Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute... -Psalm 150: 3, 4
Here the Scripture begins to outline the kind of ways that we can praise the Lord. Praise the Lord with all sorts of musical instruments: harps, trumpets, cymbals, flutes, and stringed instruments. According to the Word of God, we praise the Lord with all that we have and all that we are. When it comes to lifting up our praise to God we are to hold nothing back, but we are called to praise Him with all of our hearts. However believers choose to worship, be it in quiet reverence or more exuberant expressions of praise, the main point is to worship the Lord with all of our hearts – in sincerity and with an emphasis upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
Worship of the Lord is not about going through the motions, but rather worship is about exalting the Lord. There is a difference, isn’t there? Going through the motions means that we are doing something, but we don’t have to think about it. God forbid that we enter into a time of worship with that attitude. Every time we worship the Lord the Scripture says that we are to do so in holiness, reverence, and awe. What that will involve is centering our minds, our thoughts, and our hearts on the Lord as we lift up and exalt His holy name.
Have you ever found yourself in a time of worship, maybe during a hymn, the special music, a time of prayer, or the preaching, and you realized that your mind was about a hundred miles away? When that happens to us it should always be completely unintentional. As followers of Christ, we are called to set our hearts on the Lord and worship Him with all of our hearts. That may involve singing, shouting, praying, or just listening, but we must do so with great focus and intention.
Praising the Lord with all that we have means also keeping that spirit of praise long after we leave the worship service on Sunday. As we go through each day there is an attitude in our hearts that says, I will praise the Lord at all times – His praise shall continually be on my lips (Psalms 34: 1). Such an attitude does not change with our circumstances, but rather it remains constant and unending. I will praise the Lord and I will continue to do so – at all times; in the quiet of my heart, out loud, alone, and with other believers.
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