To those who accept the Bible as the inspired word of God and a true history of God’s dealings with mankind in general and his chosen witnesses in particular, one of the outstanding things to be noticed is the difference in the formalities of worship as described in many parts of the Old Testament and the worship that was rendered by the Lord Jesus Christ and the early members of the church as recorded in the New.
In spite of these differences, however, there are two factors which remain constant. The first is that the formalities of worship are completely meaningless unless there is a discernment of God, and the second, that when one truly realises that worship should be rendered unto God it should be rendered with meticulous regard to the details which he requires.
Dealing with these in order ; it will be apparent from the Old Testament that the discernment of God was made possible by the evidence of his presence demonstrated by the cloud which covered the Tabernacle and the Glory of the Lord which filled the Most Holy Place. Similarly, the cloud and the Glory of the Lord bore witness at the dedication of the Temple built by Solomon. In the Ark of the Covenant were laid up the Tables of Covenant, the golden pot of manna and Aaron’s rod that budded. These all constituted a visible witness to the wonderful works of God ; the rod being a reminder of the power of God demonstrated to Pharoah and the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt ; the pot of manna a reminder of God’s daily care for them and the fact that man does not live by bread alone, but by God’s word ; and the Tables of Testimony setting out the way God’s people should live in response to his goodness. They were told that the word of God was very nigh them—in their mouth and in their heart. Without this recognition of God, and a willingness to strive to live in accordance with his word, all formalities of worship were meaningless. This can be seen from many references in the Scriptures, but perhaps Micah the prophet expresses it most forcibly as set out in the 6th chapter of his book :
“Wherewith shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before the High God ? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old ? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or ten thousands of rivers of oil ? . . . He hath showed thee, 0 man, what is good ; and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God”.
It is clear that the formalities of worship of those days in all their elaborate detail were but a visible expression of the inner worship of the heart and mind.
When we turn to the New Testament, which more closely concerns us, we see that this principle still held good in the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. We recall his conversation with the woman of Samaria as related in John 4. It would seem that the woman was chiefly thinking of formal acts of worship when she said to Jesus, “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain ; and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship”. Jesus, with the foreknowledge that the veil of the Temple was shortly to be rent in twain and that a new and living way was to be consecrated for us, replied :
“Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what : we know what we worship : for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh and now is when true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him.”
This new conception of worship is brought out in the record of the Apostle Paul’s address to the men of Athens, when he said,
“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of Heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands ; neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things ; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation ; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might find him, though he be not far away from every one of us : for in him we live and move and have our being.”
How, then, in the light of the words of Jesus and those of the Apostle, should we endeavour to worship God ?
The definition of worship is : “To honour or revere, to adore or regard with utmost respect and affection, and to submit”.
Complete Submission
In seeking to do these things let us first of all draw upon the example of Jesus, although we must remember that the circumstances of his Divine begettal and the knowledge that the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, as manifested on the occasion of his baptism and later on his transfiguration, gave him an understanding which was solely his. We can see this in every aspect of his life, for he constantly thought, spoke and acted as realising the presence of his Heavenly Father. God received his utmost affection and regard. He did always those things that pleased the Father, and we see his complete submission to the will of God when he took upon himself the form of a servant and went forth faithfully to do all those things which were required of him, even submitting to the cruelty of death on the cross.
From the consideration of Jesus we pass to a consideration of worship rendered by the Apostles and members of the early Church.
First let us note the help that they received in the discernment of God. Three of them were privileged to hear the voice from heaven on the occasion of the Transfiguration of Jesus. Many of them witnessed the miracles Jesus performed and also saw him after his resurrection ; but in addition they were privileged to feel the operation of the Holy Spirit within themselves. They realised that the day of Temple worship had passed and that God was very near to them and, indeed, that in him they lived and moved and had their being. They, too, observed that phase of worship which concerns submission and fulfilled the commission given to them by Jesus that they should go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, in the doing of which they endured hardship and, in some cases, suffered death.
In attempting to follow the example of Jesus and the Apostles we must realise that they were granted a perception of God that we do not have ; but, nevertheless, there are other ways that are open to us. We can draw a lesson from some of the Psalms of David which portray his own life and thoughts. He drew confidence in God from some of the things around him which are also ever present with us. He declared in Psalm 19 that the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Psalm 104, which would seem to be one of David’s Psalms, although not definitely attributed to him, tells cif the way God had clothed the earth and the wonderful provision he had made for all his creatures. Wherever David contemplated the things around him it contributed to his discernment of God, and the words seem to burst from him, “Lord, how manifold are thy works, in wisdom thou hast made them all”. He asks in Psalm 139 : “Whither shall I go from thy spirit ? or whither shall I flee from thy presence ?” and answers the question in words which express that there is no place where he can do so. He speaks of the wonder of life : “I will praise thee ; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made ; marvellous are thy works ; and that my soul knoweth right well”.
We in our day can also look at the same manifestations of God’s power and, by the wonderful increase in scientific knowledge, appreciate them in more marvellous detail. Let us also remember that Jesus in his teaching drew upon the evidence of God’s creation of the things around him ; he spoke of the beautiful adornment of the lilies of the field and God’s care for some of the humblest of his creatures the sparrows.
But, in addition to all these things, we have a great help which people of past ages did not have. We have a complete Bible, with many prophecies which we can see working out to their fulfilment, which should speak clearly to us that they were inspired by God and that God’s purpose with mankind is definite and clear.
With all these things before us we should, in the words of David in Psalm 29. “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name”. We should endeavour to worship the Lord “in the beauty of holiness”. A realisation of the closeness of God to us should be an incentive in all we strive to do in his name and a restraining influence upon every unworthy thought, word and deed.
The rendering of praise and glory to God entails more than the expression of our lips in hymns and prayers; it must be found in our lives and in service. This, again, is shown in the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, who from an early age recognised the necessity of being about his father’s business and who, in addition to fulfilling the specific purpose that was entrusted to him, went about doing good.
An obligation is laid upon us to do good unto all men and to preach the word not only with our lips but by our example, that men may see our good works and glorify God. Unless we are living in isolation, opportunity can always be found for all in ecclesial activities, and if we use the opportunities that are given to us aright there will be a sincerity about our worship which will enable us to render to God the glory due unto his name. There is a verse in one of our hymns that expresses what should be our sincere and daily prayer :
“Fill thou my life, o Lord my God, In every part with praise ;
That my whole being may proclaim
Thy being and thy ways”.
Will there be a universal language of worship?