Psalm 1:1

1a. Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked..."

a) How can this be connected to worship?
b) How does the counsel of the wicked affect our songs of praise?
c) What is the "counsel of the wicked" in our worship?

a) If we are walking in the counsel of the wicked then we are not worshipping in truth. We will catch ourselves distorting the truth to fit our needs instead of the will of God.

b) The counself of the wicked affect our songs of praise in that we are no longer praising God in spirit and in truth. We develop a hidden agenda for praising God. It no longer is a song of praise of gratitude and joy for what He has done in our lives but a song of praise in which we seek to fulfill a selfish need.

c) The counsel of the wicked is to show off, to show just how good we are as singers, as musicians, etc. Probably if they see just how good you are they will promote you to a higher position.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be in a higher position than we are at but when that becomes the sole purpose for giving our best then we are in trouble because we are putting God aside, putting our focus on Him to the side. By doing so we no longer worship in spirit and in truth because we are focusing on giving our best so other may see us instead of the one who deserves to be seen, the one who we should be reflecting, Jesus Christ.

The counsel of the wicked can come in any form. It can be thoughts of self-glory that the enemy may try to instill in our hearts. It can be our own minds trying to give God absolutely the best that we become so technical that we cannot be sensible to the Holy Spirit and listen to how and what will work to leading His people into worship.

When leading people into worship our focus must be on God and on allowing ourselves to become sensible to the Holy Spirit that we may be guided on how to lead His people into worship. Staying away from the counsel of the wicked, which at times can be oneself, is easy when we put our sole focus on God and that what we're doing is a way of expressing our gratitude and joy for all that He's done in our lives. Just the fact that He is the living God gives us a reason to worship. We also must remember that God has given us the privilege of being choir members, musicians, worship leaders, the Levites of our time if you think about it. He has placed in our hands the great privilege of serving His people, being the anointed ones He will use to lead His church into His worship.