BiblicalInsights.net

Our English word worship means worthship and denotes the worthiness of an individual or being to receive special honor in accordance with that worth or value.  The principle Hebrew and Greek words indicate an act of obesience which is divine honors paid to deity.  Since there is only one, true and living God, there is only one deity worthy of worship (Matt. 4:10, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve”).  No injury to God compares with the denial of His uniqueness and the transfer to another of the recognition that belongs to Him.  Any perversion of worship is Satan’s avid effort to secure to himself what belongs to God alone (Matt. 4:9).  Worship involves praise and prayer directed to God and the offer of sacrificial gifts that honor Him and glorify His name.  Worship is generally an act of God’s people who desire to draw nigh unto Him and honor Him for His uniqueness, greatness, and goodness.
Psalm 95
This effort is clearly present in Psalm 95.  Psalm 95 was written by David (Heb. 4:7).  The Psalm is referenced twice in Hebrews, i.e. 3:7 and 4:7.  In both contexts, the Psalm is referenced to warn and encourage the saints to faithfulness to God by maintaining a close relationship with God through divine acts of worship. That faithfulness to God will result in the heavenly rest.
The Invitation (Psa. 95:1-2).
“O Come….” is an invitation inciting to join heart and lips in praise to God.  This is worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).  Without the engagement of the heart, the acts of worship are vain.  The invitation contains an exhortation.  Let us is repeated several times. The phrase indicates unity and it is defining worship that is corporate.  Let us sing unto the LORD. Let us make a joyful noise unto the Rock of our salvation.  Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving.  Let us make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms. Notice that the call to worship also contains the means of accomplishing it.  Worship brings us into the presence of God.  As an act of devotion to Him, it manifests our love for Him.  Worship is one way in which we love God supremely (Matt. 22:36-38).
The Grounds (Psa. 95:3-5).
The LORD is a great God.  He is unsurpassed in all of His perfections.  The greatness of God is seen in His creative power.  The LORD is unique and stands above all other gods.  The idols of man are pure vanity (I Cor. 8:4).  In His hands are: the deep places of the earth, the heights of the hills, the sea and the dry lands.  Truly, God is the creator of all things (Exodus 20:11).  This includes humanity.  Yes, we owe our very existence to Him (Acts 17:28).  As our Creator, He alone is worthy of our worship and devotion.  We worship because of who God is!  I know that worship is something that God desires for His people to do, but we do not worship merely because God has commanded it.  We worship because we know God.  We worship because we love God.  We worship because we cannot restrain our soul from crying out in honor of His name.
The Invitation Repeated (Psa. 95:6).
“O, come…” is repeated.  Let us worship and bow down.  This defines worship as an act of great humility.  In worship to God, we have a sense of our own unworthiness.  Let us kneel before our Maker.  Only from a position of deep humility would we even think of approaching God.
The Grounds Continued (Psa. 95:7).
For He is our God and we our His people.  This phrase indicates covenant relationship with God brought about by His lovingkindness.  Only God can save.  In the act of saving us, God redeems us to Himself and consequently, we belong to Him.  He is our God and we our His people.  We worship God because we are in covenant relationship with God.  David wrote while under the covenant God made with Israel through Moses.  However, we live under a better covenant that Jesus has made possible through the power of His blood (Heb. 9:14-15; Heb. 8:1-13).  The covenant of Christ reveals both grace and truth that is available to all people.  Only those who respond to God’s love by loving Him back participate in the blessings and promises of the New Covenant (John 14:23).  If those who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ do not worship God, then, who?  Any substitution for God is an act of unbelief and this unbelief will keep us from the heavenly rest.
An Admonition (Psa. 95:8-11).
David warned against hardening one’s heart against God.  The writer of Hebrews quotes from Psa. 95 in Heb. 3:7 and 4:7 in order to emphasize this warning to his readers.  The human heart is hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:11-12).  The author makes a historical comparison.  Remember the provocation in the wilderness!  The period of Wilderness Wanderings lasted forty years.  During this period of time, God’s people tested Him and provoked Him.  They saw His works but did not believe.  As a result, they faced His wrath.  God was grieved with them forty years.  He said it is a people that do err in their hearts.  He said they have not known my ways.  He swore in His wrath that they should not enter into His rest.  They missed the promised land because of unbelief.  Likewise, the saints of God today, can manifest unfaithfulness to God by worshiping idols and fail to enter into the heavenly rest.  We worship God as a manifestation of our faithfulness to Him because of who He is and what He has done for us in giving us physical life as our Creator and saving us through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Summary:
Worship brings God and His people into oneness.  Worship flows from a heart that is fully aware of who God is and what He has done in creative and redemptive acts.  Worship is manifested in human hearts who are in covenant relationship with God and who love God deeply.  Worship is expressed in praise and prayer directed to God.  Worship involves the whole person, body and soul, in devotion to God.  Worship enhances faithfulness to God.  Worship binds us to the heart of God and is an expression of the wonder we experience in His presence and the value that we ascribe to Him that is worthy.