WORSHIP

 Worship refers to the act or action associated with attributing honor, reverence, or worth to that which is considered to be divine by religious adherents. Christian worship is often defined as the ascription of worth or honor to the triune God (three in one). Worship is more fully understood as an interrelation between divine action and human response: worship is the human response to the self-revelation of the triune God. This includes: (1) divine initiation in which God reveals Himself, His purposes, and His will; (2) a spiritual and personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ on the part of the worshiper; and (3) a response by the worshiper of adoration, humility, submission, and obedience to God.

Worship may be understood in either a broad or narrow context. In a broad sense, worship is seen as a way of life (Rom. 12:1-2) God wants us to offer ourselves, not animals, as living sacrifices—daily laying aside our own desires to follow him, putting all our energy and resources at his disposal and trusting him to guide us. God has good, pleasing, and perfect plans for his children. He wants us to be transformed people with renewed minds, living to honor and obey him. Because he wants only what is best for us, and because he gave his Son to make our new life possible, we should joyfully give ourselves as living sacrifices for his service. In this context all of life is viewed as an act of worship or service before God (1 Cor. 10:31). Our actions must be motivated by God’s love so that all we do will be for his glory. Keep this as a guiding principle by asking, “Is this action glorifying God?” or “How can I honor God through this action?” “Whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus” means bringing honor to Christ in every aspect and activity of daily living. As a Christian, you represent Christ at all times wherever you go and whatever you say. What impression do people have of Christ when they see or talk with you? What changes would you make in your life in order to honor Christ? ( Col. 3:17). Worship is also pictured as an act of the assembled people of God, as seen in the worship prescribed by God in the tabernacle (Exod. 25-40; Lev. 1-7) and temple (1 Chron. 22-29; 2 Chron. 3-7; 29-31), as well as in the worship of the NT church (Acts 13:2; 1 Cor. 11-14).

In addition to the various congregational descriptions, worship sometimes involves individual encounters with God (Gen. 29:35; 35:11-15; Exod. 3:1-22; Josh. 5:13-15; Isa. 6), family worship (Gen. 4:2-5; 8:16–9:17; 35:2-7), and includes a few descriptions of worship in heaven (Isa. 6; Rev. 4; 5; 7; 15; 19).

The concept of the divine initiation of worship is seen in several biblical texts. It is apparent that God enjoyed communion with Adam (Gen. 3:8-24), His newly formed creature. The Bible states that the Lord created man to bring glory to God (Isa. 43:7), and man’s refusal to function in this capacity is seen by the Apostle Paul as a fundamental offense against the Creator (Rom. 1:21-23). God demonstrated initiative in His worship relationship with Israel when He commanded Moses, “They are to make a sanctuary for Me so that I may dwell among them” (Exod. 25:8 HCSB). In the tabernacle instructions, God prescribes: (1) sacred space (qadosh, “holy place”); (2) a sacred time, the Sabbath (Exod. 31:12-17; 35:1-3); and (3) His desire to dwell among His people. God promised to be present with His people (Exod. 25:8; 29:45-46; 33:14-15) and to reveal to them His glory (Exod. 29:43; 40:34-37). The Lord continued this relationship with Israel in temple worship.

Similar concepts emerge in the NT. Divine initiative is seen in Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4. There, Jesus states that God is seeking true worshipers, those who worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:21-24). In this passage Jesus teaches that genuine worship is no longer confined to a particular place (John 4:21) but is based upon a spiritual relationship between the worshiper and God through faith in Jesus Christ (cp. Phil. 3:3). The regular time for Christian worship shifted to the “first day of the week” (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2), known as “the Lord’s day” (Rev. 1:10), no doubt associated with the resurrection of Jesus, which occurred on that day. God’s presence among His people is revealed in Jesus who is Emmanuel—“God with us”(Matt. 1:23)—and the glory of the Lord is revealed in the incarnate Christ who “took up residence among us” (John 1:14 HCSB). Jesus promised the permanence of His presence among His people (Matt. 28:20), specifically through the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-26; 16:5-16; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19).

Various Models of Worship

The individual and family models have already been noted. Descriptions of worship in the congregation vary. The tabernacle worship involves various offerings (Lev. 1-7) that allow for the worshipers to express gratitude, reverence, and confession to the Lord in the setting of dramatic ritual offerings. Temple worship maintains these elements and employs music on a rather grand scale (1 Chron. 25). There is a general pattern in the worship of the tabernacle and the temple, proceeding from the outer courts to the inner court and then to the holy of holies, which is entered once a year by the high priest on the Day of Atonement. Similar patterns of entrance and progressive movement are also evident in certain psalms (Pss. 95; 100).

In the NT there is some emphasis on prayer, praise, and instruction (Acts 2:42-47), which may indicate the influence of the Jewish synagogue. The patterns of tabernacle/temple worship are employed in Hebrews, where Jesus is identified as both perfect high priest (Heb. 8:1–9:10) and perfect once-for-all sacrifice (9:11–10:18), by whom all Christians now “have boldness to enter the sanctuary [holy place] through the blood of Jesus” (Heb. 10:19 ). While there are instructions for orderly worship (1 Cor. 14:26-40), there is no formal prescription for a certain order of worship in the NT.

