So, if you would, turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 6. And for those of you who aren't with us every week or most weeks, we are marching through the book of Samuel. That includes 1 and 2 Samuel. So, we are well into the book of Samuel at this point. And in a moment, we'll read the entirety of chapter 6. So as you're turning there, have you ever had a parent, spouse, or boss walk out the door in a rush and give some vague and completely incomplete departing instructions to you? The person gets a jumble of words out and then they're gone. And you have no context in which to understand what their instructions were. The statement may have been just specific enough to tell you the general area, but also just vague enough that you have no idea what they're talking about within that general area. And in those moments, it would be really helpful to know the surrounding context, the situation in which they're asking you to do something. Those moments are very frustrating for many reasons, for everybody involved, especially since the task that needed to be done is rarely ever accomplished. due to that lack of clarity and lack of communication. But the kicker is that the church sometimes acts as if this is how worship works. God said to worship him, but he didn't say how. So I guess I just have to make up how I want to worship him, however I feel like worshiping him. Well, the answer to that is an emphatic no. The Bible is very clear in its instructions on how to worship God faithfully. It isn't an unclear mystery, though many seem to act like it actually is. The Bible clearly teaches that we have a holy God and that it actually matters how we go about worshiping that God. And therefore, the thesis for this sermon is that because the Lord is holy, you must worship him rightly. So with that introduction, let's read 2 Samuel 6. David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baal Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts, who sits enthroned on the cherubim. And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel were making merry before the Lord with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and that God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. And David was angry because the Lord had burst forth against Uzzah, and that place is called Perazuzzah to this day. And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, How can the ark of the Lord come to me? So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his household. And it was told King David, the Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David with rejoicing. And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. And David danced before the Lord with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and the sound of the horn. As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord. And she despised him in her heart. And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts and distribute among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, a cake of bread, a portion of meat and a cake of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed each to his house. And David returned to bless his household. But Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet David and said, how the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants, female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself. David said to Michal, it was before the Lord who chose me above your father and above all his house to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord, and I will make Mary before the Lord. I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor. And Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no child to the day of her death." So a lot going on in those verses, and we'll break it into two sections, two points. The first is the manner of worship. As we move into chapter six, David has now been firmly established as the king over all of Israel. Jerusalem has been captured and made the capital city of the nation. Jerusalem was in a good central location, which was growing to support the government of the nation. But something was still missing from Jerusalem. If this was God's kingdom and David was God's anointed king, Why was the Ark of the Lord in a small border town many, many miles away? Under the previous king, under Saul's reign, the worship of the Lord and of the Ark had really been neglected and ignored. And David, ever zealous for the Lord's worship, came up with a plan. He would go to Kiriath-Jerim and bring the Ark to Jerusalem. If Jerusalem was the capital of Israel, God's priestly nation, then shouldn't the center of worship also be in Jerusalem? Well, David certainly thought so. David's desire and his zeal for God's worship was very high. And so he took with him 30,000 men, which is a very significant number in this stage of Samuel. Way back in chapter 4, 1 Samuel, 30,000 Israelite soldiers had died when the Ark was captured by the Philistines. The Lord had brought the Ark back to Kiriath-Jerim, an Israelite territory, where it then remained for some 70 years. And so now, many years later, these 30,000 men would go and retrieve the Ark and place it in Jerusalem. So that number is really a symbolic reversal of what had taken place before. And the symbolism added to the worship already taking place. This trip was a huge celebration. We see these instruments, we see singing, we see dancing. David put together a huge worship service with all the elements of a joyful, ecstatic worship service. It was a big deal to bring the Ark of the Lord back to Jerusalem, something that David probably considered the high point of his career, of his reign up to this point. But as we read through, there are a couple things that hint about danger to come in these verses. Now, the first is technically conjecture. The Scripture doesn't outright say. We are not told that David sought the Lord's guidance in this matter. Now, he could have, and the author just didn't tell us. But given what soon took place after this, it seems that David failed to consult God