Before the altar part 25

What of my worship? How do I come before the LORD? Do I come hurriedly, as though God and the worship of Him are an afterthought? Am I peaceful about my life or anxious to get the day going? Do I cherish the moments God and I are together? Do I come with pure intentions? And how do I purify myself before coming to Him? Ancient Jews ceremoniously washed prior to entering the gates to worship Him. The whole purpose of the sacrifice was to purify oneself before God, but it was the attitude that was most important to God, not the sacrifice itself. (See Isaiah1) If I bring God myself in an attitude that is anything but humble it is dross, much as the Jews were to bring God the purest sacrifice with humility. (2 Chronicles 7:13-15) How do I do this? By remembering that God has no ulterior motives for me and will give me what I need, therefore I should have no ulterior motives either and I must die to my selfishness. After all, in Christ, the old man is dead. I must continually be aware that I am a new creation and that the old man is gone. (2 Cor 5:17) My worship should be a fragrance, as in Romans 12:1-2.  The solemnity of worship that I am to maintain is exemplified in I Chronicles 25:1-8. God is treated with solemnity and respect. The way others were treated indicated how God was treated. If I treat someone who I can see with respect, it will make it easier for me to treat someone who I cannot see with respect. I John 5:20 tells me the converse of that is also true, if I treat someone that I can see badly, then I will treat God, who I cannot see, badly. If I don’t treat those who are worshiping with me with respect and solemnity and care, how can I treat God with respect? Wasn’t that the purpose of sending Christ, to show the world how to live in peace and love? In 2 Chronicles 20:19-28, respect is even involved with singing and instrumentation. That is respect and solemnity must be carried out in every aspect of our worship. And Nehemiah 12:24-31 speaks of respect of God as being an attitude of obedience and giving Him the best we can, and we need never be ashamed or afraid of His gospel and the spread of it as said in Romans 1:16-17.