Authentic Worship
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:2-5
Back when I led worship for my youth group, the song “The Motions” by Matthew West had just come out and became a Christian hit almost instantly. It was rare to turn on K-Love or any other Christian station and not hear the chorus “I don’t want to go through the motions, I don’t want to spend another day, without your all-consuming passion inside of me.”
While I don’t exactly endorse all of the lyrics to the song (especially its emphasis on heart versus mind), the sentiment certainly struck a chord for many and meshed well with the beginning of the “authenticity” culture that is in full bloom today.
This culture of authenticity has for non-Christians largely revolved around letting your wants and your personality and what makes you happy inform your actions.
The reverse has proven true of Christianity where there was (and is) a renewed hope of making our desires and wants match our actions, namely our service to God, our profession of faith, and our worshipful singing. We don’t want to go through the motions of praising God with cold hearts and empty heads; we want to want to.
If we’re being honest, this is where many of us hit a wall. It seems much easier to change our actions to match our desires than the reverse. If I decide that work or wealth will make me happy, I can just work harder. It is a different beast entirely to decide to stop being happy in money or power and be happy in something else instead.
While terms like “authentic” smack of the modern era, the problem is an ancient one. In Isaiah 66, God proclaims “But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” while the worshippers whose hearts are far from God are described very differently:
“He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man;
he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig’s blood;
he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol.
These have chosen their own ways,
and their soul delights in their abominations;
I also will choose harsh treatment for them
and bring their fears upon them,
because when I called, no one answered,
when I spoke, they did not listen;
but they did what was evil in my eyes
and chose that in which I did not delight.”
(Isaiah 66:3-4)
A common Old Testament teaching sums this up well:
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
(Psalm 51:17)
Also:
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
(Hosea 6:6)
So what’s the solution? How do we stop going through motions? How do we align our hearts with our worship? The first step we must take is to accept that the measure of our obedience is not emotions. Notice in the three Old Testament quotes above that the descriptions are not necessarily emotions:
• Humility and reverence to God’s Word (Isaiah 66)
• A broken, humble heart (Psalm 51)
• Steadfast love and knowledge of God (Hosea 6)
Instead of the emotion we often place at the center of authenticity, the Bible points to obedience, knowledge of God’s goodness, knowledge of our sinful failures, and love for God. What better Psalm could sum this up than Psalm 103:
“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,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
One of the primary keys to authenticity in the faith is remembrance of God! “Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all of his benefits!” This is the route the Bible takes to changing our hearts, warming them to the Lord. As we should have expected, it lies not with our striving but with the grace of God!
The questions we must ask in stirring our hearts to genuine worship are not “Am I really as happy as I ought to be about God?”, “Do I love Him enough?”, or “Did I obey with my head or my heart?” The questions to ask are:
“Who forgives all your iniquity?”
“Who heals all your diseases?”
“Who redeems your life from the pit?”
“Who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy?”
“Who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s?”
The path to authentic worship —worship that comes earnestly from us, from our loves, our desires, our joys— is paved with thoughts of God. All of the statements in these three verses have God as their answer.
The path to authentic worship is paved with the merciful benefits of God’s love for us in His Son. All of these lines contain the second person. “You” are the recipient of all these blessings! For an extensive but not exhaustive list of God’s blessings to us, see Ephesians 1:3-14.
The path to authentic worship is rooted in the objective. The question isn’t whether you love him enough but what He has historically, objectively done for you. He has healed us of sin, forgiven iniquity, redeemed us from death, has promised us mercy and love, and satisfies us with His goodness.
The path to authentic worship is away from self-focus and towards God’s work in redemption and reconciliation.
As my pastor often says, the application to see here is “Look to Christ”!
