Come, kneel!

Peter Neilson April 23, 2026 0 0

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Psalm 95: 6-7a (NIV-UK)

6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
    let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7a for he is our God
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    the flock under his care

“Come let us worship and bow down….”

These words transport me back to the country church of my childhood. I hear the voice of our minister calling us to worship. Psalm 95 was one of his favourite texts for opening our worship together. It was not our tradition to actually “bow down and kneel”, but my young heart knew what it meant. We were in the presence of the living God, and he deserved our full attention of body, mind and spirit.

The first time I knelt to receive Communion was in an Anglican Church in Jerusalem. I was a Divinity Student travelling round The Holy Land on a three-month scholarship, staying for a time at a hostel in old Jerusalem near where Jesus had been crucified.

To go forward, kneel, and receive bread and wine which had for centuries brought Jesus’ followers into communion with our crucified and risen Lord, was an overwhelming moment.  “Eat and drink in remembrance that he died for you, and feed on him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving.” Fresh words charged with new meaning for me.

Thanksgiving. For the gift of communion with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, once for all forged on the Cross. Thanksgiving. For the gift offered over and again as we kneel — with body or with heart — and receive. “Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.” With thanksgiving.

Prayer:

Call me to attention, Lord.

My heart is sluggish and slow to respond.

“Come, let us worship and bow down.”

My heart wakens and listens.

“Come, let us worship and bow down.”

If you speak or be silent, I will worship.

If you come close or stay distant, I will worship.

And when worship of the Unseen Other feels empty,

Let my worship be in the service of the “other” I see before me. AMEN