At church last Sunday we sung this song. We hadn’t sung it for some time. It was good to remember it…
Come people of the risen King
Who delight to bring him praise
Come all and tune your hearts to sing
To the Morning Star of grace
From the shifting shadows of the earth
We will lift our eyes to him
Where steady arms of mercy reach
To gather children in
Rejoice, rejoice
Let every tongue rejoice
One heart, one voice
O Church of Christ, rejoice
It’s a hymn of praise that focuses on God. I lift my eyes from my own little world to see who He is and what He’s done and doing… and it brings joy! It’s about being intentional, coming with the specific purpose of praising God. It’s about coming together united in a desire to rejoice and praise God. It’s us not me; it’s God not me.
Come those whose joy is morning sun
And those weeping through the night
Come those who tell of battles won
And those struggling in the fight
For his perfect love will never change
And his mercies never cease
But follow us through all our days
With the certain hope of peace
I don’t focus on my feelings or make the excuses. It’s not about generating the emotion, confidence or enthusiasm. I come as I am and am changed as I praise and rejoice. I come for Him, not for what I can get out of it. I come with others; together we rejoice.
Come young and old from every land
Men and women of the faith.
Come those with full or empty hands
Find the riches of his grace.
Over all the world his people sing
Shore to shore we hear them call
The truth that cries through every age
Our God is all in all.
The invitation is for all. There is no age restriction or intellectual requirement. No nation or social class have a priority. It’s all-inclusive. Sometimes we get lost in discussions about style, form or preference. This is about intent – to come, to praise, to rejoice together.
We’re the people of the risen King who delights in our praise. We may be joyful or weeping, struggling or victorious. We tune our hearts to sing to the God, whose mercy never ceases, together.
malcolmsmusings.org 
Great post, Malcolm! Thank you for writing this to remind us what is truer than true.
I sometimes find myself not wanting to congregate with my fellow believers and, especially, not to worship our Lord, because I sometimes find myself steeped in sin. I’m probably always steeped in sin, but I only sometimes notice it. But in these times, I call to mind that Jesus Christ is worthy of my worship, whether I feel like it or not. Jesus Christ is so worthy of my worship whether I am steeped in sin or not, which one Day I will not be so. Jesus Christ is worthy of all our worship because He is “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
And as I worship Him, I am for that time already in the not yet now of Glory.
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Focusing on self can lead, as you say, to a guilt trip, a desire to receive something, my personal requirements… or all manner of excuses. True worship, I believe is about losing sight of myself and focusing on God.
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