Over the past year or so I have been studying the Psalms, using the NIV Application Commentary Volume 1 by Gerald Wilson. The Psalms have proven to be a place of refuge, where I am constantly encouraged in life and ministry, and where my understanding of worship has been shaped and challenged. Today I read Psalm 42 - one of the lament Psalms - and was struck by how the Psalmist dealt with his sorrow. Verse 6 says, "My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember You ..."
Wilson points out in his commentary the value of memory, and of remembering who God is and what He has done when we go through times of deep despair and sadness. He then connects it with corporate worship, and says,
"Worship together is a place of memory. Together we call to mind what it is so easy to forget alone - that God is good and that his steadfast love endures forever for those who trust in Him. Corporate worship counters our society's message of forgetfulness and sends a message both outwardly and inwardly that we are not alone. Worship is a place for testimony and celebration. It is a time for confession and forgiveness. It is a place where we remember the past, receive power to face the present, and conceive hope for tomorrow."
I really resonated with this idea - that coming together for corporate worship is about reminding each other of God's faithfulness and grace in each of our lives. Are we doing our part as worship leaders to remind ourselves and those we lead of God's continued faithfulness to His people, through the songs we sing and the prayers we pray and the Scripture passages we read? It may be exactly what many hurting people need to hear when they gather for corporate worship.
