Worship

Worship WORSHIP
By James Burton Coffman

I. What Is Worship?
A. Definition difficult
B. The channels of worship
C. The conditions accompanying true worship
1. Consciousness of God’s presence
2. Realization of sin and imperfection
3. Recognition of the love of God
4. Sense of forgiveness
5. Personal acceptance of the call for duty
D. Man may participate in the ceremonial of worship without really worshipping
II. How May the Spirit and Experience of Worship Be Developed in a Congregation?
A. The practice of worship
B. The emphasis of the worship rather than the sermon
C. The building of the proper atmosphere of worship by attention to
1. The building
2. The preacher
3. The song leader and song service
4. The congregation
5. Participants in the services
D. An educational campaign along the lines suggested
1. In colleges 
2. In religious papers
3. In the local churches
III. What Are the Blessings that Flow from the Wor-ship of God?
A. The formation of Christ-like character
B. A revitalizing of the forces for Christian unity
C. Attainment of the proper perspective for true living
D. Release from fear
1. Fear of the natural elements
2. Fear of the animal creation
3. Fear of the supernatural creation
4. Fear of the unknown
E. Conclusion

Introduction
There is an elusive quality about all spiritual things that defies definition. It would be as easy to catch a sunbeam with a typewriter ribbon or to show the beauty of the rainbow in a pencil sketch as it is to produce an adequate definition of that deep spiritual phenomenon! that men call worship. Every student of .the Bible is aware that in New Testament times the church of Christ functioned along five definite channels of worship:

1. Meditation upon the sacred word, aided either by Scripture reading or a sermon
2. Singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
3. Prayer
4. Observance of the Lord’s Supper
5. Giving of material support to the cause

These five spiritual activities were distinctly a part of the regular Lord’s day assemblies in the churches; yet these five items of worship were then, as they are now, merely the authorized channels in which the rivers of true worship were designed to flow. They bear, in fact, the same relationship to true worship that a river channel bears to the roaring flood between its banks; or, using a different figure, they bear the same relationship to worship that a power line bears to the mysterious current moving within it. Presenting a definition of worship, then, is not so simple as merely listing the so-called items that are found in it.

What Worship Is
Worship is that consciousness of the presence of God that the Pharisee did not have as he stood praying with himself in the temple. It is that devotion so evidently lacking in the Corinthians who degenerated the Lord’s Supper into a drunken revel. It is that illumination which was needed by the woman at Samaria’s well who could speak glibly about the most Sacred matters without the slightest understanding of them. It is the realization in an active conscious way of our sinfulness, dependence upon God, and ol our desperate need of his mercy and help. It is the overwhelming conviction that he loves us, and the defi-nite accumulation in one’s heart of a purpose to be worthy in as much as it is humanly possible of that ‘‘love which passeth understanding. An analysis of worship shows that it is always ac-companied by certain conditions that vary only in de-gree and without which true worship simply does not exist, no matter how vigorously one may give himself over to the practice of the authorized ceremonial of worship.

Analysis of True Worship
1. First among these conditions is a consciousness of the presence of God. It is impossible to separate this awareness of God’s presence from any worship that is real in spite of the fact that a person may go to church, listen to the sermon, and even take the Lord’s Supper without discerning the Lord Jesus (See 1 Corinthians 11:29). The fact that people sometimes engage in the most solemn acts of worship without really worshipping is demonstrated by our own experience as well as proved by the Word of God. If some men do, however, frequent the place of worship without any consciousness of God’s presence, it was not so with the prophet Isaiah. He too went into the place of worship, but what did he see? “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims; each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly And one cried to another and said, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:1-3). But if Isaiah was filled with a consciousness of God’s presence, there are many others who seem blissfully ignorant of his very existence. There were men like this even in the days of JeSus, for example, the Pharisee who prayed with himself in the temple. He has been accurately described as a man who had a good eye upon himself, a bad eye upon his neighbor, and no eye at all upon God! Just listen to his prayer. It is the classic exampie of, how men: ought not to pray (Luke 18:11). He recites a list of his supposed virtues, casts an evil slur upon the unfortunate publican, and struts through the ritual of the temple service with about as much spiritual feeling and worship as would be evidenced by a fat swine at a flower show.

