Two kinds of worship

Church photo collage... a collection of memories for its 80th Anniversary.

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 66:1-20

TO CHEW ON: “O, bless our God, you peoples!
And make the voice of His praise to be heard…
Come and hear, all you who fear God,
And I will declare what He has done for my soul.” Psalm 66:8,16

There are two kinds of praise and worship in this psalm.

There is corporate worship - Psalm 66:1-12.
The psalmist calls “all the earth” to praise God - Psalm 66:1-4. He calls the congregation to praise God with him for remembered events from their shared history, the “works of God” when Israel passed through the sea and river on dry land (Exodus 14:22, Joshua 3:14-17) - Psalm 66:3-7. He even leads in praise to God for the times of testing - Psalm 66:10-12.

But he doesn’t stop there.

There is private worship - Psalm 66:13-20.
We see how the pronoun changes from “us” and “we” to “I” and “me” in this section as he testifies of what God has done for him personally and how he responds: “I will go… I will pay… I will offer… I will declare” - Psalm 66:13,15,16.  He is jubilant over answered prayer, though always aware of his sinful tendencies and unworthiness - Psalm 66:17-19.

This psalm is a good model for us. We too need both kinds of worship—corporate and personal.

We need corporate worship, those times when we get together with others and remind each other of God’s presence in our history—from Bible times till the present. Our church is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. The staff has put together a wonderful visual reminder of our history with a collage of old photos commemorating the founders, old buildings and sites, and photos of our present building under construction. It’s a great way to remember and inform newcomers to the church of God’s faithfulness.

But we also need private worship, where we come to God with praise and thanksgiving for what He has done for us personally. We need to remember times of answered prayer for ourselves, our children and grandchildren, for healing from illness, recovery from financial problems, safety when traveling...

What will your thank-you list to Him include today?

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for Your faithfulness and help, for Your life-giving presence and the many times you’ve rescued me. I am so grateful for Your mercy. I bless You today. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.