Psalm 65 begins: “There will be silence before Thee, and praise in Zion, O God, and to Thee the vow will be performed.” Notice three very different, but very important elements of worship described in this opening verse:

— “There will be silence before Thee” – There will be silence because the worshiper is truly confronted with the presence of God; he is filled with holy awe. This is a missing element in most experiences of what we call “worship” today. We have celebration, exuberance, excitement – but not holy awe – and that is perhaps THE signature element of Biblical worship. When characters encounter God in scripture, there is evidence of such awe: “woe is me”, falling as if dead, etc. And this is exactly what we do NOT have in most of our services. It is condemning of our worship, and should cause us to cry out to God for a renewal of our vision of Him in awesome glory.

— “and praise in Zion, O God” — following the awe which reflects our inability to totally process God’s greatness, there WILL then be praise in Zion — among the people of God. Although it will never be all that He deserves, true worshipers will do what they can to express His glory, and share it with others.

— “and to Thee the vow will be performed.” This is perhaps the single greatest mark of worship: obedience. Our most genuine and costly worship doesn’t necessarily take place in a “worship center” through singing and prayers, but afterwards. Will we “perform the vows” we made to Him when we praised Him as “Lord”? Did we really mean it? Will we obey Him by making difficult, or costly decisions to follow? After all is said and done in the Sunday service, we demonstrate whether we really worship Him after we leave — by how we OBEY!

As you worship today, evaluate your worship experience, not in terms of “attendance” or “numbers” or “decisions” — but through the lens of scripture like Psalm 65. Were you awed in His presence? Did you praise Him heartily? And perhaps most importantly, did you leave worship, more ready to obey?