Thought for Wednesday, 27 April 2022

 Psalm 96:9

Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
Tremble before Him, all the earth.

On Monday, I mentioned that while on holiday, we had attended morning worship at St Modans Church in Benderloch near Oban.  Around the Apse (a large semicircular or polygonal recess in a church, arched or with a domed roof), a former minister had the words; ’Worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness’ printed in large letters and the congregation have ensured this message is always maintained and will never be removed.  You can view a photo of it on their website      https://www.ardchattanchurch.org.uk/.  When you’re sitting in the congregation, this passage is impossible to ignore and it made me think a little about these words.

Worship for most of us might be the one hour each week we spend in the traditional church setting.  The two main routes that draw us closer to the presence of the Lord is praise and worship.  God dwells in the mood or ambience of our praise and worship and it is through this that we communicate our devotion to Him through his Son, our Lord and Saviour.

When considering this, it made me think that in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a lot considering what Jesus did for us and I experienced more than a few pangs of guilt!  It made me think of the times over the years during services when my mind switched to the day-to-day chores and interests that occupied my mind rather than concentrating on what was being said.  These words from Matthew 26 came to mind; ⁴⁰ Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. ⁴¹ “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Prayer:   Heavenly Father, we thank you for what you went through on our behalf.  Help us never to forget this perfect sacrifice that gives us blessed assurance for that which follows this life into eternity.  Help each of us do all we can to glorify you during our time in this world and help us always to Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

Amen