AWE AND JOY
Psalm 99 and 100
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.”
There is definitely a place for the kind of worship described in Psalm 99: grand, royal, exuding power and awe. Our God is King over all of Creation and rules over us all with justice and equity. He is wholly other, infinite—there is none like him.
In such a Presence we must know that we can only worship at his footstool. It is not so much that we exalt him by lowering ourselves, but rather that he is so exalted that we know even at our greatest we do not deserve his attention much less his love.
When we know this truth deep in our bones, then to be in His Presence would be the privilege and blessing that it is and our joy that this God deigns to love us, to listen to our petitions and to act upon our needs and supplications, must surely overflow.
Very often, I think, we have the attitude that when we do the things that he calls us to—to walk with him, to worship him, to be in his presence, to know him through his word and be taught and guided by him—we are doing him a favour because we are obeying him. This is when we forget that we belong to him, lock, stock and barrel, and that the fact of his ownership is our fortune.
All of us express joy and gratitude in different ways. There is no need to prance around waving our hands and shouting unless we wish to but surely when there is joy in us—when our hearts are light because God is on our side, when we recall the many things that he has done as we walked with him daily, when we remember that God is good, full of love, and faithful even when we have been faithless—surely there will be a smile on our lips and a willingness to embrace those around us who too are experiencing this wonderful and awesome God.
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”