A survey of biblical elements of worship includes: prayer, praise, thanksgiving, charity/ giving (Acts 2:45; 1 Cor. 8-9), confession (Neh. 9; Ps. 51; James 5:16), preaching and teaching (Neh. 8:7-9; Acts 2; 5:42; 8:4; 14:7; 1 Cor. 14:26), the reading of Scripture (Neh. 8:1-6; 1 Tim. 4:13), and discipline (Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5:1-5). Two central features of Christian worship are the ordinances of baptism (Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38,41) and the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:17-34). Since there is no order of worship prescribed in the NT, it seems best to conclude that Christian worship should draw from the several models of worship in the Bible while employing the various elements of worship that are more clearly defined in Scripture.

There are complex issues related to Christian worship. The relationship between the vertical (doxological) and horizontal (doctrinal/hortatory) aspects of worship is critical (Ps. 136; 1 Cor. 14:1-25; Eph. 5:18-21; Col. 3:16). This relationship is seen, for example, in the clearly Trinitarian nature of Christian worship, where one’s doctrine has profound implications upon one’s worship. The vertical/horizontal interplay is seen, too, in the relationship between worship and evangelism (Ps. 96; Rom. 15:16). Also, the relationship of worship and ethics is of fundamental importance (Pss. 15; 24; Amos 5:21-24; Matt. 15:8), since obedient response to God’s will is vital to genuine worship (1 Sam. 15:22).

Who are to worship/ who is the true worshipers? Psalm 15:1…

1. He that walks perfectly. Who sets God before his eyes, takes his word for the rule of his conduct, considers himself a sojourner on earth, and is continually walking to the kingdom of God. He acts according to the perfections of God’s law; he has respect to all its parts, and feels the weight and importance of all its injunctions.

2. He who is not satisfied with a contemplative life and worketh righteousness; he has duties to perform. The law of righteousness has placed him in certain relations, and each of these relations has its peculiar duties. ‏פעל צדק‎ poel tsedek, the words here used, signify to give just weight, to render to all their dues. This is giving God his due.
3. As he is the creature of God, he who has duties to perform to him. He owes God his heart: My son, give me thy heart; and he should love him with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength.
4. As a member of civil society, he has various duties to perform to his fellows, as they have to him. He is to love them as himself, and do unto all men as he would they should do unto him.

• There are duties which he owes to himself. That his body may be in health, vigor, and activity, he should avoid everything by which it might be injured, particularly all excesses in eating, drinking, sleeping, etc. That his soul may be saved, he should avoid all sin; all irregular and disorderly passions. He owes it to his soul to apply to God for that grace which produces repentance, faith, and holiness; and in order to get all these blessings, he should read, watch, pray, hear the word preached, and diligently use all the ordinances of God. He who acts not thus, defrauds both his body and soul: but the person in the text works righteousness gives to all their due; and thus keeps a conscience void of offence, both towards God and man.

3. He who is a true man that speaks the truth of God thus His word; in him there is no false way. He is no man of pretenses; speaking one thing, and meaning another. He professes nothing but what he feels and intends; with him there are no hollow friendships, vain compliments, nor empty professions of esteem, love, regard, or friendship. His mouth speaks nothing but what his heart dictates. His heart, his tongue, and his hand, are all in unison. Hypocrisy, guile, and deceit, have no place in his soul.
4. He is one who treats his neighbor with respect. He says nothing that might injure him in his character, person, or property; he forgets no calumny, he is author of no slander, he insinuates nothing by which his neighbor may be injured. The tongue, because of its slanderous conversation, is represented in the nervous original as kicking about the character of an absent person; a very common vice, and as destructive as it is common: but the man who expects to see God abhors it, and backbites not with his tongue. The word backbite was intended to convey the treble sense of knavishness, cowardice, and brutality. He is a knave, who would rob you of your good name; he is a coward, that would speak of you in your absence what he dared not to do in your presence; and only an ill-conditioned dog would fly at and bite your back when your face was turned. All these three ideas are included in the term; and they all meet in the detractor and calumniator. His tongue is the tongue of a knave, a coward, and a dog. Such a person, of course, has no right to the privileges of the Church militant, and none of his disposition can ever see God.
5. He not only avoids evil speaking, but also he avoids evil acting towards his neighbor. He speaks no evil of him; he does no evil to him; he does him no harm; he occasions him no wrong. On the contrary, he gives him his due.
6. He who does not take up a reproach against his neighbor. Its application is: a man, for instance, of a good character is reported to have done something wrong: the tale is spread, and the slanderers and backbiters carry it about; and thus the man is stripped of his fair character, of his clothing of righteousness, truth, and honesty. All may be false; or the man, in an hour of the power of darkness, may have been tempted and overcoxne; may have been wounded in the cloudy and dark day, and deeply mourns his fall before God. Who that has no heart of a devil would not strive rather to cover than make bare the fault? Those who feed, as the proverb says, like the flies, passing over all a man’s whole parts to light upon his wounds, will take up the tale, and carry it about. Such, in the course of their diabolic work, carry the story of scandal to the righteous man; to him who loves his God and his neighbor. But what reception has the tale-bearer? The good man takes it not up; ‏לא נשא‎ lo nasa, he will not bear it; it shall not be propagated from him. He cannot prevent the detractor from laying it down; but it is in his power not to take it up: and thus the progress of the slander may be arrested. He taketh not up a reproach against his neighbour; and the tale-bearer is probably discouraged from carrying it to another door. Reader, drive the slanderer of your neighbor far away from you: ever remembering that in the law of God, as well as in the law of the land, “the receiver is as bad as the thief.”
7. He that judges of others by their conduct; he tries no man’s heart. He knows men only by the fruits they bear; and thus he gains knowledge of the principle from which they proceed. A vile person, ‏נמאס‎ nimas, the reprobate, one abandoned to sin; is despised, ‏נבזה‎ nibzeh, is loathsome, as if he were covered with the elephantiasis or leprosy, for so the word implies. He may be rich, he may be learned, he may be a great man and honorable with his master, in high offices in the state; but if he be a spiritual leper, an infidel, a profligate, the righteous man must despise him, and hold him, because he is an enemy to God and to man, in sovereign contempt. If he be in power, he will not treat him as if worthy of his dignity; while he respects the office he will detest the man. And this is quite right; for the popular odium should ever be pointed against vice

