Worship From a Straight Heart - Psalm 119:7

I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws – Psalm 119:7 NIV

Knowing and obeying God’s Word will bring blessings to your life, blessings you can count on. However, if God is going to bless you, you must then sincerely seek the Lord and not merely study and read the bible. It is not just having “facts in the head,” but “truth in the heart” that makes you and I grow in the Lord and opens up for us channels of blessings from heaven itself.

“I will praise you” – This is the NIV rendering. But the NASB rendering is “I shall give thanks. . .” It appears that “praise” and “giving thanks” are synonymous. One can hardly render praise to God without doing so from a thankful heart. Also, the particular structure in the Hebrew conveys the idea of cause. In other words, it is because of having an upright heart that causes us to want to praise God. It is God’s blessings that He promises to pour out on us if we obey His Word that causes us to want to praise and give thanks to God. It is the fact that we have God’s commandments as our guide into spiritual truth that causes us to fall down on our knees in humble praise.

“With an upright heart” – This is what gives our praise of God authenticity. You see, people can go through the motion of praise and worship to God, but inwardly their heart is not upright.

Let me give to you a couple of examples.

First, look at Psalm 50

16 But to the wicked, God says:
"What right have you to recite my laws
or take my covenant on your lips?
17 You hate my instruction
and cast my words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you join with him;
you throw in your lot with adulterers.
19 You use your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue to deceit.
20 You speak continually against your brother
and slander your own mother's son.
21 These things you have done and I kept silent;
you thought I was altogether like you.
But I will rebuke you
and accuse you to your face.

What God is saying here is this: “If you are not obedient to My Word, then stop preaching it. Stop reciting it. Stop using it to make you look good in the eyes of others. You have no desire to want to live by it. I take offense in that you recite My commandments, but your obedience is totally absent.”

You say, “Whew, I’m glad that’s primarily said to those who preach and teach the Word, but for someone like me who simply sings and plays an instrument on a praise team, I don’t have to concern myself with a double standard.”

Hold on – check this out. Check out Amos 5 --

23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!

God says, “Your singing to Me is merely noise. Silence! And playing your instruments is something I will not take the time to listen to. What I want to see in your heart and life are justice and righteousness. When you have a heart that is filled with these things, then you can sing and play your instruments and then I will listen and take delight in what I hear.”

Therefore, whether you are a preacher or someone who offers praise and worship through songs, an upright heart is mandatory. If our preaching, singing or playing a musical instrument does not come from an upright heart, to the Lord it is mere noise and an offense to His ears.

But how do we know what an “upright heart” looks like?

“As I learn your righteous laws” – We come to know the requirements of having an upright heart by reading and meditating on God’s law (His Word). An upright heart is not gained through service, but sincere service comes forth from an upright heart. We know and understand the meaning of knowing what an upright heart is by understanding and believing the Scriptures.

By the way, the word “upright” means “straight.” This has moral implications. It is a heart that is not crooked or bent toward error. It is straight or in proper alignment with God. It is a heart that points directly toward heaven and does not deviate onto another path.

Interestingly, the word “learn” in the Hebrew carries the idea of “exercise.” In other words, to learn God’s Word is a matter of exercise. It will be demanding. It will take a portion of your time set apart to do so. It will be at times strenuous. But if you learn (exercise) God’s Word regularly, you will have a healthy “upright heart.”

Also, think about this. If you want to participate in a 5K run, you just can’t show up on the morning of the race and expect to finish without croaking. But if you take several days to train for the race by exercising and running, then at the time of the race, you will be in better shape to finish well than if you did not exercise at all.

So it is with Sunday morning worship. If we do not take the time to learn (as in exercise) God’s Word daily during the week, don’t blame the Praise and Worship team if you spiritually croak and have a bad experience. You had a bummer experience in church because you showed up not ready. You did not take the time to spiritually and mentally exercise during the week by reading and meditating on God’s Word. If you did, you would enjoy the worship and you would finish well in the end.

Summary: Praise and thanksgiving to God comes out of a heart that is morally upright and trained in the Scriptures.