Praise His Name
I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips, as you know, O Lord.
I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and salvation.
I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly
Psalm 40:9,10
The satisfaction of private praise is more than matched by what happens in corporate worship. No wonder the scripture says so emphatically not to “give up meeting together” (Hebrews 10:25).
The Psalms constantly talk of sharing the things of God “in the great assembly.”
Worship not only involves all of us, meaning our whole body; it involves all of us, meaning joining with God’s whole body, the church. God’s character and glory are too momentous to be hidden away in the individual heart.The New Testament knows nothing of Christians who are unrelated to a local, functioning expression of Christ’s body. From the very beginning of the story of salvation, when God called Abraham to follow Him, He had a special people, Israel, in mind. As we place our faith in Jesus, we are added to that company – spiritual Israel (Galatians 6:16).
As New Testament priests, we “continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name” (Hebrews 13:15).
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