So what has changed?

The LORD loves those who hate evil;
he protects the lives of his people;
he rescues them from the power of the wicked.
Light shines on the righteous,
and gladness on the good.
(verses 10,11)

Read Psalm 97

These psalms of praise from the Old Testament era show that those people had much to praise God for. He had created their universe, he had created them, and he looked after and cared for his people.

As these psalms were written for use in worship, it seems obvious that their worship would have been vibrant and Joyful. All kinds of instruments, loud singing, dance, shouts of acclamation and affirmation—they had it all.

And yet so many times we read of how God’s people let him down, chased after other gods, and turned worship into something where they went through the motions without their heart being in it.

And that’s still a pretty accurate picture of so much of our society today.

It shouldn’t be for us, of course. We still have all the same reasons to praise God that the people of the Old Testament did—and more. We have a long tradition of worship. We also have new ways of communicating joy and praise which will come to belong to that long tradition. We have the privilege of being Jesus’ witnesses to those who have strayed.

May our hearts be in our worship, at the same time as we appreciate its traditions and familiarity.

Father may l always praise you and always mean it. May I always serve you and see it as a privilege and never a burden. Amen.

by Robert Turnbull, in ‘Renewed Hope for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2000)

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