In the last blog we said it is very simple. Fear God and keep His commandments. And truly that is the beginning of worship. However, I had someone once say, "Teach me to worship." Well, I thought, in the first place we are made to worship and if we are His it shouldn't be difficult.
But there is a place to go and learn more about worship as you are literally practicing worship - the ancient hymn book, the Psalms. I committed a long time ago to read through the Psalms and Proverbs every month until I go to be with the Lord. It amazes me how after all this time, God still speaks fresh new things to me every day from the Psalms. The Psalms is a book of songs. God's people have always loved songs. Throughout scripture the saints of God expressed both their joy and their sorrow. Songs of gladness and sadness were sung. Songs of adoration, gratitude and grievance were sung. Songs were sung to inspire prophets, enthrone kings, celebrate marriages, lament deaths, celebrate harvest, exorcise evil spirits, accompanying feasts, work, war, and worship. Job says even the stars once sang (Job 38:1). The first mention of music is in Genesis 4 where we see the instrumentalist, Jubal, playing instruments and singing. Man has been playing and singing ever since. The word "sing" is used more than 120 times in God's Word. Singing was and is an important part of worship.
We see the importance given to it in the Psalms. The Psalms, or the Psalter, is a complete book of the Bible devoted to the expression of truth through melody. Its title in the Jewish Bible is Tehilim ("praises" or "hymns"). It was literally the song book of Israel. In the Psalms we find songs of praise, history, lament, wisdom, penitence, imprecation (cursing of enemies), ascent (people going up to worship), prophecy (including Messianic), thanksgiving, prayer, and more. The composers of these songs were living out multifaceted lives and involving song in living and worshipping.
I would challenge you to learn to worship by reading, singing, and praying the Psalms, sometimes out loud. If you will do that, you will discover you are becoming a learner of worship. mjm
