This excerpt from The Heart of Worship Files (complied by Matt Redman) is an exhortation on worship written by Don Williams. Williams is a theologian, retired Vineyard pastor and professor at Fuller Theological Seminary. He currently works with Matt Redman in training young worship leaders in songwriting and theology. His message is for worship leaders and worshippers alike.
Worship with All You Have!
By Don Williams
A psalm. For giving thanks.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Worship with all you have!
Worship is an event. We don’t simply come to worship or attend worship; we do worship. This summons to worship is a summons to action: “shout” (a shout of triumph or a battle cry), “worship” (literally, “serve,” like a slave), “come,” “enter,” “give thanks,” “and “praise,” When we do this, we throw ourselves into it. It’s hard to shout without using our whole body. We open our mouth. We fill our lungs. We let go. When we enter Yahweh’s gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise, we are in motion. We re going somewhere—into the Temple to see the King. This worship, or service, is corporate, intense, loud, boisterous, energetic, releasing. It is worthy of our great God.
This worship also has a tone. We shout “for joy.” We worship “with gladness.” We come “with joyful songs.” We enter “with thanksgiving and . . . praise his name.” Do you feel this? Exhilaration, gladness, exuberance, even ecstasy? Can you see faces with eyes wide open, expansive looks, brows raised, mouths smiling and laughing—all also sweat-stained on a hot Jerusalem day? It is holy hilarity, worthy of Majesty.
Psalm 100 is antiphonal. The worship leaders and the worshippers dialogue. This worship is active, reactive and dynamic. Unlike many people attending our churches, there are no passive observers here.
The priests at the Temple gates summon the pilgrims: “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” The crowds respond with their confession: “Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” Again, the priests call “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” The people respond: “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
Notice that the action of worship, the how, is based upon revelation, the why. We—and the whole earth—worship with such delight (vv. 1–2) because Yahweh (“the Lord”) is God (implying that all other gods are not gods; v. 3). He is our Creator: “It is he who made us.” We are neither self-sufficient nor autonomous. He is our Owner: “We are his.” But he is also our Redeemer calling us to be His covenant nation: “We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” (Kings in the ancient world were often symbolized as shepherds; see Psalm 23.)
Again, the how, our entering the Temple, giving thanks to Him and praising His name (v. 4), is because of the why: “For the Lord [Yahweh] is good [steadfast in his moral character and justice] and his [covenant] love endures forever; his faithfulness [trustworthiness] continues through all generations. (v. 5).
Does our worship measure up to these biblical tests? When we lead worship, do we expect things to happen? Are we participating in an event? Are we interacting with the worshippers we lead; is our worship dialogical? Does joy expressed by rejoicing in song mark our entrance into God’s presence? Are we taking our people there? Is this joy mere emotion or is it grounded in our Creator, our covenant King—with His attributes of goodness, eternal love and faithfulness through all generations?
Don’t hold back. Worship costs us everything and we are made for exactly that. Our ancestors knew this: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” Do we?