“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” Psalm 95:6-7 ESV
Click here to listen: “A King Like This”
I heard this song for the first time one Christmas Eve years ago, and when I sang it in church this past Sunday I was struck by the words just as much as I was the first time I heard it. Because for me, this song is a commitment I’m making, and throughout the song I’m reminded why I’m making that commitment.
“He is Christ the Lord, He is Christ our Savior. I bow my heart before no other name. I bow my heart before no other king.”
Here are two questions I’ve been pondering (yes, I ponder):
1. Do I bow?
2. Who do I bow to?
In Psalm 95, we are called to worship and bow down. Psalm 138 makes the connection between bowing down and giving thanks: “I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word” (Psalm 138:2 ESV). We also see bowing down as a sign of humility and surrender: “The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down” (Psalm 145:14 ESV).
And so I ponder. . . do I bow to the Lord, surrendering and thanking and worshipping? Do I focus on the one true King as I worship, or am I distracted? (Truth be told, I find that I focus more during my one-on-one time with God, and I’m distracted during corporate worship. Hmmm, something to work on.)
More pondering. . . Am I bowing to God? Or am I bowing to other earthly idols: people, success, money, busyness, etc. (Truth be told, again, I’m finding myself in a posture of people-pleasing. I don’t know if I’ve always been like this and haven’t recognized it, or if it’s something new, but either way, I don’t like. Something else to work on.)
“He is Christ the Lord, He is Christ our Savior. I bow my heart before no other name. I bow my heart before no other king.”
I always get teary during the final stanza
“A king like this, a throne of grace that will stand forever
The angels sing, ‘Glory glory hallelujah’
The light, the light has come.”
Because Jesus’ birth isn’t important only at Christmas, it has an eternal impact. It’s a throne of grace that will stand forever.
Are you bowing? Who/what are you bowing to?
“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” Psalm 95:6-7 ESV
