Isaiah 29:13

How well do I remember in a Youth Retreat not many years ago that quite a few of our teenagers claimed to have received the Holy Spirit, with the initial physical evidence of speaking in tongues. However, after the retreat was over, there was very little transformation of any kind in their lives. I have often wondered about that! I mean, I was there! I saw them! I heard them! I witnessed what we claimed to be the infilling of the Spirit, but then I realized it is so much more than dropping on the floor and rolling and even speaking in tongues. It is really more than emotionalism and being carried away by the hypeness or excitement of a spiritual meeting or crowd. It is really more than noise. It is understood that worship is an experience of the heart fully surrendered to him in adoration and absolute submission to His will.

More and more I am convinced that the songs we sing and the praise we offer to God not only please Him but they genuinely transform and alter our lives, bringing us into greater conformity to His will and image. The songs and psalms we sing and recite must also incessantly help teach and form us. Psalm 111:10 informs the saints, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth forever.” Then Psalm 112:1 picks up as an elaboration of this verse and the previous chapter by declaring “Praise ye the Lord…” (Psalm 112:1).

It combines hymnic praise with wisdom instructions. Praise and wisdom or the fear of God go together. Praise and instruction go together. The songs we sing must teach us as we sing and praise with understanding. We praise Him because we fear Him. We respect Him. We reverence Him. He is supremely, infinitely holy. It is not just loud, empty, meaningless praise. It’s more than being carried away by music and rhythm as we seek Him in the altar service or tarrying for the Holy Spirit.

Brethren, I beseech you, let it not be said of this generation, as it was declared in the days of the prophet “. . . This people draw near with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men” (Isaiah 29:13). It is so much more than mouthing it or just saying over and over “Praise the Lord.” It must be genuinely worshipful and profoundly spiritual and soulful. O God, we truly honor and adore you. We acknowledge your power and ownership of every area of our lives. We genuinely worship and adore you!

Let us never forget we stand always in the presence of the most Holy One!

It is so much more than shouting, or dancing, or running the aisle. The practice of praise is to a holy God. Have we forgotten the holiness? Have we learnt to shout without holiness? Have we learnt to sing without meditative concentration as to the object of our praise? It is so much more than loudness or the music, or the pyrotechnics. May it always genuinely proceed from our hearts as true worshippers, seeking the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4:23,24). It is so much more than noise!