship exactly as God prescribed
Otherwise ones worship might be deemed unacceptable.
Well you have David here asking just that.
God examine me and tell me if my worship is acceptable.
And friends that is a tremendous attitude to have in worship.
• To be more concerned about whether God accepts it than if I do.
• To sing with a focus on God’s enjoyment instead of my own.
• To be willing and humble to lift my life before God for His evaluation.
THAT IS A GENUINE ATTITUDE OF WORSHIP.
That it matters to me that my life is pleasing to God,
So much so that I ask Him to evaluate me and tell me if it isn’t.
David knew who worship was supposed to please, and so David asked Him if it did.
#2 A REJECTION OF HYPOCRITICAL WORSHIP
Psalms 26:4-5
In light of the first point, this one makes perfect sense.
• David’s concern is that his worship be internally pleasing.
• He wanted God to test his mind and his heart and make sure it was acceptable.
With that sort of mentality regarding worship,
It certainly makes sense to us to find that
David had little patience for those who didn’t care what God thought.
David had no interest in participating in
Some sort of hypocritical and phony worship service.
And he declared that here.
“I do not sit with deceitful men, Nor will I go with pretenders.”
• He’s talking about liars in worship.
• He’s talking about pretenders in worship.
They are people who attend and sing the songs but they don’t love God.
David says, “I’ll have none of that!”
(5) “I hate the assembly of evildoers, And I will not sit with the wicked.”
• These are people who assemble in worship, but it is all a show.
• They have no intention of leaving their sin.
They are like the people described in Jeremiah 7
Jeremiah 7:8-11 “Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. “Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’ — that you may do all these abominations? “Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares the LORD.”
Jeremiah spoke of people who lived for the world 6 days a week
And then thought it was all magically erased because they went to church.
Not hardly!
And God judged those people for that.
David has a similar mentality.
I am not going to sit with the wicked and offer with them
Some sort of defiled worship to God.
David has no tolerance of hypocritical worship.
I should point out that God doesn’t either:
Isaiah 1:10-17 “Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah. “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies — I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.”
We don’t have time to go read it all, but sometime go read Ezekiel 8-11 and I’ll tell you what you’ll find.
• God sends Ezekiel through a vision to see what is going on in His very temple.
• It is a bunch of people with no love for God.
• In Ezekiel 9 God marks them for judgment.
• In Ezekiel 10-11 God departs from them altogether.
I don’t mind telling you that Jesus had no tolerance for this either.
There is an interesting series of events that unfolds in Mark 11.
Mark 11:11-18 “Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late. On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening. Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS’? But you have made it a ROBBERS’DEN.” The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.”
Did you catch how in verse 11 Jesus first looked around and saw it all?
And then the next day He returned and drove everyone out.
No tolerance for hypocritical worship.
And church that disdain hasn’t changed.
• I know we live in this world of “don’t judge”
• And everyone thinks the worship service is some new found manner of “self
expression”
• And we aren’t supposed to criticize anyone else’s worship.
BUT LOOK AT CORINTH.
Remember in 1 Corinthians 5
• When we had that guy sleeping with his father’s wife?
• Paul commanded them to kick that guy out of the church.
1 Corinthians 5:8 “Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
The congregation should be pure!
Worship is at stake here.
Or look at 1 Corinthians 10
• Where he recognized people who were going to some sort of idol worship on Saturday and then to church on Sunday.
1 Corinthians 10:21-22 “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?”
Or look at 1 Corinthians 11
• Where people are getting drunk during the Lord’s Supper and excluding the poor and listen to Paul.
1 Corinthians 11:22 “What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you.”
And later Paul said that God was killing some of them for that sin.
Or look at 1 Corinthians 14
• Where Paul rebuked them for all seeking the limelight and the microphone and the up front and center position.
1 Corinthians 14:26 “What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.”
My point?
Neither David, nor the prophets, nor the apostles, nor the Father,
Nor Jesus had any interest in hypocritical worship.
WE REJECT IT.
• We are not here to go through the motions.
• We are not free to live one way 6 days a week and some other way on Sunday.
• We gather as a committed redeemed bride, and we are right to not tolerate anything less.
It is a good attitude in worship.
• Realization about the requirements of worship
• Rejection of hypocritical worship
#3 A REGARD FOR CORPORATE WORSHIP
Psalms 26:6-8
We have again a statement of David’s pure commitment.
He says, “I shall wash my hands in innocence, and I will go about Your altar, O LORD”
That is his way of saying, my worship will be pure.
“When I appear in Your courts, I won’t just be going through the motions
And I won’t be covering up some sin.
I’m here to genuinely and faithfully and honestly worship You.”
(7) “That I may proclaims with the voice of thanksgiving And declare all Your wonders.”
When you read that verse, we understand David as saying,
“I’m coming in innocence so I can sing faithfully.”
That’s one way to look at it.
ANOTHER (those of you with the MacArthur Bible will notice it in his commentary)
That this verse can also be translated “to hear the sound of praise and to proclaim all Your wonders”
In other words, David could also be saying,
That I am going in innocence and drawing near to Your altar
Because I want to hear the singing of the congregation
And I want to sing along with them.
(8) “O LORD I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells”
That is David’s response to being in a worship service
Surrounded by other believers as they sing hymns of praise to God
And draw near to Him.
David says, “I LOVE THIS!”
Attending worship isn’t a burden, it is a delight.
Attending worship isn’t a drag, it is a joy.
He loves worshiping God alongside other believers!
