who calls who to worship?

At our church we sing from the Trinity pca hymnal. On occasion we will sing an RUF (reformed university fellowship) song and they are hymn-like. At first I couldn't sing along because I couldn't understand the old language used in that century. So I just read, and God opened my heart to the beauty and reverance of hymns. I grew up singing hymns from the Baptist Hymnal; songs like 'The Old Rugged Cross', 'How Great Thou Art' and 'When the Roll is Called Up Yonder'. There is a new depth in the hymns we sing now at our church. They help train my heart to worship God- not just sing notes on a page. The words are deep, convicting, sobering and truly glorifying to God. I grew up hearing "and now let us open our hymnals to page ____ and we ask the Holy Spirit to come into this place as we worship." A few years back I learned that is not at all what worship- Biblical worship- is like. We do not ask the Holy Spirit to come. The Holy Spirit is ever-present in the hearts & lives of the elect. When we join in corporate worship our "calling" should be focused towards our own rebel hearts. My heart is rarely in the correct place to worship a holy God so I must pray and ask that God align my heart with the Holy Spirit so that I can give glory to Him through my worship. It completely changes the way I worship. Now, when I feel my heart drifting I know that it's not the Holy Spirit that is still "not present". It's my "prone to wander" heart that I need to address. Like a child that gets off task in school, my heart needs constant shepherding. And He is always faithful to hear my prayer and give me the faith I need to worship in spirit and in truth.

Here is one of my favorite hymns:

471: "Tis not that I did choose thee" by Josiah Conder (1836)

'Tis not that I did choose thee,
For, Lord, that could not be;
This heart would still refuse thee,
Hadst thou not chosen me.
Thou from the sin that stained me
Hast cleansed and set me free;
Of old thou hast ordained me,
That I should live to thee.


'Twas sov'reign mercy called me
And taught my op'ning mind;
The world had else enthralled me,
To heav'nly glories blind.
My heart owns none before thee,
For thy rich grace I thirst;
This knowing, if I love thee,
Thou must have loved me first.

There is a reason that for centuries we have used these words and other like them to express our love for our Savior. They are deep calling to deep through which the soul awakens to revel in the love of God for whom we have been made.