Praise the Lord From Evening to Evening

Ps. 119:147 Praise Him before the dawning of the morning

I rise before the dawning of the morning,

And cry for help; I hope in Your word.

Ps. 57:8 Praise Him when you waken the dawn

Awake, my glory! Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn.

1Chr. 23:30 Praise Him when it is morning (Ps. 59:16)

To stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord,

and likewise at evening;

Ps. 113:3 Praise Him when the sun comes up

From the rising of the sun to its going down

The Lord's name is to be praised.

Ps. 55:17 Praise Him when it is noon

Evening and morning and at noon I will pray,

and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice.

Ps. 42:8 Praise Him when it is evening (Ps. 92:2)

The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,

And in the night His song shall be with me-- A prayer to the God of my life.

Ps. 141:2 Praise Him when you bring the evening sacrifice

Let my prayer be set before You as incense,

The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Ps. 113:3 Praise Him when the sun goes down (Mal. 1:11)

From the rising of the sun to its going down

The Lord's name is to be praised.

Ps. 119:62 Praise Him when it is midnight (Acts 16:25)

At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You,

because of Your righteous judgments.

Luke 7:36-50 The Woman Who Worshiped Jesus Silently

Luke 7:36-50 tells a most poignant story of the sinful woman who came and worshiped at Jesus’ feet. There are eight things that she did as she ministered to Him. These make up a very beautiful, yet simple picture of worship, and yet there is no mention of any words or songs that were uttered as a part of her worship.

• Verse 37 - She knew, or heard that Jesus was in Simon the Pharisee’s house. I can imagine that her heart leapt with this news. It seems to me that she had heard of Jesus before, and that she had thought about coming to worship Him in response to some previous encounter with Him. Even if she hadn’t met Him personally, she must have known enough about Him to trust that He would not reject this lavish offering that she had prepared.

Have you heard where you might find Him this week? Are you listening for news of His presence? What must we do in our hearts to prepare for a worship encounter with Him?

• Verse 37 – she brought her offering to the Lord. This woman was known to all as a terrible sinner, yet it didn’t deter her from entering this house and interrupting the fellowship of these men of God. The fact that she was there in the first place is a sign of her passion and hunger for God. I wonder how many spoken and unspoken rules she broke just to enter the house.

It is not enough to simply hear that Jesus is near – we must do whatever it takes to draw near.

• Verse 38 – she stood at His feet – behind Him. Some translations say that she knelt behind Him, and some say that she stood. The issue is that she moved herself into a position of being very near to Him. She was not willing to come before His face – the full gaze of holiness shining into her sinful heart, and yet she is near enough to minister to Him. I wonder how she knew that he would receive her offering. Her first objective was to come to His feet.

Sometimes we come to the face of God and worship before Him – face to face. Sometimes we sit at His side, or look into His hands. On other occasions we must come to His feet and bow down in total vulnerability.

• Verse 38 – she wept. Sometimes tears are our best prayers. All of her sin and shame came pouring out in these tears. No words passed between them - just tears of worship, repentance and gratitude flowed from her heart. A lifetime of suffering was turned into fragrant worship.

I know that there are many times when I stop myself from feeling this deeply in worship. Maybe my focus is too much on the music or other matters of life. May I challenge us all to dig deeply into our hearts and make worship offerings that are authentic – born in the core of our beings.

• Verse 38 – she washed Jesus’ feet with her tears. It was customary in Biblical times to wash the feet of guests as they entered the house. Simon had neglected this common courtesy, and a sinful woman used the only water available to her to perform this act of humility – her own tears.

Tears are never wasted in God’s presence. Although Christ certainly does not need to be washed, somehow I think that in this simple act of washing, she received a cleansing of her heart and soul. As you pour out your heart and tears in worship, something will take place in your heart where you are purged and purified in His presence.

• Verse 38 – she wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair. Again, this woman had no towel to wipe away the tears from Jesus’ feet – she used her hair, which is a picture of her natural beauty and glory. She had once used her beauty to defile herself and bring separation between her and God. In this act, she gave Him one of the only things she had left – her beautiful hair. Once again she gave this to Him in total devotion. Her hair had been used to woo men, now she used it woo her Redeemer.

Think about the things we have in our lives that we can lay at His feet. Very often, these are ordinary things that become extraordinary gifts of worship.

• Verse 38 – she kissed His feet. The kiss is a most intimate act. Once she had successfully washed and wiped Him without rebuke, she moved even deeper in worship and kissed Him. This is quite a spectacle of public worship.

In so many of our cultures we are reserved in our expressions of worship. Would we ever consider the total abandon of this woman as she kissed the feet of Jesus? She had no thought of what people might think – all of her focus was on the object of her devotion. Let’s not be too concerned about the traditions and hindrances of our formal worship services. If our hearts are pure and our motives are holy, then worship God with abandon.

