True Praise

I will come to you and bless you in every place where I cause My name to be remembered. - Exodus 20:24b

It seems that one of the reasons that God gave the people of Israel the ritual of regular sacrifices was to ensure that He would be remembered everywhere they went as they made their way to the Promised Land. He knew that if the people worshipped Him, then they would most likely not forget Him. Immediately after He instituted this regular practice of worship, God then said something very important. He said, "I will come to you and bless you in every place where I cause My name to be remembered."

Here is the principle: Where God is worshipped, He is also remembered, and where He is remembered, He also blesses. Could it be that the reason that we do not enjoy the blessings of God is that we have forgotten Him? And have we forgotten Him because we have truly ceased to worship Him?

There is a song we used to sing that goes like this, "Let's forget about ourselves, magnify the Lord, and worship Him," but now the song has become, "Let's forget about the Lord, magnify ourselves, and worship us!" God inhabits the praises of His people. We meet, we sing, we go through the motions, but we need to ask ourselves if we are truly praising Him. Because if we are not truly praising Him, we will not experience His presence, and if He is absent from our worship, we will certainly never know His blessing.

A service of worship is primarily a service to God. When we realize this and act upon it, we make it a service to men. - Ralph W. Sockman