Day 9: All in for Worship

Psalm 134 is the final psalm in the Songs of Ascent.

The Songs of Ascent is a series of psalms from Psalm 120 to Psalm 134. This series of 15 psalms is traditionally sung in sequence by the Israelites as they ascend Mount Zion towards the Temple of the Lord.

You will notice that Psalm 120 begins at a low point but as the pilgrims ascend the hill of the Lord, the atmosphere changes. And by the time they reached the temple in Psalm 134, things are more positive.

But now that they have finally arrived in the Temple of the Lord, what is there?

The answer is: Worship!

Let us read Psalm 134: 1-3 (KJV).

Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.

The one word that came up three times in this short psalm is the word “bless” or “barak”, which means “to kneel, to praise or to salute”. This word “barak” describes what we do as an act of worship.

This informs us that the focus of this psalm is our response of worship at the end of our discipleship journey.

With this as a backdrop, let’s examine the 3 instances when the word “bless” is used in Psalm 134:

1.​ We are called to worship (Psalm 134:1)

Remember that the pilgrims have been travelling all this time to get to this point. Now that they have arrived at the temple, the psalmist encouraged them:

“Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord…”

It was a call to worship. It was an invitation to wait no more! Go ahead and do what you came all this way to do!

Don’t hold back! Go All In! Worship the Lord! Praise Him! Exalt Him!

Why? Because he is worthy to be praised and worshipped.

Notice that this call to worship is not just an invitation – it is a command!

2.​ We are commanded to worship (Psalm 134:2)

There are days when we do not feel like praising God. Maybe stuff happened, and our emotions are in turmoil. There may be issues at home or at work that trouble us. We may be disappointed, depressed or deflated. We feel more worried than worshipful!

What then is the biblical response?

The psalmist exhorts us in Psalm 134:2 –

“Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord…”

You may not be able to control your feelings, but you can control your hands!

Make a resolute decision to lift your hands to bless the Lord, and your heart will follow.

Notice that this call to worship is not just an invitation – it is a command!

Through praise and worship, we dominate the spiritual atmosphere, open the portals of heaven and birth God’s will on earth as it is in heaven!

You are called to worship. You are commanded to worship! So, let’s go All In for the worship of our King!

3.​ We are compelled to worship (Psalm 134:3)

You are called to bless the Lord. You are commanded to bless the Lord.

Why? Because He first blessed us!

Psalm 134:3 (KJV) declares:

“The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.”

Why do we bless the Lord and worship Him? It is only because the Maker of heaven and earth got off His Throne in heaven, came down to earth and blessed us first.

Grace came down and touched us.

Now gratitude is the only reasonable response from those who have been touched.

Worship is the natural overflow of a grateful heart.

Worship is the one thing that we will end up doing for the rest of eternity. We had better get used to it and learn how to do it well.

May the praise, worship and glorification of our God become the goal of our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ!

All In for Worship!

Let’s have a word of prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank You for the privilege of worshipping You. Thank You that through praise and worship, we can draw near to You. May You give to every one of us hearts that are so filled with gratitude that we can’t help but worship you. May every part of our lives, everything that we do or say, bring glory and worship unto our King. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.