We don't kneel much in the twenty-first century. The spirit of the self-made person is alive and well. Today's philosophy is to get as much power as possible and submit to no authority. The lack of respect for authority is prevalent. Children don't respect their parents, students don't respect their teachers, and employees don't respect their employers. Respect for the things of our God is on the decline. Our God is worthy to be worshiped because He is so much greater than we are.
Finally, He is worthy to be worshipped because He is a personal God. Though He is the God of many, He is able to be the God of one, mine. That means He knows us, each one, and we know Him. Such a relationship has been His intent and plan from the beginning. His desire for man is evident through the entire Old Testament, revealed in the Gospels, refined in the Epistles, and rejoiced over in the Revelation. God desires to be our God and we are to be His people. This theme sewn into the fabric of Holy Scripture will come to pass according to Revelation 21:3.
Advertisement
And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them (NAS)
The redeemed worship because they understand that they are already the people of His pasture and He is their God. True worshipers are also eagerly looking forward to that time when we are gathered to Him to dwell in His presence forever. Our Lord is to be worshiped for He alone is Worthy.
In much of our conversations regarding what happens on Sunday mornings in many church we may refer to the overall event as the "worship service." We really (either consciously or subconsciously) divide it into two parts. Some may even have someone called the "worship leader" who provides direction to all the events leading up to the message which is brought by someone called the "preacher." Verse 7 gives us just such a transition. The process of coming together, giving expression to our joy and thanksgiving, seeing God's awesomeness and realizing His great love for us ultimately leads us to being receptive to "hear His voice."
Hearing His voice, which comes from the proclamation of the word, is an essential part of the worship experience. Without hearing the word proclaimed then we may become like the Children of Israel in the wilderness who demonstrated faithlessness. We know that "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." The consequence of unbelief would be that we would not heed the call to worship.
