Psalm 95:1-11

God created us to praise and worship Him.  We are to lift His name up and recognize the greatness of all that He has done.  It is a natural tendency for us to look at what we wish the Lord would do instead of looking at what He has done.  This tendency will make our hearts cold toward God and fill our minds with doubts and fears.  However, if we will look to the mighty and faithful works of God we will be filled with gratitude and be able to rejoice in the glory of His greatness.  We do much better when we are worshiping than when we are worrying.

PRAISE PRODUCES A HAPPY HEART: Praising the Lord is good for the soul.  When we lift our voices to sing about the greatness of God or play an instrument with joy in our hearts; God is pleased and we are blessed.  Gratitude in our hearts is what generates this wonderful blessing of praise.  God has done so much for us that it should not be difficult for us to find reasons to be thankful.  All we need to do is look around at the wonders of creation that surround us.  We can see that He is the sovereign ruler of the universe.  He has created all things from the highest mountain to the deepest sea.  He has formed all of these things with His hand.  This should fill us with awe of His greatness and motivate us to praise His name.  If we will do this; we will enjoy a happy heart.


WORSHIP PREVENTS A HARD HEART: In light of God’s greatness we should bow before the Lord God and worship at His feet.  We must recognize that He is God and be in awe of Him because He has made us and He has also been so faithful to protect us and provide for us.  He is our shepherd and we are His sheep.  However, if we refuse to worship God; our hearts will become hard towards God.  We will begin to complain about His provisions, we will begin to doubt His protection and our hearts will be overwhelmed with worry and fear.  When we clearly see the power of God, we must respond in worship or else we will be doomed to the misery of a hard heart.  The children of Israel spent forty years stumbling around the desert because they hardened their hearts instead of worshiping the Lord.  We must avoid that plight at all costs by being in constant awe of God and bowing before Him in worship.

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