Many profitable studies about worship have been made lately.
That is good, for we have lacked definition
in our understanding of its nature.
Perhaps, if I had read all those researches, I would have all the
answers. But I am still asking
impertinent questions and pestering you with them.
Does God desire praise? A foolish question! Well, why
does He delight in praise? In answering this, let us not
think of God as being like ourselves with pride, self-image problems,
feelings of
insecurity, emotional inadequacy, or depression. Do you
suppose that his seeing masses of people in awe feeds his
pride? Is it possible that he has an
egotistical craving that is satisfied by hearing our songs of
adoration? Is his status more secure when the
multitudes bow in prayer to him? Do our
cheerful songs lift him from depression?
Does our performing of prescribed rituals reinforce his sense of
majesty and power? What is your concept of the
God we worship?
Lessons concerning worship tend to involve more ancient and awesome
concepts of God
than the New Covenant depictions of a caring Father. Is
Jesus presented to us as a deity demanding abjection before
himself? Jesus accepted gestures of
reverence, homage, and worship, but he did not demand them of
any who approached him. He did not require his
disciples to prostrate themselves and sing praise to himself in
a devotional each morning. Worship is voluntary expression
of reverence and thanksgiving. If it is
compelled, is it really praise?
The Almighty wants us to worship him “for such the Father seeks
to worship him”
(John 4:23). Does that mean that he is
seeking us out demanding, “Sing to me! pray adoringly to
me, and shout ‘Praise
the Lord’ to me at appropriate times!”?
The context to the reference above indicates that both Jew and Samaritan
were already worshipping him; now he desires that it be modified
so that it is in spirit and in truth. He wants a
different kind of worship. Why?
It is not that he wishes to be “kissed toward”
(proskuneo) to give him a
divine delight, but that he is concerned by the alienation of
people. He wants evidence of our proper respect and
recognition of him. He wants people to
show devotion to himself without reference to localities and
typical Mosaic offerings
but in a spiritual realization of a relationship with divinity
in spirit and in truth. In this manner man is brought
into a reconciled relationship. Isn’t
that why he wants worshippers?
Is the Object of our adoration and homage more concerned with our
proskuneo or our latreuo? Another foolish
question? Those are two Greek words for
worship. Proskuneo, to make
obeisance, do reverence to, is the word most frequently rendered
to worship (Vine). Latreuo, to serve, to
render religious service or homage, is translated variously as
to worship and to serve.
God’s
concern is the saving of man, and he enlists our help in saving
one another. Through lives dedicated to
worship and service, or more accurately worship/service, that is
done. It involves two facets of worship: (1)
communication with God (proskuneo), and (2) serving one
another, by which means we serve (latreuo) him.
Putting it in another perspective, it means loving both God and
man demonstratively.
These two elements cannot be totally independent of each other.
For his holy ones there is no dichotomy of
the moral and the spiritual, the secular and the religious,
service and worship, or the good deeds to our fellowman and offerings to
God. Efforts to compartmentalize our lives are
frustrating.
Our sacrifice (offering) to God is self, not certain portions of
self in a
segmented life given at certain times and places. All that
we are and have are holy, devoted to the Lord, given to
him as a living sacrifice/service/worship (Rom. 12:1f).
Acting as both a priest and a sacrifice, we
lay ourselves on the altar in our conversion, and continually
thereafter. Our latreuo is in serving human
needs, both ours and those of others, which is an extension of
worship that God calls us to do. ”As you did it to one
of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matt.
25:40). Our sacrifice is one of praise, both in
direct communication with God and in manner of life. We
cannot offer meritorious sacrifices, but “Through him then
let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is,
the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name” (Heb. 13:15).
The heart and life are to be consistent with the fruit of our
lips, as verse 16 urges.
In a more specific manner worship may be through prayers and hymns
directed to God. But feeding and bathing the baby
should also be an offering to God.
These actions all emanate from the same whole-life offering and are both
actions intended to glorify him in every thought and deed of our
God-conscious lives. Really, I think that the Lord
may be more concerned with our nurturing the child than our
offering words of praise to him. He may prefer our
singing spiritual songs to the child than to him. The
child needs them; God doesn’t. Both are in order,
however, as expressions of dedication and
praise.