2. There is another condition that is an inevitable accessory to worship and that is a realization of one’s sin and imperfection. It is no accident that when Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord, he cried out in the same breath and said, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5). Wherever, whenever any man is able to gain a consciousness of the presence of God, there is the immediate realization of sin. That greater robber who was crucified with his partner in crime by the side of our Lord was brazen enough until he saw himself against the sinless background of the holy Savior. But with that perception his self-sufficiency was gone. He did not even join in the railings of the crowd as did the other thief. “Dost thou not fear God?” he asked in amazement. He was willing to admit in the bitter agony of that hour that such a horrible death was no more than he deserved (Luke 23:40-41). This is the attitude of every man who is made to feel that he is in the presence of God. Sinner or saint, robber or prophet, the man who sees God is keenly aware of sin. How remarkably different is the man who does not realize God’s presence! The Pharisee (Luke 18) rolled his professed virtues as a sweet morsel under his tongue and went down to his house without justification simply because it had never dawned upon him that he had the slightest need of justification.

3. Again, there is in true worship a realization of the love of God. The same sunshine may fall upon a lump of charcoal or a wondrous diamond like the Star of Africa, but how different the results! One is as black as midnight. The other is a jewel of priceless beauty. One is worthless. The other is the guarded treasure of an empire. Why? One is able to reflect the sunlight. The other is not. It is this quality alone that makes the vast difference, for the chemist declares the two lumps to be very similar in every way But this. This quality of being able to reflect light is highly suggestive of the person who worships God. The worshiper who reflects in his soul the love of the Father has found the secret of worship. This ability to reflect the love of God was the characteristic that wrote in the everlasting hall of fame the name of a poor woman who slipped into the dining room long ago where Jesus sat at meat with Simon to break upon his blessed person a treasured box of nard. When this woman encountered in the person of Christ one whose love was of the essence of truth and purity, she was swept with deepest emotion bursting forth in a flood of hot tears falling down upon his feet. She reflected the Lord’s love, and in the glory of that borrowed light her name and deed will shine forever in the constellation of God’s great. Simon the host on that occasion, had no such quality: He brazenly slighted Christ, his invited guest, by denying him the common little courtesies of the times like a bowl of water for his feet and a kiss of welcome. He was not a bad man, for the Lord admitted that Simon was ten times as righteous as the weeping woman at his. feet. The sin of Simon was that he did not love the Lord. His righteousness could not atone for that damning failure. He could not reflect the love of Christ and was therefore unacceptable to God.

4. A fourth condition in worship is a sense of the forgiveness of sins. This is a most remarkable result of worship and is one reason why men should worship frequently. Sin is a deadly weight and burden upon the heart of man, and the true worship of God is alone capable of removing the sense of guilt with which all are afflicted because all have sinned. Worship alone will yield that happiness and release of spirit that accompany a sense of the forgiveness of sins. In the vision of Isaiah already mentioned it will be remembered that the prophet received a sense of the forgiveness of sins in this way, “There flew one of the seraphims unto him having a live coal in his hands, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar.” And he laid it upon Isaiah’s mouth and said, “Lo this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged” (Isa. 6:67). In the New Testament there is frequent mention of the rejoicing of the true worshippers. This rejoicing followed the sense of the forgiveness of sins that came with obedience in baptism, as, for example, in the case of the Ethiopian Eunuch. It also followed from the true worship engaged in after the new birth as Paul said in Php_3:3, “We are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus.” Joy is listed second among the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5:22, being preceded only by love. The absence of “Rejoicing in Jesus Christ” is the symptom of a dreadful illness, the cure of which is worshipping God in spirit and in truth.

5. But there is yet another condition present in worship. That is a vivid personal response to the call of duty, in other w’ords, a sense of dedication of one’s self to the doing of God’s will. Isaiah is also a good example of this condition, for he said, “I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom, shall I send, and who will go for us? then I said, Here am I; send me” (Isaiah 6:8). Every man who worships God in spirit and in truth will find the same expression in his heart if not actually on his lips. Paul in the blinding light of the Damascus road accepted the obligation to serve and dedicated his life to Jesus in the words, “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10). This conscious dedication of one’s life to God is an integral part of worship; and the absence of it is a sure sign that a man is attempting to worship with reservation. From this we see that worship consists of five fun-damentals : a consciousness of God’s presence, a reali-zation of sin and unworthiness, a quickening awareness of the Father’s love, a rejoicing because of the remission of sins, and a personal acceptance of our obligation to serve God without limit or reservation. From this analysis there then derives a conclusion that ought to shatter the smug self-righteousness with which some in our day would try to cloak their spiritual barrenness. That conclusion is this: A man may be regular at the Lord’s table; he may pray the longest prayers in the church; he may sing the loudest, give the most money, and know the Bible by heart, and yet not be in any adequate sense a genuine worshipper of God. This does not in any way depreciate the true worth of the authorized routine of worship. It is only the channel which can prevent a river from becoming a swamp. The same is true with regard to worship. The five items recognized in the New Testament as belonging in the acceptable worship of God are there by God’s authority not men’s; but in this address we are pleading with men to use them as they were intended. They are the true channels of worship; but the real thing must flow in them or they will become dry, dusty beds of formalism and spiritual poverty. May we never forget that we are to worship God in the spirit as well as in the truth (John 4:24).

