Worship Devotional CXLIV
Holy Is The Lord Our God
Worship Devotional for 11/6/22 and 11/13/22
Isaiah 6:1-8:
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and His robe filled the temple. Seraphim were standing above Him; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; His glory fills the whole earth.’
The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke. Then I said:
‘Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.’
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said:
‘Now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed and your sin is atoned for.’
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying:
‘Who should I send? Who will go for Us?’
I said:
‘Here I am. Send me.’”
When God called the prophet Isaiah to ministry, Isaiah saw a vision of the Lord’s glory in heaven. When Isaiah witnessed the sheer glory of God’s holiness, his response was fear and trembling, for he knew he was “a man of unclean lips,” unworthy to stand in God’s presence, guilty of having spoken and acted in unholy and unrighteous ways. We know that we all have likewise sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, and that none of us can stand on our own merits in the presence of the One who is holy. When we come before God to worship Him, we must remember that He is holy and perfect in righteousness and purity and truth and justice. We must approach the altar with humility and fear toward Him who is worthy of all praise and adoration and respect, for evil and wickedness cannot stand in the presence of God. When the seraph (meaning “fiery one” or “bright one”), a heavenly messenger serving the Lord in His holy temple, came and told Isaiah that his sin had been atoned for, Isaiah heard the Lord’s call, to which Isaiah responded with humble willingness to go as one sent from the Lord. We also can learn from the prophet’s example to respond to the holiness and glory of our Lord, who has redeemed us and atoned for our sins, with hearts that are willing to serve the Lord in full surrender and to go wherever He sends us, to declare His life-bringing words, to proclaim His deeds among the nations, to spread His praise and His fame throughout the whole earth, and to glorify and honor His holy name.
Psalm 29:1-2 says:
“Ascribe to Yahweh, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due His name; worship Yahweh in the splendor of His holiness.”
And in Psalm 96:
“Sing a new song to the Lord; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to Yahweh, praise His name; proclaim His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonderful works among all peoples.
For the Lord is great and is highly praised; He is feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to Yahweh the glory of His name; bring an offering and enter His courts. Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth.
Say among the nations: ‘The Lord reigns. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken. He judges the peoples fairly.’ Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound. Let the fields and everything in them exult. Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy before the Lord, for He is coming — for He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with His faithfulness.”
As we seek to worship the Lord, we ought to consider what it means to “worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness.” We know that the word “holy” is used to describe the very nature of God. When we declare that He is holy, we declare that He is set apart from all of creation, for He is the Creator. We declare that He is greater than any power or authority or anything else that exists, and that He Himself is the only One who holds all authority and power over all things. We declare that He alone is God, the only true and living God, the One and only sovereign and eternal Being who created the heavens and the earth and everything in them, and who created us in His own image. All the themes of the songs of praise and worship we offer before Him from our hearts to glorify His name are grounded in the theme of His holiness. To say, “Holy is the Lord,” is to declare His greatness, His sovereignty, His power, His wisdom, His dominion, His kingdom, His majesty, His righteousness, His justice, His truth, His awesome works, His wonderful words, His faithfulness, His grace, His mercy, His everlasting light and life and love. This is why the word that is used for praise by all who we see in Scripture that have witnessed the glory of God in heaven — heavenly and earthly beings, angels and mankind alike — is “holy.” This is why we will sing this word over and over again, for that is who God is, and knowing that He is holy brings honor and glory to His name. This word of praise is at the heart of the gospel, for there is no other God besides Yahweh, and there is no other name by which men can be saved but the name of Jesus Christ His Son.
So how do we worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness? We set our minds on Him so that we may grow in our knowledge and understanding of each aspect of His nature, which is beyond our ability to fully comprehend since we are created beings and God is eternal. We set our hearts on Him, seeking Him with honest and humble hearts, believing what He has said and done, and receiving the love and grace He offers to us so freely in the name of Christ Jesus through faith. We worship Him in the splendor of His holiness by honoring Him with our bodies and praising Him with all of our might, pursuing purity in thought and word and deed, seeking to be made holy in His likeness. 1 Peter 1:13-25 tells us:
“Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be serious and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. But as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written,
‘Be holy, because I am holy.’
And if you address as Father the One who judges impartially based on each one’s work, you are to conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your temporary residence. For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from the fathers, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. he was chosen before the foundation of the world but was revealed at the end of the times for you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
By obedience to the truth, having purified yourselves for sincere love of the brothers, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again — not of perishable seed but of imperishable — through the living and enduring word of God. For
‘All flesh is like grass, and all of its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever.’
And this is the word that was preached as the gospel to you.”
And Paul exhorts us in Romans 12:1-2:
“Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”
We come before God each week as His church, His saints, His holy ones, those who are being sanctified by His Holy Spirit who lives within us to live our remaining time on this earth for His glory, to declare His praise and to proclaim the greatness, the majesty, the splendor, and the goodness of the One who we serve — the One and only true and living God, who alone is holy. As we gather each week, may our focus be on Him and on saying and doing the things that honor His holy name. May we fear Him and yearn deeply in our hearts to know and love Him first and above all else, and may each of the stories of our lives unfold to the ultimate glory of God. This is why we are here and what we were made for, having been made in the image of the Holy God to reflect His glory to the rest of creation and to know His love and glory forever and ever. We will be found pure and blameless in the end, having been made holy and perfect in Christ who was offered up for our sins to cleanse us by His blood so that we may stand before the throne of God in heaven one day, declaring His holiness and splendor for all eternity.
Jude 20-25:
“But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, expecting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. Have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now, and forever. Amen.”
Revelation 4:
“After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’
Immediately I was in the Spirit, and a throne was set there in heaven. One was seated on the throne, and the One seated looked like jasper and carnelian stone. A rainbow that looked like an emerald surrounded the throne. Around that throne were 24 thrones, and on the thrones sat 24 elders dressed in white clothes, with gold crowns on their heads. Flashes of lightning and rumblings of thunder came from the throne. Seven fiery torches were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne. Four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back were in the middle and around the throne. The first living creature was like a lion; the second living creature was like a calf; the third living creature had a face like a man; and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings; they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop, saying:
‘Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God, the Almighty, who was, who is, and who is coming.’
Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the One seated on the throne, the One who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before the One seated on the throne, worship the One who lives forever and ever, cast their crowns before the throne, and say:
‘Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created.’”
Revelation 15:1-4:
“Then I saw another great and awe-inspiring sign in heaven: seven angels with the seven last plagues, for with them, God’s wrath will be completed. I also saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had won the victory over the beast, his image, and the number of his name, were standing on the sea of glass with harps from God. They sang the song of God’s servant Moses and the song of the Lamb:
‘Great and awe-inspiring are Your works, Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are Your ways, King of the Nations. Lord, who will not fear and glorify Your name? Because You alone are holy, for all the nations will come and worship before You because Your righteous acts have been revealed.’”
Themes: Holiness, Worship, The Fear of the Lord, Saints and Angels before the Throne, God’s Glory in the Heavens, God’s Glory throughout the Earth, Worthy is the Lamb, God’s Praise for all Eternity
Songs from 11/6/22:
Songs for 11/13/22:
Scripture references:
Exodus 15:1-21
Leviticus 19:1-4, 20:26
1 Samuel 2:1-10
1 Chronicles 16:8-36
Psalms 15, 19, 24, 29, 33, 50, 86, 90, 95-99, 139
Isaiah 6:1-8, 35, 57:14-21
Ezekiel 36:16-36, 38:23
Matthew 6:5-15
Luke 1:46-55 & 67-79
Romans 12
2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1
1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, 5
2 Timothy 1:9-10
Hebrews 9:27-28, 12
1 Peter
Jude 20-25
Revelation 4, 7:9-17, 15, 21-22