Worship: You Deliver Me by Selah
Deep as the ocean, bright as rain
This powerful emotion lifts me up above the plain
It's taking me to places I never thought I'd go
Showing me a grace I never thought I'd know
When I feel like I can't go on
You deliver me
And when the road is winding and way too long
You deliver me, You deliver me, yeah
I feel like a sinner whose sins have been washed clean
An absolute beginner whose heart has never seen
I must be forgiven for sometimes asking why
I was chosen to be given You in this life
When I feel like I can't go on
You deliver me, yeah
When the road is winding and way too long
You deliver me, You deliver me
When there's a distance
Oh, between what I am
And who I wanna be
You deliver
When I feel like I can't go on
You deliver me
When the road is winding and way too long
You deliver me
You deliver me
Writer(s): David Pearson, Brian E. Nash, Michael Post
Witness:
I am sitting here at my computer in a daze. I watched several videos of the opening worship song. They were all good, but the one I chose had scenes more in keeping with the song, which made it more faithful to the message of the song. It also had a higher quality sound track to it. I am tired, so I dozed off briefly as I watched the songs. This is easy for me to do because I tend to drift off when listening to a song, praying, or listening to a sermon. My mind will wander as I ponder what is being said or sung. When coupled with lack of sleep I tend to nod off.
As I was thinking about what to say in this portion of my journal, I thought back on the day. What was God teaching me? I could not think of anything profound or even mundane. Thus the another reason for the daze I found myself in. Then I remembered the message at church tonight (actually yesterday now - it’s after midnight). The very first point hit me. Actually, it gently nudged me to recall my words in my last journal entry. There I had said:
My desire of late is to be authentic and honest with others and God (whom we cannot fool anyway).
The message this weekend was titled, “True Worshipers,” based on the words of our Lord found in John 4:23.
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
NIV
The first point was, “Worship With Awe.” The supporting scriptures were Hebrews 12:28-29 and Psalm 95:6.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."
NIV
Ps 95:6Come, let us bow down in worship,let us kneel before the Lord our Maker…NIV
What does awe have to do with authenticity? In this way, at least for me. I have realized of late that awe is something I do not often feel when worshipping and praying. I have prayed and prayed that God would work in me in such a way that I would experience that awe in my life. Authentic or true worship must have that sense of the awesomeness of the One being worshipped, or it cannot be real. It is just a vapid ritual, not a virtuous habitude. It is an exercise of the flesh, not an expression of the spirit. It is self-serving and idolatrous, not self-forgetting and God exalting.
Worship is an attitude, not an act, but we have made it into just that, much like we have made the word “church” refer to a building, and not the body of Christ. So when I sing I may soar into the heavenlies by the lyrics I am singing, only to come crashing down by the sound of my own voice. Does it sound good to the person in front of me? Is it distracting to them just like the gyrations of some of those in front of me are to me? Or, “boy I sounded good just then!” When the pastor or another speaker is preaching am I focused on what they are saying or am I distracted by worries and wonderings not germane to the message. Yes, worship is not only experienced when we sing but also when we sit before the word of God and drink deeply of its truth. That doesn’t mean we sit mindlessly writing down the points being made. Rather, we interact with a spirit of reverence and humbly seek to apply the message to our own life situations and feelings. We worship when we submit to what God is telling us.
Zig Ziglar says, “It is your attitude, more than your aptitude, that will determine your altitude.” It has since been shortened into this the catchy phrase, “Your attitude will determine your altitude.” This is certainly true when it comes to worship. My attitude will determine to what heights my worship will attain. If I am self-absorbed, it will reach only as high as my own ears and mind. If I seek to glorify the Lord and express my devotion to Him, it will reach to the very heart of God Himself.
Lord remove the obstacles
That stand in the way
Of worshipping You
In all I do and say
Lord remove the blinders
That are hindering me
From seeing Your
Awesome Glory
Lord take my deaf-toned heart
That’s dwelling internally
Please replace it with
One tuned to Thee
~ Amen
WORD:
Ps 27:1
27 The Lord is my light and my salvation —
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life —
of whom shall I be afraid?
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Ps 27:1 1 The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved. |
Ps 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
KJV
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Ps 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
ESV
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Notice David begins with a declaration and a rhetorical question. He does not start with a petition, “Lord, please be my light and my salvation.” Nor a confession, “Because I live in fear for my life.” David opens this Psalm with theological truth about who God is. God is “light” and “salvation” and a “stronghold.” However, this truth is not set in a vacuum, neither is it dead orthodoxy. No, this is theology practically and personally applied – “my light,” “my salvation,” “ the stronghold of my life.” David, in faith, appropriated these truths about the LORD and took them as his own personal possession. Because of these certainties, David’s rhetorical questions demand an emphatic answer – no one! This is a recurring theme in David’s writings.
