To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said, I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. Psalms 18:1-3
As we bring to remembrance the great and wonderful resurrection of our Saviour, we cannot forget His death must have happened before the resurrection could take place. In His death, He paid our price and in His resurrection, He provided victory over the grave. Praise the Lord! Friend, we know just anyone could not have paid this terrible price. There was only the One, perfect and blameless, Who was worthy to do so, the Saviour of all mankind, Jesus Christ. The word "worthy" appears in the Bible in sixty six verses, which as you know, coincides with the number of books in the Bible. The simple definition of the word worthy is due reward (deserving or suitable). The Psalmist David sings in our text above, the Lord is "worthy to be praised". We live in a self-centered culture today which seems intent on getting something out of everything, believing all things come at some cost and must have a reward. People have become defiant and disrespectful of those in authority, but get offended when their own selfish feelings are not taken into account.
In the famous Sleepy Hollow Cemetery near Concord, Massachusetts, there is an old settler’s, moss-covered grave with this inscription: “Ezra Ripley, who came of the best Pilgrim stock, from a long line of the ministers of Concord. He was worthy of his lineage.” Similar words can be said of Paul and his lineage as a Jew: “Circumcised on the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin…” (Philippians 3:5). Paul was proud of his heritage, but he counted this as well as all of his remarkable accomplishments as “dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ.”
Why do you suppose it is today we feel in order to worship the Lord, we must have some specific reason with a guaranteed benefit or blessing? Maybe it's because we have been taught we should come to Christ to avoid hell… or because if the world would only get saved, it would enjoy a better life… or maybe it is even because we have taught souls the end is the happiness of man. Why is it when we do something right, we feel as if we should be profusely thanked, praised and exalted?
In chapter 4 of the Book of Revelation, a vivid description of the Throne of God is provided by John from the island of Patmos, as he was caught up in the spirit, revealing a spectacular glimpse of the future of the bride of Christ to all of us. In the eleventh verse, we are told all things were created by Him. Might I say today the He, Jesus Christ our Lord, Who created all things, is worthy to be praised and worthy to receive honor and glory, whether we receive anything at all in this life? He is worthy to be praised not because of what He will do for us, but simply because of who HE is! Friend, if we can ever get past who we think we are, we can clearly see Who He is!
Jesus is worthy as the way. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6). Returning to John's description of the Throne of God in Revelation 4, we can envision the twenty four elders stand and bow before the throne of God in Heaven, their crowns of gold cast at His feet, not because they are seeking any recognition or glory for themselves, but because the Way of the Lord, Jesus Christ is worthy. He, Jesus Christ, is THE way and there is simply no other way to the throne.
Beloved, not only is the Lord worthy in His way, but He is also worthy in His wisdom. When Solomon wrote of wisdom in Proverbs 8:11-36, we are given a beautiful picture of the Lord’s worth in His wisdom. I challenge you to read and study the perfect words ascribed to the wisdom of our Lord, "For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it". This is the wisdom which was with the Lord in eternity, before time began. When He established the end from the beginning, His wisdom was there! He is worthy in His wisdom, for He is the Creator of all! The Lord is worthy in His wisdom as He gazed down upon the pages of history yet written and saw we would need a Saviour. Thank you, Lord! Friend, He is worthy to be worshipped. Revelation 4:11 opens to say, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power”.
Two young Moravians heard of an island in the West Indies where a British atheist "owned" up to 3,000 slaves. The owner had declared that, “No preacher, no clergyman will ever stay on this island. If he is shipwrecked, we’ll keep him in a separate house until he has to leave, but he’s never going talk to any of us about God! I’m through with all that nonsense.” Three thousand slaves from the continent of Africa had been taken across the Atlantic to live and die in a land not their own, never to hear of the Lord Jesus Christ. These two young Moravians, however, decided to sell themselves to the British slave owner and use the money to pay for their own passage to his island in the West Indies. As the ship departed and sailed down the river at Hamburg heading out to the North Sea, Moravians had come to see the two young men in their early 20’s off. They understood this would not be a four year term, for the two young men had sold themselves into a lifetime of slavery – simply so, as slaves, they could be as Christians to the other slaves. Their families were there, weeping, knowing they would never see the boys again. They questioned their reasoning for it and as the gap widened from the pier, with arms linked together, the two boys looked back and answered, shouting, “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering!” This then became the call of the Moravians missions and is the only reason of our being: That the Lamb that was slain may receive the reward of His suffering!
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