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Season 3, Episode 14
For Friday, May 27, 2016
“The Misery Of Being Without Worship”
HOST: Wade Webster
Show Notes:
A. W. Tozer observed, “Without worship, we go about miserable.” I’ve done a considerable amount of thinking about that quote. Is it true that without worship we go about miserable? Is worship really that central to our happiness? I believe that the answer to both of these questions is yes. It is true. It is that central. In this podcast, we are going to examine the importance of worship in David’s life and ours.
Episode Transcript:
A. W. Tozer observed, “Without worship, we go about miserable.” I’ve done a considerable amount of thinking about that quote. Is it true that without worship we go about miserable? Is worship really that central to our happiness? I believe that the answer to both of these questions is yes. It is true. It is that central.
At least, I know that it was for David. Worship brought a special joy to David’s life. It was David who said, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Psa. 122:1). Worship for David wasn’t just a duty, it was a delight. It was something that he anticipated with joy. Life just wasn’t right without it. In the sixty-third psalm, he wrote,
“O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory,so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee:thy right hand upholdeth me. But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes. But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.”
To fully appreciate these words, some background is needed. At the time of this psalm, David was in the wilderness of Judah hiding from Saul. During this dark and discouraging time in his life, David kept his devotional life up. In fact, his prayer life was never better. However, he wasn’t able to worship corporately as before. He speaks in remembrance – “as I have seen in the sanctuary” (63:2). His soul was longing for this privilege again. He found his satisfaction and joy in worshipping God. As bad as it was to temporarily be cut off from corporately worshipping God while fleeing from Saul, it was even worse for David to contemplate being cut off from God’s presence forever and ever because of sin. That seems to have been at the heart of David’s plea in the fifty-first psalm, a psalm of penitence. We read,
“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit” (Psa. 51:7-12).
David knew that sin separates men from God. He knew that it robbed men of joy. He had experienced both of these firsthand. Now, he pleads for God not to cast him away from His presence. He wanted to be with God. He wanted to worship God. To paraphrase Tozer, without worship, David would have gone about miserable.
I am convinced that without worship, we also would go about miserable. We need to worship God. It is in that worship that we find happiness. Lasting happiness can’t be found in earthly pursuits. It can’t be found in ourselves. It can only be found in God and worshipping Him. As we get ready to worship this week, let’s think about how crucial and how central worship is to our happiness. Without worship, we would go about miserable.
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