Monday, May 9, 2016

One God; One Way of Worship


Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god:
their drink offerings of blood will I not offer,
nor take up their names into my lips.”
Psalm 16:4

The holiness and glory of God is so great that it demands exclusivity; that is, it demands that we worship Him and no other.  In practical terms, this means that we worship Him as He says to worship Him, and no other way.
This is why we do not add ceremonies to the way of worship God created through His Son.  Jesus said that the Father desires to be worshipped “in spirit and in truth.”  And if God has revealed how we are to worship Him, who are we to choose another way of worship?  Who are we?  But more importantly, who is God?
O LORD God, there is none like thee.”  He is infinitely wise, and good, and mighty, and holy.   He has condescended to speak to us and He has revealed how we can worship Him acceptably!  That one thing – that He deigned to show us the way – is what makes all other ways of worship so wrong that godly souls refuse to participate in them.
The sorrows of those who worship in a way that pleases themselves instead of in the way that pleases God shall indeed “be multiplied”.  But the joys and pleasures of those who obey God also “shall be multiplied”, as God promised in this same Psalm! “You will show me the path of life [and I will walk in it!]  In your presence is fulness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”