The spirit with which you worship God matters. Jesus declared to the Samaritan woman that “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). “Must worship in spirit…” is not a mere suggestion.
In Malachi’s day, the worship of Jehovah was not in spirit or in truth. God found it reprehensible (Malachi 1:4-14).
Since He is ever worthy to receive glory, honor, and power (Revelation 4:11, 5:13), a failure to worship the Lord Most High with the proper spirit arises when you or I lose focus on God’s unchanging worthiness. Psalm 47 gives three eternal truths that highlight Jehovah’s perpetual praiseworthiness:
- Jehovah is sovereign. “For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth…For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding. God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. The princes of the people have gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; He is greatly exalted” (vv. 2, 7-9).
- Jehovah is victorious. “He will subdue the peoples under us and the nations under our feet…God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet” (vv. 3, 5).
- Jehovah is gracious. “He will choose our inheritance for us, the excellence of Jacob whom He loves” (v. 4).
Therefore, “Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!” (v. 6).
