Worship as Obedience

"O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.... Harden not your heart...as in the day of temptation in the wilderness, when your fathers tried me, proved me, and saw my work." Ps. 95:6-9

Worship is most certainly about music and singing (vs. 1-2), but it is also about obedience as well (vs. 7b-11). We called to not only "worship" but also to "bow down," to show forth praises and give submission. In truth, they are a package deal: praise without obedience is hypocrisy, while obedience without praise is dead formalism and legalism. Praise and obedience are like "spirit" and "truth": both are necessary for proper worship (John 4:24).
If God is "our maker" (vs. 6) and "our God" (vs. 7), and we are His "people" and "sheep" (vs. 7), then worshipping Him for who He is and what He does is not only a matter of praise (for His goodness and greatness) but also obedience (for His leadership and headship). The people of the wilderness wanderings are the prime example of this (vs. 8-11): somehow they managed to give praises at the tabernacle and refuse to enter the promised land (and stay out of it) when they were told to.
God does not need a legion of yes-men and cheerleaders anymore than He needs dour-faced servants catering to His every whim. What He calls for are a people who delight in Him so much that they not only willfully and gladly offer up praises but also themselves.

-Jon Vowell