CIRCLES OF WORSHIP

We sometimes forget that our feeble expressions of praise to God are but a faint foretaste of a coming day of glory. Then the entire universe will become one vast auditorium in which the worship of God and of the Lamb will echo for all eternity.

Psalm 66 introduces us to three circles of worship, moving inwards from the cosmic, v. 1, to the personal, v. 16.

Circle number one is universal worship, vv. 1-4. The psalmist confidently anticipates its fulfilment as he looks ahead to the blessedness of the Saviour’s earthly reign, v. 4. Such worldwide praise is not currently ascending to God, nor will it do so until “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea”, Isa. 11. 9. Then, and not before, will “The kingdoms of this world … become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ”, Rev. 11. 15. During the Messiah’s direct and righteous rule all will be subject to Him, Psa. 66. 3. When the believer feels grieved at the godlessness of the present age, or isolated amidst a hostile and rebellious environment, he would do well to remember that the Saviour will be honoured in the same world where He was rejected, Phil. 2. 10, 11.

The second circle is that of national worship, vv. 5-12. As a nation, Israel had been recipients of God’s redemptive deliverance at the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, v. 6, and of His righteous discipline during the wilderness wanderings, vv. 1012. The same is true of God’s people today. We have been redeemed from worse than Egyptian bondage at infinitely greater cost, that “of the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot”, 1 Pet. 1. 18, 19, and daily we experience God’s fatherly correction, Heb. 12. 6-11.

The innermost circle is individual worship, vv. 13-20. Note the shift from “ye”, v. 1, through “we”, v. 6, to “I”, v. 13. At the centre of all praise is the thankful heart of the individual believer, v. 16. There is much to learn from a worshipper who says, “I will go … I will pay … I will offer … I will declare”, vv. 13, 15, 16. Universal millennial praise is not yet a reality. Until it is, let us catch the psalmist’s enthusiasm and make personal worship a priority.

“When they saw him, they worshipped him”, Matt. 28. 17.