How the Spirit and Experience of Worship May Be Developed in a Local Congregation of the Body of Jesus Christ
Out of this conclusion, there naturally arises a ques-tion: How may the spirit and experience of worship be developed in a local congregation of the body of Christ? You will permit me to confess that I do not feel able to answer this question to the satisfaction of this audience. I am not even able to answer it to my own satisfaction. There are, however, certain methods, the observance of which will at least encourage a more objective approach toward meeting this great need. Our efforts to do this are exceedingly timely, for the dearth of true worship in the churches is a common scandal. The Roman Catholic Church in America today is able to proselyte all other religious bodies, including (in a very limited sense, thank God) the churches of Christ; and they are doing it simply because they are able to demonstrate a better atmosphere of worship in their regular services. It is not our intention here to impose the blame upon others. In the early days of the restoration movement, men said, “Let us restore apostolic Christianity in worship, doctrine, and life.” This was a great vision to which they devotedly gave their lives and their fortunes. Their work was heroic; but because of the bitter sectarian rivalry of the times, they were compelled by sheer force of circumstances to give the most of their energies to the restoration of the New Testament doctrine and were compelled to be more or less governed by the accepted standards of the day relative to the spirit of worship and the formation of Christ-like character. To use the words of Dr. J. E. Belcher of the University of Oklahoma, “The letter of New Testament Christianity was restored during the nineteenth century, and it is high time that the spirit of it be restored likewise.” It is as true now as it wras in the days of Taul that the “letter killeth, but the spirit maketh alive” (2 Corinthians 3:6).

Here are a number of suggestions that might in some instances prove helpful in promotion of a better spirit of worship:
1. Let there be a sharpening of the spiritual faculties of men through the practice of worship. As matters are today in many churches it is possible for a well planned service to fall upon unappreciative ears and hearts, simply because many of the people are not fitted through their training to participate in a truly spiritual service. This accounts for the generally poor showing that is now made at the prayer meeting service. At least, it partially accounts for it. Many people who are not equipped by training to participate in the worship service such as a prayer meeting are in the same condition as the people mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned.” The sharpenings of this sense of spiritual discernment should be one of the prime objectives in any campaign to improve the spirit of worship in our services, and that can be accomplished only by practice. Men and women should be persuaded to readjust themselves upon a more spiritual plane of living and begin to utilize more generally those fine spiritual services of the church like the prayer meetings.

2. The building of the services around the idea of the worship, rather than around the sermon is becoming more and more necessary.
The over-emphasis upon the sermon that was the natural result of the reformation is taking an evil toll of the churches. Christian people are demanding that the sermons be shorter and shorter. Admittedly, some of this demand arises from questionable motives, but not all of it. The space of the last one hundred fifty years has cut the length of the average sermon from about two hours down to less than thirty minutes. Why is this? Because audiences, more and more unskilled in the practice of worship, have found the sermons less and less satisfying; and preachers, catering to the degenerating taste have gone in for sensationalism of the lower types and have thereby continued the vicious circle by leaving the audiences still less trained in worship. When people are better taught how to worship they will again be happy to listen to longer sermons. The present condition is the natural, result of a misplaced emphasis upon the sermon. It is imperative that instruction be undertaken at once upon the broadest possible basis that people may accumulate true skill in most essential business of the worship of God. There is a single sentence in Acts of Apostles that shows where the emphasis in our services really belongs. Acts 20:7, “And when the disciples came together upon the first day of the w'eek to break bread, Paul preached unto them.” Such a thing as that could have happened only in the apostolic age. In our day it would have happened like this, “When the disciples turned out in a body to hear Paul preach, they also break bread.” Let the emphasis be returned once more to the worship instead of left upon the sermon, and paradoxically that will give us more and better preaching. Martin Luther said that it was impossible to have a worship service without a sermon; but the intervening four hundred years have proved that where people are incapable of worship in the deeper sense, it does precious little good to listen to sermons. This in no way minimizes the importance of preaching. It is still God’s will that by the foolishness of preaching he will save them that believe; but it should be heeded that in the assembly of the church, the worship service, not the sermon, is central and deserves the emphasis. Men should be taught to remember that where two or three are gathered together in his name, there he is in the midst of them. Attention should once more be focused upon the invisible Christ instead of the too audible preacher. It is this invisible presence of the Master in our services that constitutes the heart, soul, and reality of worship. God help us to teach men so and to show them that we believe it!