on this great move of the ark. Then the second hint is in verse 3. They carry the Ark of God on what? A new cart. They chose a new cart in order to show honor to the Ark. Now, the intention here may have been good, but there was a big problem with this decision. Exodus 25 and Numbers 4, they only allow one method for the transport of the Ark of the Lord. Only the Kohathites, one of the clans of the Levites, were allowed to carry the ark. And even then, only by carrying it with poles on their shoulders. Instead of following the only Torah-approved method of transport, David used a new cart. The Israelites didn't obey God's commands. Instead, they imitated something or someone else. In 1 Samuel 6, the Philistines had once placed the Ark on a new cart so that it could travel back to Israel. So despite David and Israel's zeal and celebration, they overlooked a huge detail and employed a Philistine method of transporting the Ark of God. And in this instance, the result was tragic and avoidable. As they're moving along, the oxen stumble and the ark shifts and starts to fall. And Uzzah, probably wishing to protect the ark from falling or from being damaged or from touching the dirty ground, he grabbed the ark to try to steady it. And while his intention may have been good, he actually broke the law of God and touched something that no one was ever allowed to touch. This is what R.C. Sproul says about this. He says, when Uzzah touched the ark of the covenant to keep it from falling to the ground, he made the fatal presumption that his sinful hands were cleaner than the dirt. David and Israel, they had zeal to spare in this moment, but they neglected to follow the law of God leading to Uzzah's death. And David, how do you think he's going to react in this situation? He reacts to this event in anger. And we're not exactly sure what David was angry at. He could have been angry at Uzzah for touching the ark. He could have been mad at himself for overlooking the Torah's instructions on how to properly transport the ark. Or he may have been angry with the Lord for killing Uzzah. And while it very well could be a combination of all three, I think David was primarily angry at the Lord here. And the reason I say that is if you look at verse 9, David's anger immediately gives way to terror before the Lord. As David realized who he was angry with and the cause of this death, he realized his guilt before God. His worship had been heartfelt and zealous, but it was uninformed. And so it brought disaster. And so through these events, God taught Israel a very important lesson on that day. You see, in the previous chapter, the Holy God had crushed the Philistine army before the Israelites, before David. And in response to that victory, David named that place Baal-Perezim. Because the Lord had burst through His enemies like a mighty flood barrier. Like a mighty flood through a mighty barrier. But now He names this location where Uzzah fell, Perez-Uzzah. where God burst out against an Israelite who sinned against His holiness. The Lord is a holy God who cannot be tamed and cannot be controlled by men and cannot be approached lightly. To sin against this holy God is to risk bringing wrath upon yourself. So, how could David live in the same city as the ark, the footstool of God's throne, where his special presence was made known to Israel? Who can live next to God's perfect holiness? Well, suddenly aware of the holiness of Almighty God and His power, David decided to leave the ark there and give up his mission. Why would anyone risk their lives to try living near this ark? Here's where the text balances and shows us something beautiful about our God. Yes, He is holy and His wrath is unleashed against anyone that sins against His unholiness or His holiness. But he is also the God who blesses his people through his presence among them. The place where the ark was left became a location of immense blessing, such that David and all of Israel heard about the way God was blessing the house of Obed-Edom. God's presence brought danger in one sense, but also great abundance and blessing. And so David, remembering the promises of God that accompany his holy commands, decided to try this again. But there was one major difference between the first attempt and the second. Before, David planned the transport of the ark according to his own ideas, according to what seemed right to them. But having learned more of the holiness of the Lord, he obeyed the Torah's commands this time around. And in verse 13, the author goes really out of his way to make sure we understand that now they transported the ark correctly. Now the ark was carried on the shoulders of Levites using poles as the Torah commanded. Now, we see the same joy, the same celebration, the same music that were present before, but now they're accompanied by informed obedience. We see also added that David sacrificed and that he danced with all his might. His zeal from before was now completed in obedience and humility and worship. Now, we see no mention in the first attempt of what David was wearing, his garb, but now we're told that he wore a linen ephod. which was the special clothing for the priests of Israel. And in order to put on that linen ephod, what did he have to do? He had to take off his royal robes. He had to take off the marks of his kingship. David removed his royal robes and put on clothes that marked service to the Lord, that marked wholehearted service, being set apart for the Lord. And really the symbolism we see here is incredible. David would not wear kingly robes when he was leading the true king's procession into Jerusalem. Yahweh was the true king of Israel, which was his kingdom of priests. David humbled himself in order to bring greater honor to the Lord, the king of Israel. And in all of this, we see the most crucial elements of true worship taking place. We must see the importance of worshiping the Lord in humility and in obedience to his word. We can't just worship however we feel like whenever we feel like it. Scripture abounds with warnings against allowing