the priceless jewel in worship. By Charles Spurgeon.

Matthew chapter 15, verses 8 and 9. These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain. Heart worship is the most precious thing in the sight of God. The only worship that God accepts is that priceless jewel. the love and devotion of the heart.

Nor is it hard to see why it is so, for it is plain that if a man had kept all the rituals of the Mosaic Law, yet he might not be a sincere worshipper of God at all. He might drive whole flocks of his sheep to the temple to sacrifice, and yet he might feel no love or reverence for the Most High God. It has been proved times without number that the most careful and zealous attention to external religious ceremonies is quite consistent with the absolute absence of any true communion with God and hearty love for Him.

The conscious lack of inward, vital, and saving grace may even drive a man to a more intense zeal in religious formalities in order to conceal the sins in his heart. It is written, Israel has forsaken his Maker and builds temples. You would think that if a man would build temples, then he must love and reverence God. But it is not so. Beneath the folds of priestly vestments, ordained ministers often attempt to cover over their wicked hearts. Fine music often proceeds from proud hearts. The smoke of incense often becomes a cloud which attempts to conceal a man from the face of God.

It is no doubt that certain rich men who give large contributions to religious causes often do it in pride, to show off their wealth or to display their generosity. A large monetary gift might be nothing more than a bid for popular esteem. and so it is a mere offering to selfishness and vanity. With such sacrifices, God is not pleased. Alas, how easy it is to defile the worship of God until it becomes an odious stench to Him.

Singers may lift up their sweet voices so that others may hear how charmingly they sing. Ministers may preach with eloquence so that they may be admired for their exquisite speech. Believers may even pray devoutly so that their fellow Christians may see how pious they are. Alas, this blight of self may come into any and every part of religious service and turn the worship of God into an occasion for self-glorification.

The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship him in spirit and in truth.