3. The creating of the proper atmosphere of worship is essential in the development that we should strive for.
The following factors enter into the final equation:

A. The Building Itself.
We cannot agree with Dr. Lockhart that a church needs the kind of stimulus that can come only from a Gothic cathedral. Yet, we cannot deny that the building itself has a definite bearing upon the atmosphere of worship. This principle is capable of abuse; and it should not be forgotten that Paul and Silas worshipped God in a dungeon at Philippi; and that the martyrs poured out their acceptable worship unto God even amid the howling cries of the Roman circus. In spite of this, however, we must admit that circumstances were present in those cases which do not now exist; and we must confess that worship is today often hindered by the types and conditions of some of our church houses. Michaelangelo was on his death bed, and a priest with a crucifix approached and began intoning the last rites of the Catholic Church; but the great artist-sculptor interrupted him to say, “Father the spirit is good, but the art is terrible.” The same thing may honestly be said of many of our church houses. This is no plea for extravagant church buildings ; but surely, it is in keeping with the dignity and mission of the church of Christ to locate our church houses in accessible and pleasant surroundings, to keep them in a state of thoughtful cleanliness, to give attention to landscaping etc., and to provide in them the intangible something called atmosphere by the judicious use of flowers, paint, rugs, tapestries, etc. Certainly, it is no glory to God in the church which permits its building to go without repairs or present an untidy appearance on the Lord’s day.

B. The Preacher.
The preacher himself is a definite part of the at-mosphere in a church. A church will sometimes over-look this fact, but not for long. The preacher whose undignified antics in the pulpit or whose carelessness of dress are unbecoming the gospel will find after awhile that entertainment cannot take the place of worship. The pulpit is no place to be rowdy, boisterous, or silly. Every man who habitually goes before an audience assembled for worship should be awed by the terrible responsibility of it and so live that men may realize that he has been with Jesus. His part in conducting the services should be executed without error. The kind of God who set the planets in space is not honored by a service that begins five minutes late or by a minister who has to have a conference with the elders and deacons while the first song is being sung. Handshaking with late comers, not only encourages their tardiness but disturbs the ones who came on time—to worship.

C. The Song Leader and Song Service.
Instead of trying to fit the songs in with the sermon topic, why should they not be selected with a view to inducing the audience to worship God? There are two widespread hindrances” to a spiritual song service that should be removed. These are, (1) interruptions of the singing by conversation of the worshippers (?) and the seating of late-comers during the song and (2) the use of a sype of songs unsuited to church worship. Admittedly there is room for honest differences of opinion as to the “type” of songs to be used, but certainly we can all agree that a song to qualify should be “spiritual.”

D. Scripture Reading.
Reading of the sacred Scriptures is a splendid way to improve the atmosphere of worship as well as to increase reverence for the Word of God. The church that uses this method, however, should take care as to the one selected to do the reading. The Bible should be read with perfection of diction and dignity of inflection. Attention should also extend to the Book itself. It is no honor, as some seem to think, to read from a ragged Bible, especially before an audience. Let the Book, a large one preferably, be placed upon an imposing stand, handled with reverence and tenderness, not slammed, rolled, or crowded into a pocket.

E. The Congregation Itself.
Friendliness and good fellowship are splendid at-tributes of any church, but if they are gained at the expense of reverence in the meeting house, it is but an empty victory. If the audience must be warned by a dimming of the lights or the sounding of a warning bell, then let it be done. There is no excuse for the picnic atmosphere prevailing in some congregations for the first ten minutes or even the first ten seconds of the worship service.

