In my opinion, not only does the reading of Scripture enlighten our minds, but it also enhances our worship. It does this in at least two ways. First of all, we have all probably experienced that incredible, uncontrollable desire to break forth into praise and thanks to God when we have become aware of something God has done or of an awe-inspiring aspect of His nature. J. I. Packer, on the back of his helpful book Concise Theology writes: “As I often tell my students, theology is for doxology and devotion—that is, the praise of God and the practice of godliness.” Immersing ourselves in God’s Word will naturally lead to more of these spontaneous outbursts of praise.
The Word of God also ensures that we are praising the true God, and not offering worship to a being of our own devising. In His conversation with a Samaritan woman Jesus teaches who true worshipers of God are: “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’” (John 4:21-24).
We worship in spirit when our praise flows from within us and is not merely an outward song or action. It is a bit more difficult to nail down the correct interpretation of worshiping in truth. It could serve to reinforce the idea of worshiping in spirit. In this case, worshiping in truth would be equated with worshiping in spirit – we truly worship when we worship in spirit. However, and this is helpful for the point at hand, it could also mean that we worship the God we have true knowledge of. Regardless of our interpretation of this passage, this point remains a valid one.
Having a solid grasp on God’s Word and on theology will protect against attributing false characteristics to God in the midst of our praise. It should be our desire to reflect on and adore God for who He truly is. It should be our longing to thank God for what He truly has done, is doing and will do. The Word of God protects us from false pronouncements concerning God in the midst of our worship.
