Psalm 29:2
2 Give [yahab] unto the LORD [Yahovah] the glory [kabowd] due unto
his name [shem]; worship [shachah] the LORD [Yahovah] in the
beauty [hadarah] of holiness [qodesh]. KJV-Interlinear
2
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in holy array. NASB
Far too often, people
insult God by pretending to follow him, but instead they criticize or complain
or just simply go through the motions of acting holy, but never really commit
themselves to anything expected of them. Talking a good talk, they may fool
people, but God knows what is really inside their phony soul.
And here we are commanded
not to dishonor God with empty words or actions, but to honor Him by
recognizing that which is due to Him.
And we do Him honor when we are obedient to His will.
But what is Gods will?
Believing in Christ, is
obviously first, in order to be saved and thus become a member of His family.
Confession of ones daily
sins, is a repetitive requirement in order to live in fellowship, for fellowship
is the spiritual environment wherein your spiritual life functions.
Study to gain approval
(maturity). Which is to say, pursue a
daily study so that you can learn and understand and grow up in your spiritual
life. Everyone has to grow up sooner or
later, lest they remain immature and ignorant.
And, with some semblance
of spiritual knowledge in you, then you might, repeat, just might be able to recognize
the phenomenal splendor and honor due to Him, for not only creating an entire
universe for human history to operate in, but to save your sorry rear from
eternal condemnation, to give you an opportunity to grow up, to give you a
destiny throughout eternity, and to fulfill your life with phenomenal meaning and
purpose, lest you waste your life in useless pretense.
Worship, ‘shachah,’ means
to prostrate, to bow down, to fall down, to obey. And so worship is not your posture of body,
but your posture of soul. And not only
that, but it means to be continually in worship mode.
You must surrender
yourself to Gods mandates, and recognize that He is a lot smarter than
you. Thus, when God commands you to
study, to confess, to learn and grow and be productive, spiritually productive
that is, then why would you ignore that advice?
If you were to place a
bet on a two horse race and one of the horses is dead, why would you place a
bet on the dead horse to win? And yet
that is exactly what people do with their spiritual lives. They bet on bad advice and ignore the good
advice. They pursue bad instruction and
reject good instruction.
When you are expected to
be responsible, and are held accountable for your thoughts and actions, then
why would you try to get out of your responsibilities? Why would you presume that all of these
requirements are meant for others and not you?
In the beauty of
holiness, means what?
Holiness, ‘qodesh,’
refers to something that is set apart, a safe sanctuary, a consecrated place, a
dedicated place.
And to worship in
holiness means that you need to go somewhere that is safe, set apart,
consecrated and dedicated to your interaction with God. Is that place a building made of wood and
steel? Is that place a tent? Can you reside in a church 24/7? No.
That place exists inside
of your soul. That place is attained by
means of confession.
When you commit a sin,
which could be a crime, or a social transgression, or a moral transgression,
and a sin can also be a disobedient act against Gods truth. Also merely remaining away from your
spiritual responsibilities is in effect a sin.
Sins can be committed by doing things, but also by not doing
things. Arrogance is a sinful device
that is as simple as disregarding God and Gods expectations. Sin, in all of its forms, is the filth in
your life.
Anyway, you must confess
your sins on a regular basis, so that you wash away that filth and reinstate yourself
into fellowship. Fellowship is that set
apart place, that consecrated place, that sanctuary, wherein you have a private
and personal and meaningful relationship with God.
Fellowship is the place
where you establish your foundation for life.
Doctrine is the
foundation, but you have to learn it.
Understanding is the
structure, but you have to learn it.
Application of spiritual
principles are the finish work and value, but it all has to be learned.
Wisdom is the insight you
achieve by putting it all together.
And faith is the result, the
epitome of spiritual maturity. It is the
ultimate recognition of who and what God is, and of what infinite things that
he has done for us. Especially when we
can never earn or even deserve anything from God.
So, the next time you
offer criticism against others, when you complain about anything, especially
when you yourself do nothing, then you need to look in the mirror and see
yourself for who and what you really are, and consider Gods phenomenal grace
for even putting up with you.