F. All Participants in the Service.
No matter how seemingly trivial is the part to be taken by ushers, assistants at the Lord’s table, janitors, and all other persons coming even momentarily before the eyes of the worshippers, that part should be done with a gravity and in a manner becoming to people who have assembled to worship the God of heaven and earth. The principle for this statement is contained in the language of James (2:2-4) who lays down some definite, practical instructions as to the behaviour of ushers in the performance of their duty in seating the visitors who attend divine service.

4. Another means of developing the spirit of worship in the churches is that of planned definite instruc-tion along this line in every possible way.

A. Let the colleges among us devise and offer acceptable courses which will the better train young people in the art of worship. Isn’t this as important as a course in Latin or Mathematics?
B. Let our religious papers devote some space to this important subject.
C. Let the various congregations plan and conduct schools such as daily vacation Bible schools in which the matter of worship will receive the attention that it deserves.
D. Let the Bible classes (Sunday Schools) that meet on Sunday mornings recognize the need of the children to be trained in worship and provide for their use adequate assembly rooms, planned programs, and personal guidance in this most necessary field of activity. In answering the question how may the spirit and experience of worship be improved among us, I have suggested:
1. A more widespread practice of worship
2. The emphasis of worship rather than the sermon
3. The proper attention to the right atmosphere
4. An educational campaign by college, paper, and congregation.

What Are the Blessings that Flow from the Worship of God?
This brings us to a third and final question about worship: What re the blessings that flow from it?
To answer this in detail would be the work not of one speaker, but of a thousand. It would require not a sermon outline but a library! Nevertheless, there are four definite blessings that follow worship; and to these we invite your careful attention.

1. The Formation of Christ-like Character.
It is a strange phenomenon of the spirit that a person tends more and more to become like the person or thing worshipped. In this respect, the old legend of the. Great Stone Face is as true as truth itself. This admitted, then, how germane to the happiness of the race is the selection of the proper object of worship! Make no mistake about it. Men will worship something. Even God did not take the trouble to command men to worship, for he knew that they would do that anyway. He merely commanded them to worship God! The human soul tends as easily to worship as do the webbed feed of a duck to the nearest pond. The question is not then, “Shall I worship?” but “Whom shall I worship?” Every man has his own religion and worships his own God. The Indian wor-ships the Great Spirit, the Chinese his ancestors, the hypocrite himself, the miser his gold, the atheist his own colossal conceit, and the Christian his Christ. And here is a challenge: If the religion of Jesus Christ had done nothing for humanity except take the uni-versal tendency of man to worship and direct it toward the sinless, perfect life of Christ with the resultant fact that men should everywhere in all succeeding gen-erations grow in his blessed likeness, then that service is the greatest single achievement and the most wonderful blessing in five millenniums of human history!

2. A Revitalizing of the Forces for Christian Unity
Under existing conditions, poorly planned, inade-quate services of worship have in many cases acted as a barrier to people who were inclined to accept theo-retically the primitive New Testament doctrine. A more spiritual worship among us, coupled with the true doctrine, would be almost irresistible in its appeal to the spiritually minded of the denominational world. Our lack in this regard has been one of the biggest obstacles in reaching a certain class of people, especially the Roman Catholics; and if we should be able to combine with the old Jerusalem gospel something more of the spiritual earnestness and reverence of the old Jerusalem worship, the results might be as amazing as they would be gratifying. If the churches of Christ will get down to the holy ,business of, producing it, .they will be able to give, the, world the most appealing worship service that has , ever beep known since apostolic times. This statement is based upon the conviction that God’s way is actually best and that in the practice of his way all men shall find the fulfillment of their deepest need.

