Noise in God's Ears

Some verses in the Bible just scare me plain and simple. I have the privilege of leading worship before Almighty God in High Point, as well as in RUF, the Stanford college fellowship I'm involved with. So when I come across warnings specifically dealing with public assembly and such, like this one from Amos 5, it hits me right between the eyes:

²¹I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
²²Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
I will not look upon them.
²³Take away from me the noise of your songs;
to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
²⁴But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

The point is that if we come to God in praise and live the rest of the week scorning his name in what we do the rest of the week, God is not pleased. In fact, he hates such assembling, and the sound of our voices is annoying to Him. It would be better if we didn't sing and instead came before Him with fear, trembling, and repentance, pleading for forgiveness. It would be better if we would go show our devotion to Him, rather than hypocritically singing it. So here is my encouragement for you: "let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:18).