Psalm 34:1-3, 8-10, 15-18
There can be no debate about the fact that worship is essential in the lives of all those who believe in God and are called according to His purpose. But not all believers understand the importance of it, nor how or why it should be practiced. If you were to ask, you would probably receive as many different definitions for worship as the number of people you asked. That is because there is no dogmatic definition nor practice in how we do it.
The ways we worship are as unique and diversified as each individual doing it. But we can generalize its definition into a common understanding of what it is. When we worship God, we actively recognize God as our Creator, Savior and King.
Worship is how we tell God we love Him. Worship is, as the Apostle Paul says, our “reasonable service” (Romans 12:1) of gratitude for all God has done for us. It is the act of creating an intimate space between you and God, allowing Him to speak directly to your heart in such a way you are drawn nearer to Him.
As important as worship is to the individual, so it is to the church. We are unique individuals but we comprise one body, the church of Christ. Just as our bodies have many parts different from each other, so does the body of Christ with Jesus as the head — one body, one spirit, one baptism. And just as we worship as individuals, so we must worship corporately as one body in Christ.
Psalm 34 is a psalm of David. In verses 1-3 David begins by worshiping God thanking Him for delivering him from the Philistine King Achish of Gath named Abimelech. You might remember this story when David pretended to be insane seeking to escape his capture by the Philistine King. He is extolling God for His goodness and mercy and everlasting kindness. After his personal expressions of worship toward God, he then issues an invitation to all who would hear to join him in worshiping God for all His goodness.
In verses 8-10, David continues in his invitation of worship by asking his readers to try God and see if He will not make them as joyful as he was. The word taste means to savor. It is like tasting a food with all the different flavors coming together to deliver a wonderful experience on the pallet. David then calls for them to trust God and see that all those who do will lack nothing in their lives. Even the mighty lion will sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will always have sufficiency.
In verses 15-18, David reminds his readers of the watchful eye of God — that He is constantly watching and listening over the ones that love Him and that God is always on the side of the righteous and will defend them. David reminds them that their cries for help will never go unheard and that God would respond and help them and restore their broken spirit.
These passages are a wonderful reminder of how we should worship. David worshiped God personally, but he was also inviting all who read to join him in corporate worship together. What a marvelous example for us to follow. B&R