3. Attainment of the Proper Perspective for True Living
Life is a pitiful jumble of frustration and petty busy-ness until there enters into the spirit of man that rhythm, poise, and beauty which are gained by the proper spiritual orientation. A man may be lost In a great city, not even knowing the directions; but if he will climb to the top of the tallest skyscraper, he will soon be able to untangle the mystery of which is north or south; and the sense of relief which follows is very similar to the relief and pokse that come from a period of worship. In worship, a man is projected out into the great tides of the ocean of truth instead of being left bound in the shallows and miseries of today’s trivial and vexing problems. A man who has learned to wait for the tides is not dismayed by the waves and ripples. In Mark Rutherford’s autobiography, he tells the story of how he went off for a long afternoon’s tramp ifi a downpour of rain. For him it was a time of darkness, of ghastly doubt and uncertainty. “But just before I reached home,” he said, “the clouds rolled off with the southwest wind, into detached fleecy masses, separated by blue gulfs in which were sowed the stars. The effect upon me was what that sight, thank God, has ever been—a sense of the infinite, extinguishing all mean cares.” This sense of the infinite is one of the prime benefits of worship. Flo man can properly consider anything except against the revealing background of the worship of God. In fact the very word conisder is a derivative of a Latin term sidera, which means the stars. This is just the kind of consideration that one learns in the sacred intimacy of worship; and from it there comes perspective, the perspective of the stars. It was this perspective that God sought to bring to Abraham when he said, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars if thou be able to number them!(Genesis 15:5). The same upward look is today accomplished in the man who worships God aright.

4. Release from Fear
A fourth blessing that comes from worship is release from fear. Without this release, man is but a frightened child, trembling in the cosmic dark. This blessing is unique to the religion of Jesus Christ and is the one reason why Christian lands are lands of progress, whereas other religions tend to ignorance, superstition and darkness. This release from fear is everywhere evident in the New Testament. From the day when an angel appeared to Mary and said, “Fear not Mary, for thou hast found favor with God” (Luke 1:30), till the New Testament canon was closed, almost every great character in it was admonished to “Be not afraid!” An old man, shocked and astonished by the appearance of an angel on the right side of the altar of incense was calmed when the heavenly visitor said, “Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard” (Luke 1:13). Shepherds abiding in the field and keeping watch over their flock by night were dazzled with a radiant splendor from heaven, but the angel said, “Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10). A distracted father named Jairus, overwhelmed with the news of his daughter’s death was told by Jesus Christ, “Fear not!” (Luke 8:50). The disciples, storm- tossed upon a Galileean lake, were greeted amid their fears and apprehensions by the cheerful words of the Master, who said, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid!” (Matthew 14:27). The apostles, chilled by the news of the imprisonment of John the Baptist, and contemplating the hardships of discipleship, were commanded by the Lord, “Fear not them which are able to kill the body but are not able to kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28). Many other passages of the New Testament relate how the three witnesses of the trans-figuration, the women who saw Christ after his res-urrection, the apostles in the trials of the mission field, at home and abroad, on land and sea, in bondage or freedom, were comforted, sustained, cheered, and motivated by that greatest, gladdest, and grandest thought that God ever sent down from heaven to sinful man, namely, that we can be released from fear and anxious care. John summed it all up with the words, “Perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18). This blessing is inconceivably large and includes within its bountiful proportions a veritable host of important benefits.

A. Fear of the Natural Elements
To the man unblessed by Christianity, every flash of lightning, every cloud, every tree, become the mani-festation of an angry God or the hiding place of a demon who might destroy him. He must appease by worship and sacrifice every strange object that he encounters. This stifles his progress, shackles his mind, and oppresses his soul. The proof of this may be observed in India till this day. The Parsees, one of the ancient and powerful religious groups, believe in four sacred elements, earth, water, fire, and air, which according to them cannot be contaminated without en-gendering the wrath of God. Some people are inclined to look with tolerance upon these old superstitions and even go so far as to say that they do no harm; but we shall take an up-to-date example of what a little false doctrine can mean to a benighted people. It was October of 1934, and the worst malaria epidemic within the memory of man was ravaging the island of Ceylon. Three million people live there, and more than half of them were stricken with the disease. Over eighty thousand lost their lives in a single month. Now, thanks to the skill and efficiency of our modern doctors, men know how to wipe out this disease. It is simply a matter of destroying the breeding places of the “Anopheles minimus” mosquito. The physicians and engineers did their part. But up surged the old religion of the Parsees who would not permit their wells or cisterns to be covered or treated with oil. The result was a major epidemic of this frightful disease. It caused such a furore among western peoples that leaders in India felt that some explanation was due. Ghandi, the recognized speaker for the masses, stated in the “Times of India,” June, 1935, “We have no right to take the lives of mosquitoes, flies, rats, lice, fleas, etc. They have as much right to live as' we.”

