DEC 24

Luke 18:9-14
Memorise Rev 4:1-11
“Thou art worthy, O Lord”

Do we know the God we worship? There are people who think of God as a glorified Santa Claus. He smiles all the time, and gives anything you ask or want. Who is God? What is God? The Westminster Shorter Catechism says, “God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth”. If we know who God truly is, and the kind of person He is, and what He is characterised by, we will be very careful to worship Him correctly. You will not want to offend Him. You will not want what you want in worship, but what He wants and requires.

When we worship God, we are really ‘worthshipping’ Him (Revelation 4:11). We worship Him for Who He is—His nature and His attributes and His marvellous deeds to the children of men. We find the people in heaven worshipping His Holiness (Revelation 4:8a). He is three times holy—God the Father is holy, God the Son is holy, and God the Spirit is holy. The holiness of God should cause us to realise our sinfulness, our need to confess and repent of our sins. To worship Him correctly involves coming before Him with clean hands and pure hearts. We come before Him to beg for His mercy and grace. We come before Him not proudly but humbly. We do not want to be like the self-righteous Pharisee who prayed, “I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess”. We ought to be like the penitent publican who prayed with his head bowed, not daring to lift his eyes towards heaven, “God be merciful to me a sinner”.

Thought: “There is no worship of God without sincerity of heart” (Calvin).

Prayer: God, be merciful to me a sinner.