I was recently captured by a song that’s not new but was new to me.
The song—Only Jesus—speaks of the One Who alone is worthy, the One Who alone is holy. It’s a song whose only mention of “me” is as it relates to the awesomeness of Jesus.
There’s something about lifting up the name of Jesus. Something about standing in awe of His glory and holiness. Something about getting our eyes off of ourselves and looking only to Him.
I’m not writing anything new or groundbreaking when I write that so much of what’s called “worship” today has its focus not on God but on us.
The first time the Hebrew word that’s translated “worship” appears in the Old Testament (KJV) as the word “worship” is in Genesis 22:5: “And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.”
Abraham is preparing to sacrifice his son—an unthinkable scenario—and he says they are going to “worship.”
The word translated worship is shachah, which means “to depress, i.e. prostrate (especially reflexive, in homage to royalty or God).” Among its meanings in Scripture is “to bow down.”
When we worship, we lower ourselves before the One Who is greater than us.
If we come away from “worship” feeling good about ourselves, and that’s it, we may need to question what we’re truly worshipping.
Worship should leave us in awe of God—of the One Who alone is worthy of all worship.