B. Fear of the Animal Creation.
Christianity also releases man from the fear of everything in the animal creation. Sacred animals, insects, and reptiles are widely worshipped in the Orient and with the most frightful consequences. Strange to say, the underlying error in the whole system of animal worship is the doctrine, sometimes even smiled upon in the United States, of the transmigration of souls! What a horrible tool this old delusion has proved to be against human life and progress in those lands where the true worship has not been accepted ! Take a single example: Plague wras sweeping India in 1924; and according to Doctor Victor Heiser (American Doctor’s Odyssey, page 91), a million people were dying of it every year. In spite of this, no effective prevention of it could be had because the people refused to kill the rats which were carriers of the infected flea which gave the infection to man. To them every rat was somebody’s ancestor!

C. Christian Worship also Releases from the Fear of Demons and Angels.
Have you ever thought how pitiful was that motive which erected in the streets of ancient Athens a statue to an “unknown God”? No wonder the Bible says that Paul’s spirit was moved within him when he saw the city wholly given unto idolatry (Acts 17:16). The situation was this: Every imaginable demon had been honored with a shaft or inscription. Every, possible precaution had been taken, and yet there was no peace in the worshipper’s heart. There still might be some • God that he had slighted who would turn upon him in anger - and pour havoc upon him. This was the fear that stalked like a plague through the city.- Thirty thousand “Gods” were enshrined in this old capitol of pagan learning; and yet such was the uneasiness of the population, that someone went out and erected a statue to an unknown God! The true worship of God has released humanity from this fear of multiple gods to be honored and appeased. The only tragedy is that during the Dark Ages, the old fear came back disguised as the “Invocation of the Saints” or “Adoration of Saints” thus countermanding the release from this type of fear and imposing upon humanity once more the heart-chilling system of multiple mediators.

D. Fear of the Unknown.
The Christian worshipper is also released from the fear of the unknown. Each of us can truly say, “I am the first that ever burst into this silent sea!” We have not passed this way heretofore. No one has. But here is our consolation, the way is not new to our Lord. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me!” (Psalms 23). It has been noted that the old geographers in mapping the oceans that lay out beyond the narrow limits of their knowledge were accustomed to write upon these distant and unknown frontiers, “Here be dragons. Here be demons which devour men!” This is not the attitude of the Christian for he is released from all such fears. Wherever we may go, our God is there before us. Whatever experiences may await us today or tomorrow, our God is able to lead us through them. We can joyfully claim the assurance of the 139th Psalm: “If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” In conclusion, permit us to point out that worship is positively the most important of all human activities. It is worship, improperly carried out, that causes mental and physical illness, that steeps whole civilizations in the terror of darkness, and that makes pygmies of the race of men, physically as well as mentally and spiritually. It is no accident that the Dark Ages came during the period of the Great Apostasy of the church. They are related one to another as cause and effect. On the other hand, worship properly engaged in, means the poise and happiness of the true perspective; it means the endowment of humanity with personalities that are fragrant with the virtues of the Christ; it means the banishment of fear, the furthering of the ends of progress and the cementing of the ties of human brotherhood under the guidance of the Father of life and salvation.

Questions
1. What are the divinely authorized channels of worship ?
2. How are these channels or items of worship different from the worship itself?
3. Is it possible for a person to practice the routine of worship without actually worshipping God?
Can you give an example of this from the New Testament?
4. What are the five conditions that' accompany true worship?
5. Why are the sermons of our times shorter than they were in the days of colonies?
What will tend to give us longer sermons? Why has the present short sermon developed?
6. Why did the leaders of the Restoration Move-ment give most of their time to the preaching of
the correct doctrine and neglect the establishment of proper worship standards?
7. What practical suggestions would you make as a means of re-emphasizing the true worship?
8. Does the building have anything to do with our worship ? Explain.
9. What law does James lay down for ushers in the discharge of their duty?
10. Do the preacher and song leader play any part in providing the proper atmosphere of worship
in a church? Explain how.
11. What two hindrances are today causing the song service to be less effective?
12. How should the Scripture reading be given? How should the Bible be handled?
13. What four great blessings flow from the proper worship of God ?
14. What particular fears are dispelled by the true worship ?
15. Show how fear was the cause of the erection of the statue to the “Unknown God” in ancient Athens
16. Show how fear of the natural elements caused the death of thousands in Ceylon.
17. What relationship did the fear of the animal creation bear to the death of a million people a year in India in 1924?
18. How did the disaster mentioned in questionn 17 have its roots in a false doctrine? 
19. How did the ancient fear of demons find its way into the apostate church of the Dark Ages ?
20. Why is the worship of God the most important thing in all human activity?