Am I being irreverent in these assertions?
There is validity in them. We do
not assemble in order to worship and serve properly. We
who worship and serve as a way of life gather at times to do
these things together in programs for mutual edification.
Assemblies are for the good of man, not
God. God has no needs! (Or do his desires indicate
an emotional need?) Their primary purpose is
horizontal in up-building through songs, prayers, teaching,
praise, reaffirmation in Communion, and association.
Even a collection is for man’s welfare.
That does not eliminate the vertical element of praise for that also
uplifts man, intensifies his sense of God’s presence, makes
him humble, and reinforces his faith. Otherwise, would
not our praise be to gain points with God?
Or can a child give pleasure to the father without thought of
gaining favor?
So we ask: Is worship an effort to please
the Lord? Another foolish question? If so, then how
much of what actions suffice
in gaining his approval? Must we stress
ourselves in extensive activities of praise to gain favor?
Would that not become approval gained by
actions of merit? Is praise a
commending of ourselves to God? Or is
it not a response to the favor he has already shown us? Is
it the attitude or the ritual that
pleases God? It is better to have
both. As an illustration in weighing
attitude and performance, was not the medieval Catholic believer
who was so
awed by “Christian” superstitions praising God by
proper attitude even though
he was misdirected about his rituals?
There are questions in my contorted mind yet.
May we “improve our worship” by such things as
rehearsing songs and
sermons for better performance? Is the
artistic rendition impressing God or man, or both? If
improvement in the technique is better praise, does that not
become meritorious? Does she who sings
best praise best? God hears and
observes while we practice singing a hymn (often in
mirth). Do we then flip a switch at the proper time
so that it goes out as solemn worship? Is
the rehearsal secular and the performance spiritual? Or,
could it be that practice is latreuo (service) while
the rendition is proskuneo (worship)?
Or, are both the rehearsal and the exhibition exercises
intentionally honoring God in all that we do? Viewing it from
any perspective, if the poetically extravagant expressions
exceed the feelings of the heart, is it acceptable worship?
Does God enjoy flattery?
The questions continue to bubble up. Is
singing praise worship? Is a recording
of it praise? Is listening to the
recording worship? What about getting a
copyright on praise and selling it? May
singing hymns be a kind of entertainment?
Is Amy Grant, or a paid song leader, a professional
worshiper?
Is preaching worship? Then is writing and
publishing messages worship? Is
listening to a recording, or reading the published word,
worship? May our edifying messages be copyrighted,
restricted, and sold for profit since we worship/serve through
them?
Let’s
consider all the acts of worship/service together, whether they
be singing, preaching, writing, visiting the widows and orphans, or any
others. May they be professionalized with our
services being bought and sold?
Our Maker loved us enough to send His Son to bring us to him.
We are invited to come to him in boldness,
without fear, shame, or timidity. There
we are accepted and honored to sit at his table of provision as
his friends and sons. His very Spirit lives within
us. Nothing can separate us from his
love. We come to him rejoicing and we
live in him in continual praise.
Does the Lord then delight in the prostrate body, the abject mind,
the wretchedness
of soul, the broken and contrite heart, the trembling fear
before him, the groveling supplicant?
The alienation of the rebellious grieves God.
So he may be pleased to see these attitudes work to bring a soul
back to him in penitence. The broken and
contrite heart will not be considered lightly (Psa.
51:17). But does he want one to continue in such a
wretched state of mind? He welcomes
that one to share the joy of salvation.
The response will be joyful adoration and service, not for
God’s benefit but for our own.
One more question and I will leave you in peace.
What about lapses in our holiness?
What about selfish moments, indulgent gaps, and times of
inattention? Our intentions are for total dedication, but
we stumble. God knows our
frailties. Only he can make us perfect,
and he doesn’t do that. He credits
Jesus’ perfection to our account. His
dedicated ones are cleansed from all sin.
Jesus lifts us up to the Father as perfected offerings of
praise.
I have asked many questions. Some answers
have been suggested for further weighing.
Other questions I leave for your continued pondering.
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