Lessons In Worship - Part Two

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LESSON

 

In England they speak of the "worshipful" company of silversmiths or the "worshipful" guild of artists. They speak to a judge as "your worship." This common ordinary word is used in its old Anglo-Saxon sense to indicate the recognition of grandeur, nobility and character, or the acknowledgment of goodness, position and power. When we apply the word worship to God, of course, we're speaking in terms of an infinitely higher level. The words worthy and worship come from the same root word. The elders in Revelation said, "Thou art worthy, O Lord ..." In worship of God, we are feasting upon who the Lord is. We are acknowledging Him in a sense of awe, wonder and glorification. This acknowledgment of the supreme wonder of the being of our God is a constant theme in the Book of Revelation.

 

William Lincoln, a famous figure in British religious life about three hundred years ago wrote, "To worship God we must be quite conscious of his love and grace. The more conscious we are of this, then the easier and better our worship." Worship is the overflowing of our hearts when we admire and adore Him. For as we read in Psalm 16:11, "In thy presence is fulness of joy." As we learn to worship we learn just to be occupied with the Lord. Then we can read the Bible, not merely to say, "I made it through another chapter," but to see in it something about the Lord; to lean back and let our minds go drifting up to heaven; to think, "Our God is on the throne. There is none like Him. He spoke and it was done. He commanded and it stands fast." When we go through life, and every once in a while see something beautiful, we might say, "Lord, you did that. Isn't it wonderful!" Well, that is worship.

 

We're all familiar with the pride of the small boy who says, "That's my pop!" The boy recognizes when his father is the champion of the block in something, or when his dad wins a golf game. He acknowledges and respects the words and accomplishments of his father. Since we are infinitely more closely related to our heavenly Father, we can, on a much greater level, acknowledge His wonder, His power and His might.

 

The full secret of worship lies in the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who brings before us the glories of the Father, the glories of Christ, and the glories of the Holy Spirit so that we just overflow with praise. Many of our hymns are hymns of worship. But how often do we really worship when we are singing? If our hearts can do more than say words, if we can lay hold of the words and translate them into thought that really grips our hearts so that we are thinking what we are saying, then we are participating in worship. Then we are honestly saying, "How wonderful is our God. How marvelous that He is what He is and that He has done what He has done. As we gave thanks for what He has done, we also adore Him for who He is. That is much more wonderful than what He has done. As we come to recognize who He is, then we can pour out our hearts in worship.

 

Psalm 27:4 says, "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple." Now, with David, "dwelling in the house of the Lord" was a localized matter. At that time God, in a special sense, dwelt in a building. But we know that Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, "The hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the father.... God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth"' (John 4:21,24).

 

It is easy for us to worship God in natural surroundings, but nature is the mere display of His handiwork. When we see God through Jesus Christ, we see the visible expression of God Himself. Whether in nature, or in Jesus Christ, God delights to display Himself. He wants to spread before us the wonders of His being, so that we shall be drawn to acknowledge Him. In John 17:24, Jesus said this: "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory."

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STUDY QUESTIONS

• Can one consider obedience to God's word worship? Why or why not?
• Is it true that all we need is gratitude in order to worship and obey God? Explain your answer.