That is an attitude of worship that must be maintained.
In fact, I’d say if that is not the attitude of your heart in worship
That repentance may be in order.
When the early church was redeemed and filled with the Holy Spirit,
• You did not have to tell them that they should love the company of the saints or that they should give worship a try.
They loved it!
Acts 2:43-47 “Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
David had that kind of a love.
Later we’ll read:
Psalms 84:1-4, 10 “How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. The bird also has found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God. How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”
It’s just a genuine love for being in the house of God
And participating in corporate worship.
I know, we hear it all the time.
People who supposedly love God and believe in Jesus,
But who never assemble with God’s people for corporate worship.
They are fooling themselves.
• If you don’t love corporate worship…
• If you don’t love the fellowship of the saints…
• You really need to ask yourself if your love for God is genuine…
David loved the worship.
#4 A RECOGNITION ABOUT THE SERIOUSNESS OF WORSHIP
Psalms 26:9-11
HERE WE LEARN SOMETHING
About just how serious it is to worship God correctly.
David seems to understand that
Those who do not worship God correctly will be judged by God
And he wants to make sure God knows that he is not one of them.
That’s why he asked Got do examine him earlier.
• He wants to make sure that his worship is acceptable because those who do not have acceptable worship will be judged.
Look at it.
(9-11) “Do not take my soul away along with sinners, Nor my life with men of bloodshed, In whose hands is a wicked scheme, And whose right hand is full of bribes. But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity; Redeem me, and be gracious to me.”
David knew that there were people who did not worship God accurately.
• They were “sinners”
• They had “a wicked scheme”
• Their “right hand is full of bribes”
They were people who are seeking to use God to their own benefit
And their worship is nothing more than some sort of bargaining chip
Seeking to get God off their back.
David knows that such worship is not acceptable
And that God will indeed take them away.
So David wants to make sure that God knows that he is not like them.
David’s desire is to walk in integrity.
What is more David worships God for redemption and forgiveness.
• It’s not that David thinks himself righteous.
• It is that he is pure in heart regarding his worship.
• He knows he needs forgiveness; he knows he needs grace.
The issue is that he wants God to know that his worship is pure
And not to cast him aside with the sinners
Who aren’t concerned about that.
In other words:
• We all sit here in a worship service, and every single one of us is sinful in need of redemption and grace.
• But it is possible that only a portion truly believe that and worship God genuinely for giving it.
It is possible that there are some sinners even in worship
Who do not truly humble themselves before God or worship Him honestly.
Remember the Corinthians that Paul said God was killing because they were not judging their body rightly when taking the Lord’s Supper?
David knows that such people will be judged.
HIS PRAYER IS THAT GOD MAKE A DISTINCTION
Between sinners who love God and value grace
And between sinners who don’t.
What you see here is that worship is a serious issue.
• Failure to do it brings judgment.
• David wants God to know that I am doing it, and I want to do it well.
To that we’d ask the question, “How serious is worship to me?”
• Is it a big deal to me?
• Does it matter to me if I participate?
• Does it matter to me if I do it correctly?
It did to David.
#5 A RESOLVE TO CONTINUE TO WORSHIP
Psalms 26:12
“My foot stands on a level place;”
• He has put his foot down.
• His footstep is firm.
• His decision is resolute.
“In the congregations I shall bless the LORD”
We simply call that commitment.
It wasn’t about, “I’ll go so long as I enjoy it.”
It wasn’t about, “I’ll go if it’s convenient”
WORSHIP WAS A PRIORITY FOR HIM.
• I’m going to church.
• I’m going to stand in that congregation.
• I’m going to bless the Lord with them.
Is that important to you?
Because we live in a world where worship has lost all sense of priority.
We live in a world where anything at all
Is an acceptable reason not to attend corporate worship.
We go to church
• If the weather is pretty,
• And I didn’t stay out too late on Saturday,
• And if I don’t have a basketball tournament, or some other sporting event,
• And if my family or friends aren’t planning some other party or event that I want to go to,
• Or whatever else.
You have David here saying:
“It doesn’t matter what else is happening, I can tell you where you’ll find me. I’ll be in that congregation blessing the Lord.”
Is that not a remarkable attitude for worship?
LISTEN TO IT.
• David has a concern that God is pleased with his worship.
• He is so concerned that he actually asks God to send him an evaluation of how he did.
We call that HUMILITY
• David is also passionate about a pure worship.
• He’s not in this for the style points.
• He wants to gather with the genuinely redeemed and worship with them as God commands.
It was PURITY
• David also has a genuine love for worship.
• No one is making him do it.
• It’s not a burden to him, it’s the delight of his life.
It was LOVE
• David understood that the accuracy of worship matters
• And that God judges those who do not do it correctly.
• And so he was careful to not only worship accurately,
• But pray to God that he not be reckoned with the wicked.
It was SERIOUSNESS
• And David expressed a commitment to be in worship among God’s people blessing God with one accord.
It was PRIORITY
Those are pretty good indicators of the attitude of worship.
HUMILITY
PURITY
LOVE
SERIOUSNESS
PRIORITY
Those are good attitudes to evaluate ourselves by.
But ultimately it begins where David did by asking God to examine him.
Tonight, I think it’s only fitting that we take the Psalm to heart.
And as we come to an invitation time, I would think that the request of the first 2 verses would be a fitting prayer for everyone in this room.
“Judge me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, And I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. Examine me, O LORD, and try me; Test my mind and my heart.