“A pious man, whatever good he may have done, and however concordant to the Divine law he may have walked, considers all this of no worth, compared with what it was his duty to do for the glory of his Creator.” A sentiment very like that of our Lord, Luke 17:10: “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which was our duty to do.”

The person has intimacy with God. Taken in this sense, the words intimate, that the man who is truly pious, who is a proper member of the Church militant, and is going straight to the Church triumphant, is truly humble; he knows he has nothing but what he has received, he has no merit, he trusts not in himself, but in the living God. He renounces his own righteousness, and trusts in the eternal mercy of God through the infinitely meritorious atonement made by Jesus Christ.

8. He that honors them that fear the Lord. The truly pious man, while he has in contempt the honorable and right honorable profligate, yet honors them that fear the Lord, though found in the most abject poverty; though, with Job, on the dunghill, or, with Lazarus, covered with sores at the rich man’s gate. Character is the object of his attention; persons and circumstances are of minor importance.

The fear of the Lord is often taken for the whole of religion; and sometimes for that reverence which a man feels for the majesty and holiness of God, that induces him to hate and depart from evil. Here it may signify the lowest degree of religion, repentance whereby we forsake sin.

9. The man that Swears to his own hurt, and changes not. If at any time he has bound himself by a solemn engagement to do so and so, and he finds afterwards that to keep his oath will be greatly to his damage; yet such reverence has he for God and for truth that he will not change, be the consequences what they may. He is faithful also to his promises; his bare word will bind him equally with an oath. He that will not be honest without an oath will not be honest with one.

The Hebrew might be thus translated: “He swears to afflict himself, and does not change;”. He has promised to the Lord to keep his body under, and bring it into subjection; to deny himself that he may not pamper the flesh, and have the more to give to the poor.

10. The one who Putts not out his money to usury. As usury signifies unlawful interest, or that which is got by taking advantage of the necessity of a distressed neighbor, no man that fears God can be guilty of it. The word ‏נשך‎ neshech, which we translate usury, comes from nashach, to bite as a serpent; and here must signify that biting or devouring usury, which ruins the man who has it to pay. “The increase of usury is called ‏נשך‎ neshech, because it resembles the biting of a serpent. For as this is so small at first, as scarcely to be perceptible, but the venom soon spreads and diffuses itself till it reaches the vitals; so the increase of usury, which at first is not perceived nor felt, at length grows so much as by degrees to devour another’s substance.
11. The one who does not takes reward against the innocent. He neither gives nor receives a bribe in order to pervert justice or injure an innocent man in his cause. The lawyer, who sees a poor man opposed by a rich man, who, though he is convinced in his conscience that the poor man has justice and right on his side, yet takes the larger fee from the rich man to plead against the poor man, has in fact taken a bribe against the innocent, and without the most signal interposition of the mercy of God, is as sure of hell as if he were already there.

The true worshipers who fits heaven and who is to be the right church that Christ is coming to take to Him is he that has all these things. He in whose character all these excellence meet, though still much more is necessary under the Christian dispensation, shall never be moved he shall stand fast forever. This can also answer the question; who is the person that fits to go to heaven? The man that has faith in Christ Jesus adds those eleven moral excellence which have been already enumerated. And only such a character is fit for a place in the Church of Christ.