Psa. 135 - false worshippers

Jimmy Lau

Our Lord says He is bored with these kinds of worshippers:

1. The Hypocrites – Christ says their hearts are far from Him. What does it mean? It means:
(i)  They are present in the body but not in spirit. Their hearts are not in worship. We see this kind of worshippers every Sunday. They are not attentive. They will be fiddling with their phones or doing something else. Some will even talk and disturb other worshippers: Habakkuk says: “But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him” (Habakkuk 2:20).
 
(ii) They are not living the Christian lifestyle. In worship they appear holy - they sing, pray, give, study, partake the Lord’s Supper, and listen attentively as anyone. But when they leave the church building, it is a different matter. Our Lord has this to say to them: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matthew 23:27, 28).
 
James says to draw near to God, one must have a clean heart: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded” (James 4:8).
 
2. The Disobedient – Christ says they follow and teach men’s commandants and not His. Their worship is men’s ways and not God’s ways. Christ says about true worshippers: “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” (John 4:23).
 
The complainer is a continual problem in many congregations. Instead of judging the worship, they should be examining themselves. We praise God because He is Good and His name is Pleasant (Psa. 135 v.3). Our praises are for God. If anyone that should be complaining about the worship, it is God. Only God has the right to complain about our worship if it is indeed in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).