ourselves to become the authority on how to worship. You may know the story of Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron. They once offered unauthorized fire before the Lord and they were consumed by fire. We don't know exactly what they did, but whatever they did, it was directly against God's law and they were actually struck dead for their sin. King Uzziah of Judah once insisted on making an offering himself that only the priests of Israel could make. And because of that, in that moment, the Lord gave him leprosy right then and there, and he was a leper for the rest of his life because of that transgression. But this isn't just an Old Testament thing either. Even the New Testament has examples of disobedient worship leading to judgment. Ananias and Sapphira. They tried to lie to the Spirit about how much money they were truly giving to the church. They could have just said how much they were giving and been honest. They didn't need to lie. But for lying to the Holy Spirit, they were both killed by the Lord. Even when we look at the words of institution in the Lord's Supper in 1 Corinthians 11, it also mentions the possibility of eating and drinking judgment on yourself. if you take the elements of communion wrongly. And so the message in all of those passages and the first half of 2 Samuel 6 are essentially the same. And the message can be summarized by really the regulative principle of worship. And this is a tenant of Reformed theology, wherein we only worship the Lord in the ways that God has commanded us to in the Bible. We're not God, and therefore we are not the ones who get to decide how we worship the Lord. We must worship as the Bible tells us to worship. Zeal and sincerity and worship are important, but if you divorce them from the truth, then they become offensive to our holy God. So why do we sing and worship? Because scripture commands us to. Why do we pray? The Bible commands it. Why do we read the scripture and explain it and repeat it and have responsive readings of it? Because the Word teaches us that it is God's Word, that it is perfect and errant and able to make us wise for salvation. True worship can only take place where we humble ourselves and obey God's instructions on how to worship. All right, let's move on to the second point. So, that was the manner of worship. Now, we'll look at the focus of worship. So in the first point, true worship required following the commands of Scripture, obeying what God has revealed. But now we will see illustrated the proper focus of worship and how it connects to our zeal and obedience in worship. And we can explain this by looking at this confrontation between David and his wife, Michal. So while leading this grand procession of worship, David had abased himself as a king. King David removed his royal robes, put on priestly garments which were a mark of service to God." In verse 16, David was leaping and dancing before Yahweh. He didn't care about who was watching him because he was worshiping the Lord. And contrasting against the mistake at the start of the chapter, David was worshiping God rightly with Israel rejoicing all around him. But there was someone missing from this celebration. McCall was not part of this procession. Why? We don't know. But she was in her home and she was watching these festivities take place out of her window. And when she looked out the window and saw her husband worshiping, verse 16 tells us that she despised him in her heart. David was worshiping. He was leading sacrifices and blessing the people in her sight. But there was something wrong with McCall's heart. She saw worship taking place and she didn't rejoice. She wasn't overjoyed. She didn't join in. She hated it. If you paid attention while we were reading through, then you likely noticed that Michal here is not labeled, not identified as the wife of David. Who is she identified as? The daughter of Saul. And she truly was his daughter because she did not care for the worship of Yahweh. Many chapters ago, we found out that Michal had household gods in her possession. And so much like her father, she appears to only have externally professed to worship the true God. And in her sarcastic verbal attack on David, what she really valued became very visible and evident to us as readers. McCall was angry at David because in her eyes, David had humiliated himself and his household. David was the king, but he removed his royal robes. Her husband was king, but he put on priestly clothing. Now, to us today, that may not sound like a bad thing. It's not bad to put on a priest's garment. But from her words, it appears that she did not value or respect the work of the priests. She thought he looked foolish, acting like a servant of the Lord. She also accused him of showing off in front of people, especially the women. David's behavior just wasn't dignified or respectable. A king ought to act a certain way before the people. McCall was from a royal family. She was married to the king. She thought she knew better than David how to act with class. She valued position. She valued honor and respect as her real gods. McCall was focused on the worship of bad things. And David's true spiritual worship had shined a light on the sin of her heart. And she hated him for that. Her focus was not on the Lord, but herself and her own desires. And in David's response to McCall, we see just how spiritually different these two people were. His defense pointed the spotlight back on the appropriate recipient of his worship. David didn't care what others thought as he worshiped. He was worshiping God and he only cared about what God thought of his worship. And as he corrected McCall, he challenged her pride head on. The same God that David is worshiping is the one that made him prince over Israel instead of Saul. She was acting like her father, the one who had been removed for unfaithfulness and disobedience. And here she was imitating her father and condemning David for worshiping the Lord with his whole heart. And yet David's heart for the Lord is the reason that he was chosen