Is God Pleased With Our Works?

This thought hit me as we began worship this past week: "Surely God is pleased with the praises of His people."

Now, His people are sinners, and in one sense can bring nothing to Him that could or would please Him. We are in rebellion against Him, and only by His grace can we even come into His presence. Yet, we come into His presence, and He condescends to us and is actually pleased with the worship we bring Him. That is actually a good example of His grace - that he not only accepts, but delights in our praise.

I do not think very many Christians, even specifically Christians in the Reformed branch(es) of the church, would deny that sentiment - that God delights in the praises of His people. Yet, the Reformed are quick to question any idea that God could be in anyway pleased, or even delight in, the works of His people. Any time people start talking about our works, Reformed people get very uncomfortable. We are only acceptable to God because of Christ's works, and our works are, it would appear, meaningless.

It is absolutely true that without the work of Christ, we could not approach The Father. However, the work of Christ actually makes our works acceptable. Worship itself is actually a work, as should be obvious. Even the word liturgy has a meaning associated with our work. In worship we do things (which is work) We pray, sing, kneel, stand, talk, listen, eat, AND bring our other works to the Father in the form of our offerings. What are our offerings, but the results of our works?

The Father delights in all of this when it is done in the name of the Son and through the Spirit. The Triune God delights in our worship - which is but one aspect of our works. It is therefore not at all wrong to think that God could be pleased with our works - when performed in the same manner on a regular basis as our 'special' work on each Lord's Day.