Going to Church (27)

Rev. P. Van Ruitenburg, Chilliwack, BC

The Worship Service

Here we are, sitting among the other people in church. Why are we sitting here? We saw earlier that it is not only to meet God but also to have a worship service. Why do we actually come to church? Is it to satisfy our ego? If it is, well, no matter what the reason, we do not sit in the bench only to receive something but also, through grace, to praise God. King David knew that this was one of the most important aspects of the church service. This king, for example, wrote that he had gone with the multitude to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise. It was a true feast day for him when he could go into God’s house to praise the Lord. There he could contemplate about God and forget himself. David did not only come to the tabernacle to be fed but also to have God in remembrance, and if he were hindered in any way, he was dismayed.

“When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday” (Psalm 42:4).

Honor and praise

As we have already mentioned, the worship service concerns God’s honor. While in church we hear both law and gospel. We can hear how the Holy Spirit works in the heart of sinners. We sing psalters speaking of repentance and confess that we need God. All these things are good, but the worship service is more than that. Even though, by nature, we cannot honor God with all our heart, the Lord is worthy to be adored and revered. Hasn’t God created us for that purpose? Wasn’t it Adam’s inclination and life to praise and extol his Creator? When we leave our home on Sunday morning, there should be a longing that God will be honored. There is no better place than to lie at His feet and to look up to that high God and to bring Him praise and thanksgiving. Just think of the woman of the city who was a sinner, who anointed the feet of Jesus with very precious ointment, and also of the woman who anointed the head of Jesus. May the Lord give us that by His Holy Spirit.

“Then Mary took a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment” (John 12:3).

“And being in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on His head” (Mark 14:3).

Out of the depths

The psalms of praise did not just happen. The poets who have left behind these psalms of praise first went through great depths. Alas, no one can praise and honor God unless God first shows and lets us feel what a wonder-doing God He is. It is regrettable, but it seems as if the need must first become great before we will need God and beg for mercy. It is only when we have a deep impression of who God is that we can heartily love God. We cannot, however, hide behind the fact that we can no longer praise God. It belongs to the worship service just as much as singing penitential psalms and praying. We may also begin with praising God with our voice and, at the same time, ask Him if He will make what we are singing true in our hearts.

It is not a worship service when we place ourselves in the foreground. Even when the organ is played most solemnly and we sing the most precious psalms from the bottom of our hearts we still do not have a worship service. Hearts that are full of enthusiasm do not lead to upright praise and honor. That is the work of the Holy Spirit.

Offerings

In the Old Testament worship services the bringing of praises was very important. Not all the offerings were bloody. There were also peace offerings and food and drink offerings (Numbers 28, 29). A sort of coarse wheat flour was mixed with olive oil, and incense was burned upon that. Red wine was sprinkled upon the offering. The part of thanksgiving was also always present. Not that the Lord needed anything from the people, but it was still good to acknowledge the Lord for His gifts and His deeds and, especially, for who He is. Numerous psalms of praise were sung when the offerings were brought. It is, therefore, also a good practice that there remains a place for praise and thanksgiving in the New Testament church. With the singing, in the prayers, but also in the peaching, time and again something should resound of “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not any of His benefits.”

Let us also not forget that, if it is well, the place where God’s congregation comes together is a portal of heaven. It is most fitting when the “Through Thee, through Thee alone, because of Thy eternal good pleasure” resounds in the church service. What a joy it will be for God’s children to have an eternal worship service in heaven and always to be able to bow before the throne. That will truly be a feasting multitude. Then we shall see Him as He is. We shall see Him face to face. If we have received a new heart and have a new life, then, we, along with the angels and all the blessed, shall never tire of thanking God. Does not that begin here upon earth? Ultimately, it is also possible at home, but true praising also belongs to what David calls the “great congregation.” When we may experience the wonder of God’s grace, His undergirding hand, His direction, and when we know ourselves to be sinners, then we glory in the Lord. Then it concerns God’s honor.

“I will offer to Thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord” (Psalm 116:17).

“I will give Thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise Thee among much people” (Psalm 35:18).

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11).

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen