This Psalm is all about praising God – it is a worship song in the truest sense.
“Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.’ Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man. He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance. I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you, that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!” (v3-6,10,12-14,17,19-20)
This Psalm has a great recipe for how we can glorify and honor God.
v1-2 :: A call for all the earth, not just Israel, to shout for joy and glorify God
v3-4 :: An example of how to praise God
v5-7 :: Naming God’s glorious deeds that make Him worthy of praise
v8-12 :: Praising God for refining us through hardship and His deliverance
v13-15 :: Praising God with our actions and our obedience
v16-19 :: Praising God with the words of our mouths
v20 :: Concluding our praise with a reminder of God’s steadfast love
Of course there is more than one way to worship God, this Psalm is just one of many examples we could look at. God does not limit our worship to him only to the form of a song.
There are four major categories of worship of which I’m aware (maybe there are more that I missed):
1. Worship as homage/honor/submission to God — “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (Jas 4:10) This involves the literal sense of worship as “bowing” or “bending down” before God. Examples could include prayer, praise, silent acceptance and grateful submission to God. This will look like humbling ourselves (bowing, lowering ourselves) and elevating God (praising, acknowledging, declaring His sovereignty).
2. Worship as service to God and others — “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” (Heb 6:10) One of the ways in which we are called to show love for God is to serve Him and show His love for others (our neighbors) by serving them also. Since love is a verb, an action, it is frequently displayed through our acts of kindness toward others.
3. Worship as reverence (respect) for God — “Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!” (Deu 5:29) This often called “faith in action”. It looks likes obedience, walking in Jesus’ footsteps, being faithful to God’s commands and guidance in our lives, what many people would call a “Christian walk”.
4. Congregational (sometimes called corporate) worship — “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Mt 18:20) This can involve a combination of any/all of the aforementioned activities conducted in a group setting of like-minded people (Christ followers). Congregational meetings (ranging from a church-wide gathering to a one-on-one discipleship setting) may involve any number of forms of worship (serving, praying, worship through art, etc.)
There are so many sub-categories of worship I could not hope to name them all (some common examples are music, art, writing, teaching, etc). Ultimately, any word/action on our part that is done to the glory to God, is a form of worship. Worship is a posture of the heart, and since each of us is created uniquely, we have the freedom to worship God in alignment with how He has created us. Nobody should tell me how I should or should not worship God – as long as I follow the heart He has given me, and that heart is truly submitted to Him (in alignment with scripture), there are no limitations on how I can worship Him.
Father God, please hear our prayer – may You teach us to honor and worship You in everything that we say and do. We lift our voices and hands to You, dedicating ourselves to Your service and Your glory. May You work in each of us, refining and sanctifying us according to Your purpose. May each action and breath be in alignment with Your will, and may those around us come to know You through the glorifying words and actions of Your people.
~ Conqueror in Training