“All this, even though it seems daunting, can be joy-filled and sustaining because of the loving grace of our God. Read Psalm 84 as we find a Psalmist who has been with God and doesn’t want to leave! ”
For our devotion today, I'd like to take you to Romans 12. I know, I know, we are in a message series on the book of Psalms, specifically looking at Psalm 84 this week. However, Psalm 84 is all about worshiping God, so I'd like to help deepen our understanding of worship as best I can. In Romans 12:1-2, we find two words often translated as "worship" in the New Testament.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. (Romans 12:1-2 - NLT)"
Let's start with the word most often translated as "worship." It comes from the phrase proskyneo. What does that word sound like to you? It's where we get our English word, prostrate! The term most often translated "worshp" in the New Testament means to prostrate, fall down, kneel, bow low, give reverence, and bow down to kiss. So, as followers of Jesus, we could be rightly known as the falling down ones.
This is already helpful in that it begins to reframe for us what we are doing in worship. Worship doesn't start with what we get from it but what we surrender to God. But there are two types of 'falling down' worship in the bible.
First, in God's presence, we are obedient in surrender to God. That is, we choose to fall down because He is the only one who is worthy of our surrendered self. He is our maker, our God, and King, and we are his people.
We choose to surrender our lives to God, and he gives us grace, mercy, forgiveness, and freedom. Obediently falling down is the first part of our act of worship. We see this throughout scripture in places like Isaiah 6 or Revelation 4.
The second type of falling down happens because when we enter God's presence, we experience Him to be holy, wholly other, and infinitely powerful. At that moment, you recognize you can in no way compare to the creator God, so you get on your face (bow down) as fast as you are able. We see this in scripture as well; for example, Isaiah 6 (again) or Acts 26 in Paul's retelling of his conversion.
We are beginning to get an understanding of biblical worship. First, we understand worship to be a series of proskyneos of "surrenders" or "falling down." We fall down out of surrender, and we fall down in awe of the powerful presence of God.
The second word used as "worship" that we find in Romans 12:1-2 we read as 'living sacrifice:'
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. (Romans 12:1-2 - NLT)"
The word here is Logike Latreia. Logike is where we get our word for logic. It's about patterns and forms of activity. Logike is a levitical word - it references the OT temple structure and ordered lives of Levites in the temple.
Remember, the Levites were essentially the pastors in the Old Testament who were in charge of sacrifices and regular worship for God's people. If you read about the Levites in places like Numbers 18, you realize everything about their lives was ordered and given over to God.
Don't miss this; it is powerful in understanding worship. The word Logike was the word that described how all the details of life for the Levites; what they did, what they said, what they wore, their daily responsibilities - every single detail - was given over to God in worship.
Let's make this connection here - Romans 12 is calling us to a deep practice of worship. The proper way for those who follow Jesus includes both types of proskyneo and asks us to Logike, that is, to order our lives for the worship of God.
Alright, Pastor Kyle, this is a little intense. Yes, it is! Our understanding of what it means to worship God leaps forward in these few incredible verses. Firstly, we fall down in surrender and obedience, AND we fall down because we come into the presence of a holy God. Secondly, our lives are ordered so that all things in our living follow the way of Jesus.
I love this robust biblical understanding of worship. All this, even though it seems daunting, can be joy-filled and sustaining because of the loving grace of our God. Read Psalm 84 as we find a Psalmist who has been with God and doesn't want to leave!
"How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. (Psalm 84:1-2)."