Worship And Song
David W Hall
The word ‘worship’ creates various pictures in different people’s minds. To some it means a church service with much ceremony and tradition. To others it means the opposite – a special kind of singing in a spontaneous style of meeting. To others it may mean deep contemplative prayer or praise. In many churches today we have the phenomenon of incredibly loud sounds taken from the styles of many of the current rock groups in the secular arena. Some dare not call it music, while others revel with great abandon in its vibrations. So we must ask the question, what is worship?
Let us first consider two of the words in the original Greek, as well as the English root.
The Greek word ‘Proskuneo’ means ‘to revere, to adore, to make obeisance, to pay homage, to kiss’. This is the most used word for ‘worship’ in the New Testament.
Another Greek word is ‘Latreuo’, that is sometimes translated ‘ to worship,’ and also means ‘to serve, to pay homage’.
The English word ‘worship’ has its roots in the word ‘worth’ or ‘worth-ship’, and means acknowledging the true worth of someone. It also currently means ‘to hold in extreme love and reverence’.
In essence, ‘worship’ is love and relationship being fully expressed in service, praise or adoration. Worship is really a state of heart.
What state of heart does our vocal worship depict?
Is our heart in a state of adoring surrender to the One Who has conquered us with His Love? Is it full of delight and joy at the contemplation of who He is and how great is His salvation? Do we express a genuine state of sonship and humble confidence in coming before Him?
Our expressions need not be on the basis of a self-centred right to have the kind of music we demand. Instead we can, in the beauty of true, new-born identity, acknowledge and glorify the ‘worthship’ of God. Only those living in true identity can give full and appropriate expression to worship born of the Holy Spirit in the ‘beauty of holiness’. (1 Chron 16:29, Psa 96:9)
WORSHIP needs AN ALTAR
The desire to worship is in all men and women on the earth. We were created this way. Paul found this especially true when he came to Athens and found a multitude of idols throughout the city. Every known god was represented, and there was even an altar to ‘the unknown god’. Modern times are no different. New religions are forming every year across the world.
The truth is, however, that man’s desire for fulfilling worship can only be satisfied when it is an expression of relationship in God.
God the Father is looking for ‘true worshippers’. (Jn 4:23)
As far back as Cain and Abel, if a man wanted to worship God he built an altar and offered an animal upon it.
Noah, on coming out of the ark after the flood, built an altar and sacrificed clean animals upon it, and God smelt the smoke as a ‘sweet savour’.
Abraham’s first deed on arriving in the land of promise was to build an altar, and all through his life he continued to do the same. His son, Isaac, seemed to do little else other than dig wells and build altars.
Each of these altars was a place of worship.
Look further at the tabernacle of Moses. It contained two altars – one of brass for burning animals, and one of gold for burning incense. The priests offered sacrifices morning and night, every day, continually as well as a multitude of other offerings. No Israelite could appear before God empty handed. All were required to bring an offering of some kind when they came to the tabernacle.
However, Jesus brought an end to all such blood sacrifice when His own blood was shed upon the cross. Now there is another ‘altar’ and an ‘offering’ by which we can express our worship to God. This altar is not located in a physical church building, but is found in our relationship in Christ as members of His Body.
The apostle Paul said, ‘present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God’. (Rom 12:1)
Peter said, ‘you also … are … a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ’. (1 Pet 2:5)
Of the gift sent to Paul by the Phillippians Paul said, ‘… the things sent from you, (are) a sweet smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God’. (Phil 4:18)
The writer of Hebrews said, ‘Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name’. ( Heb 13:15) In other words, when we come into God’s presence, what comes out of our mouths should be a pleasing offering to the Lord.
When we gather before God as His people, what kind of worship offering do we bring? Is the offering for our sakes or His? Is it just an opportunity for ‘self-expression’ in music, or is it the true expression of the devotion of loving sons and daughters?
All true offerings have a cost attached to them. What is the price we pay for the ‘sacrifice of praise’? Do we participate only when the music is to our taste, or do we pour out our love to God because it is the primary purpose of our being?
May all our offerings of praise and worship be a sweet savour to God.
