thinking as worship

We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness. 

Psalm 48:9-10

I wonder how many Christians might reject the notion that thinking can be worship. But it is. This great psalm of worship reminds us that real contemplation about God and His works (serious thought work) is necessary for authentic worship. To love God is not flippant ritual. It is serious and sober meditation. It is not a joyless process, for to contemplate God's steadfast love for the world is to find celebration of Him in that thought-filled process.

And I love that we don't just contemplate God in His temple without realizing that His fame must reach through us to the ends of the earth. The result of serious, thoughtful worship is a praise that proclaims God to the nations. Real meditation leads us to proclamation of the good news.

Lord,

May my worship fit the pattern of scripture. May I gather in Your house with the assembling of Your saints to think on Your steadfast love in Christ. And may our combined worship spill out of our meeting like a boiling, powerful, rolling flood of praise so that the gospel flows out to every nation, every tribe, every people group on this beautiful earth!

Amen