Even though I walkthrough the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,for you are with me;your rod and your staff,they comfort me.
Ps 23:4 NIV God is our refuge and strength,an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear… Ps 46:1-2a NIV In God, whose word I praise,in God I trust; I will not be afraid.What can mortal man do to me?
Ps 56:4 NIV The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.What can man do to me?
Ps 118:6 NIV (Most scholars do not believe this is a Psalm of David but notice the Davidic influence!)
Lest one think that David claimed a life without fear - for which we could call him a hypocrite – we only have to look at the verse that precedes Psalm 56:4.
3 When I am afraid,I will trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,in God I trust; I will not be afraid.What can mortal man do to me?
Ps 56:3-4 NIV
He leaves no doubt about his being afraid. He does not say “If I am afraid” but uses the more definite and emphatic word “When.” However, even as he confesses his weakness he also gives the cure: “I will trust in you.”
Notice in verse 4 he mentions God’s word. It is sandwiched between these declarations, “I will trust in you. In God…” and “in God I trust…” and is part of another declaration, “whose word I praise.” Observe that he does not repeat the word “trust” – which I believe is implicit here – but uses the word “praise.” One might perceive this as an awkward insertion here. He could have left it out, and it would still make perfect sense anyway. He could have said, “In God, whose word I trust, I will not be afraid, for what can mortal man do to me?” That certainly would make sense and would certainly be an appropriate insertion here. That certainly would make sense and would certainly be an appropriate insertion here. But he chooses , moved by the Holy Spirit, to use the word “praise” instead. I believe this makes his declarations of trust more impactful here.
We know from Psalm 1 and 19 that God’s word was the object of his meditation.
Blessed is the manwho does not walk in the counsel of the wickedor stand in the way of sinnersor sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,and on his law he meditates day and night.
Ps 1:1-2 NIV 4 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heartbe pleasing in your sight,O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Ps 19:14 NIV (While meditation certainly means more than God’s word here, let certainly it is a large part of it. Verses 7-11 would seem to indicate that)
Surely from his meditations on God’s word he learned of the promises of God. From this knowledge, combined with trust and practice, he learned they were true.
Psalms 56:3-4In verse 4a God's word means "what he has promised" (TEV verse 4 b); the psalmist is sure that God will keep his promise to save those who trust in him.
(from UBS Old Testament Handbook Series. Copyright © 1978-2004 by United Bible Societies. All rights reserved.)
But why the word “praise” here in this passage? The word for “praise” here is the Hebrew word “halal.” This word may look a little familiar because it forms a part of the word transliterated into English as Hallelujah.
Vines says the meaning of this word is:
"to praise, celebrate, glory, sing (praise), boast."
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
BDB says that this word in its verbal stem form means:
halal
(Piel)
1) to praise
2) to boast, to make a boast
(from The Online Bible Thayer's Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Copyright © 1993, Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada. Licensed from the Institute for Creation Research.)
David celebrates God’s word. He glories in its truth. It is the theme of his songs. He boasts or testifies of God’s will and works recorded in it.
This root connotes being sincerely and deeply thankful for and/or satisfied in lauding a superior quality(ies) or great, great act(s) of the object.(from Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Copyright © 1980 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)
And as I said earlier, implicit in the word “praise” is trust. We do not praise anything or anyone we do not trust, at least not with sincerity and any kind of intensity.
The themes surrounding and included in the verbal expressions of praise (the psalms) show that it is imperative that God in his deity (Ps 102:22 ) be recognized and that the fullness thereof be affirmed and stated. This is to be offered in an attitude of delight and rejoicing. Belief and joy are inextricably intertwined.(from Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Copyright © 1980 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)
In saying all this one can see that merely repeating the word “trust” would be adequate, but it would not capture the fullness of meaning that is encapsulated in the word “praise.”
So David declares in Psalm 27:1 that the LORD is his “light” and “salvation” and “stronghold.” This is what he believes. Therefore he proclaims that because these are true, he will not “fear.” Because he trusts the promises of his faithful God, he exalts his word and sings praises to Him. We find him doing this in the historical books of the OT that record his reign. May I also suggest that the greater proof is right before you. They are recorded in the Book of Praises (Psalms).
This leads me to ponder my own convictions. Do I trust in God to the extent that David did? Can I say with the same confidence, “whom will I fear.” The honest answer is no. But I believe I am traveling on the “paths of righteousness”(Psalm 23:3). And on this journey, my faith is growing as He is guiding me along the way.
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