Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Psalm 150:2

Most of us know Ps 46:10. It’s quoted often. It tells us, “Be still and know that I am God.” And we revel in the stillness and quietness of personally encountering Jesus with awestruck wonder.

But the in the context of today’s verse, the Bible also describes drums, cymbals, leaping and dancing, praising God with all our might, and shouting unto the Lord. This is not cacophony of confusion but joy-filled, overflowing worship—getting enthusiastic over WHO God is “His surpassing greatness” and WHAT He’s done—“His mighty acts of power”.

So which is it? Quiet meditation or outrageous, over the top, exuberance over God? Well, it’s both. There are times of the excitement of joy-filled, overflowing worship. And there are times to be quiet before the Lord in total awe at His character, amazing wonders, etc.

I was reading a list last week of ways we are called in the Bible to view God—to worship Him. It contained a whole lexicon of words like enthralled and exhilarated by God. Excited, astonished, amazed, and awed by God; ravished by Him, consumed, thrilled, obsessed, overwhelmed, enrapt, astounded, and absorbed, obsessed and eagerly preoccupied with God…

The list went on and on. And when it finished the writer asked, “Do you realize how difficult it would be to sin if this were true of you?” I would add, do you see how easy it would be to reach out to others if this were true of us? How easy it would be to say the right thing at the right time?

There’s a practical side to this worship thing. As we look upon God’s character and His nature, our own character and nature are not left untouched. No encounter with the Living God is going to leave us unchanged.