Worship of the Heart

Old Testament

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

Then I will go up to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And on the harp I will praise You,
O God, my God.

You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.

You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am the Lord your God.

O come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.

Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? …If you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”

Shadrach Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king….”

Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego…. And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace…. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God….”

Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire…. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who have trusted in Him…that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!”  

The New Testament

"Where two or three are gathered together in My name I am there in the midst of them.”

“‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment.’”   

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”  

Worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.

The Heavenly Doctrines

Worship of the mouth is accepted by the Lord according to the worship of the life.

Worship does not consist in prayers and in external devotion, but in a life of charity. The essential of worship is the life of charity.

A person is worshiping all the time if love and charity abide in him.

[W]orship offered in freedom is pleasing to the Lord, but not worship offered under compulsion. Worship offered in freedom is worship coming from the heart; for all freedom goes together with love.

“Thou shalt not make to thee other gods” includes not loving self and the world above all things. For that which one loves above all things is his god.