Psalm 138:2a I will worship toward thy holy temple,

I have this image stuck in my head at this moment. It is of prayer rugs all over the nation of Islam being aligned to point towards Mecca. It is the birthplace of Muhammad and site of his first revelation of the Quran.

I will not disrespect the name or place with this post. I would however ask isn’t this man worship? I suppose you could say the same of Psalm 138 if you didn’t have a proper understanding of just where God’s Holy Temple is located.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

How do we worship toward God if He is in us?

John 4:23-24 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

I am intrigued by the use of the word must in verse 24. It is not part of a phrase and stands alone in its meaning. Rarely do we talk about the things that we must do. We are always espousing our liberty in Christ and yet here is a must do. What happens if we do not? What’s the prescribed penalty for failing to worship in spirit and in truth? None, at least I don’t see one, so what difference does it make?

There you are and there is the Spirit and there is Truth. We know who those two are, the Comforter and Christ. Does that sound a little bit like three part harmony? Lending your voice to this worship completes that harmony, which cannot be achieved without you.