• Verse 38 – she anointed His head. This woman poured a costly, fragrant oil on Jesus’ head and feet. This oil is called spikenard, which basically means "pure," "light," "the fire of love." Such a picture of passionate worship! This was one of the most costly of all perfumes during Biblical times. Some commentaries say that one pound of spikenard could cost a year’s salary for the average worker.

Spikenard is a small attractive perennial and is usually found growing on rock ledges and mountain slopes. It is prized for its aromatic rhizomes (roots). We could say that true worship is found as we journey towards the Lord up the mountains and in every stopping place along the way. Worship comes up from the very core of our being just as natural spikenard gives of its fragrance from the roots.

It is also interesting to note that:

- Prophets were anointed on the head (1Ki. 19:16)

- Priests were anointed on the head (Ex. 29:7; Lev. 8:12; Ps. 133:2)

- Kings were anointed on the head (1Sam. 16:13; 1Ki. 1:34, 45; 19:16; 2Ki. 9:1-6)

This woman was declaring Jesus’ ministry as a Prophet, Priest and King.

What a lovely picture this makes for those who love to worship. Just think – when we worship the Lord as this woman did, we perfume Him and all those around us. In John 12:3 it says that the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. Not only the sanctuary of our hearts, but the whole church should be filled with the fragrance of our worship.

Just like in Jesus’ day, there will never be any lack of critics if we determine to worship with all our hearts. The story of this sinful woman who worshiped with abandon caused Jesus to remark:

Matt. 26:13 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.

We usually think of receiving anointing from the Lord for ourselves...but this woman anointed Jesus! The honesty and simplicity of her worship became an anointing for Him and for all of us who hear this story.

Come – let us worship the Lord with all of our hearts!

There is one more snippet from Jesus that resounds through the ages: “He who is forgiven little, loves little.” How true it is – among other things our worship pours out of our gratitude and propels us into His presence. We enter His gates with thanksgiving. When we understand the total depravity of our hearts and the extent of God’s redemption, then it is totally natural to explode in passionate worship.

We can see such a clear distinction between two characters in this story – Simon the Pharisee, who would have been a learned and pious man, and the sinful woman who was clothed in shame. Clearly, all the learning and religious duty of the Pharisee did not draw his heart to worship. On the other hand the broken-hearted woman adored the One who had freed her from her life of sin and shame.

There is nothing sweeter than learning how to pour our suffering before the Lord as offerings of worship, and rising with robes of righteousness.

Listen for Him

Bring yourself to Him

Stand before Him

Pour out your heart to Him

Minister to Him

Give yourself totally to Him

Kiss Him

Anoint HIm with your worship

Go Here for part Two of this story

Further Thoughts On Holiness

Here are two further thoughts on holiness that I found in my notes today – I am not sure where they come from, but they are good food for thought. First a very helpful comparison between holiness and morality:

Holiness is better than moral­ity. It goes beyond it

Holiness re­gards the whole nature of man.

Holiness affects the heart.

Holiness re­spects the motive.

A moral man does not do wrong in his actions;

A holy man hates the thought of doing wrong.

A moral man does not swear;

A holy man adores.

A moral man would not commit outward sin;

A holy man would not commit inward sin. And if committed, he would pour forth floods of tears.

…and then a beautiful picture of holiness and devotion standing guard over the presence of God as He dwells in the sanctuary of our hearts:

"While the Austrian general was staying at the Hotel de Ville, upon the Grand Canal at Venice, I lodged at the same house, and as often as I passed his rooms, whether during the day or at night, I encountered two sentries on guard at the door. My heart said to itself, whenever the King of kings deigns to make a chamber of my spirit, let me set holiness and devotion to be sentries at the entrance. When our Beloved visits us He must not be disturbed. Ill thoughts must be repulsed, and carnal desires kept at a distance. With drawn swords let watchfulness preserve the sanctity of Immanuel's rest. "I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and by the hinds of the field that ye stir not up nor awake my love, till he please." "For the love of Christ compels us (2 Cor. 5:14)

…and a little something else that I noticed as I looked for Scriptures for this piece – these are the five guards that the Lord sets over our lives:

The Lord set the Law as a guard over the faith of His people in the Old testament

Gal. 3:23 But before faith came, we were under guard by the Law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed.
The law was God's first guard over His people

The Lord sets a guard over our lips

Ps. 141:3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.

But we also have to guard our own lips. Just think – of all the “guarding” that is going on here, it is the guarding of our lips that is highlighted: Ps. 39:1 I said, "I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, While the wicked are before me."

The Lord sets Himself - His presence, as a guard over us

Is. 52:12 For you shall not go out with haste, Nor go by flight; For the Lord will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

The Lord sets His glory as a guard over us

Is. 58:8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

The Lord sets His peace as a guard over our hearts and minds

Phil. 4:7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.