and anointed to be the king of Israel. McCall assumed that position and prideful behavior was the key to ruling. But in David's words, we see that the real key was actually humility before the Lord. God is the one who called, who anointed and who set up rulers and still sets up rulers. And here we see also a key theme from the book of Samuel appear once again. Those who build themselves up, who exalt themselves are humbled while the humble are lifted up. McCall was torn down while David was exalted in his position as prince. In McCall's sarcastic words, they didn't phase David for a moment. David knew that he was not the true ultimate king. He knew his power was limited. Furthermore, he knew his God was worth giving up everything for. David's humility before the almighty and holy God allowed him to recognize that it didn't matter what anyone else thought of him in worship. If McCall despised anyone who was humble before the Lord and worshiped faithfully, then her hatred of David was only going to grow because he would not stop worshiping his God. And the bottom line is that McCall had to address her sinful heart. Otherwise, she would forever hate her husband because of his faith. And ironically, the king in front of her who she was refusing to honor would be respected and honored by even the lowliest servants in Israel who loved the Lord. Because anyone who actually loved and served the Lord would recognize true faith in David and sincerity and zeal in his worship, and they would respect him for it. Faith recognizes faith and is built up by it. True worship is really infectious to other believers, even while looking foolish to the world around us. To McCall, David's worship seemed degrading and silly. And sadly, it seems from verse 23 that her attitude towards the Lord never really seemed to change. She died childless as a result of her hatred. Now, we don't know if she ever repented and came to faith, but from this verse, it seems she did not repent. Focusing on the wrong things in worship results in curse and death. And she preferred her idols, both literal and physical idols, and her own importance above the true worship of God. True worship of the living God must be holistic. In order to worship rightly, there are several aspects which we must remember. And first, our intentions and our zeal matter. They really do matter. Our worship should be joyful and full of praise. We should be giving thanks, adoring God, and doing so from our hearts. It's not enough to only outwardly worship any more than it is appropriate to never display any outward signs of worship. Our worship should be internally and externally vibrant and joyful. But before we descend into a charismatic explosion of isle running, spirit slaying, and Jericho running, we must balance one more essential element in our worship. Because we also must be reverent in our worship. Because we worship a righteous and holy God. And this holy God has told us how to worship him in the Bible. And so out of respect and honor of the Lord, we should only worship him in the ways that he has told us. So many have this idea that as long as there is some level of sincerity, then God will always be happy with our worship. And while there is an element of truth there, there's more to it. Because if we go against the clear teaching of Scripture, using the excuse that we're doing so from the heart, we are sinning against a perfectly holy and righteous God. True worship has to be from the heart, yes, but it also must be informed by truth. We don't get to decide how to praise God on our own. And if we truly love the Lord, we won't try to do things our way. We will, like David, humble ourselves before him and his revealed will. And so rather than focusing on what we want and what we value, our hearts need to be aligned with what God's will is. Less of God, or less of us rather, more of God. So the question is, are you willing to be brought to nothing if it leads to God being glorified? Are you willing to step aside from the spotlight so that God can be made known? Worship is about God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The one who made heaven and earth, the one who knits you together in your mother's womb, who sustains you every day and has accomplished a full salvation for you, deserves your full and complete worship. So how are you worshiping the Lord even this morning? Do you have an energy, a zeal, a passion for the Lord and the things of God? Are you sincerely trying to worship God according to His work? Don't worship the please men. Don't worship in order to fit in. You can't worship God if you're worshiping yourself as a God. And you can't worship according to your fallen and finite standards. You must worship instead in spirit and in truth because your king is worthy of your obedience and your praise. He redeemed you completely, both in body and in soul. So how then can you offer him anything less than your entire selves in worship? Let's pray. Lord God, we do give you praise this morning. We know that you are worthy of it. We know that you are holy and righteous, that you are all powerful and almighty. And yet you're also here present with us. You dwell within our hearts. And that tension of you being almighty and above us and yet also with us is something that our minds often struggle to comprehend. And yet, Lord, I pray that you would help us to meditate on that and to connect that with our worship, that we would worship as you have called us to worship, that we would worship with great zeal and energy, that we would want to give you praise day in and day out, regardless of circumstances. And yet we know the sin in our hearts distracts us. The busyness of our lives distracts us. So, Lord, we pray that you would focus us. that you would give us a greater desire to worship you and to make your name known to those around us, a greater desire to see your glory spread, hear your gospel go forth. Lord, work in us and produce in us that which is pleasing in your sight in our worship. In this we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.