WORSHIP

WORSHIP WORSHIP
Trine Starnes

Someone has beautifully said, “The nearest word is NOW, the swiftest word is TIME, the longest word is ETERNITY, the darkest word is SIN, the meanest word is HYPOCRISY, the broadest word is TRUTH, the strongest word is RIGHT, the saddest word is LOST, the tenderest word is LOVE, the sweetest word is HOME, the dearest word is MOTHER, the depest word is SOUL, and the GREATEST WORD is GOD.” On an occasion when Rowland Hill was trying to convey to his audience “The Greatness of God,” he suddenly exclaimed, “I am unable to reach this lofty theme. Yet, I do not feel that the smallest fish in the ocean ever complained of the ocean’s vastness. So it is with me. With my puny powers I can plunge with delight into a subject, the immensity of which I shall never be able to comprehend.” My friends, that is a kindred sentiment to mine at this hour. When we contemplate any phase of the subject of “Worship” to the Infinite God, we can justly feel a sense of awe; we then recognize our own unworthiness and insignifcance. We are prompted to ask, “What is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (Psalms 8:4). When we mutually meditate on “Worship,” we immediately invite unto ourselves a challenge of such magnitude that, when seriously considered, will make us tremble with reverence and godly fear.

Whatever gems of spiritual beauty from the Book of God may enter our thoughts tonight, remember we are considering how to come into the presence of him who is “from everlasting to everlasting,” the Great, Eternal God, the Infinite Creator of heaven and earth. He is the Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent One in whose image we are made, and before whom we are destined to stand in judgment. We are considering how to enter the Sanctuary of the Most High, the Holy Place of “the True Tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man”; in which the Immaculate Son of God has promised to meet us. Do such solemn thoughts stir your hearts? If not, then you have become less than a man or a woman! Sin has done something vicious to your soul.
Several years ago the late Senator James A. Reed made a stirring plea for a return to the Old Paths of Americanism and Democracy. He said on a nationwide radio broadcast, “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got to go back to the time of our fathers. We cannot improve upon the governmental principles of our liberty-loving forefathers in our Constitution. We cannot improve upon the financial system of Alexander Hamilton; we cannot improve upon the democracy of Thomas Jefferson. We must go back to the time of our fathers J” He made a thrilling plea which was needed then, and is needed now. But to a far greater degree is this plea needed in the realm of religion.

Friends, I submit to you that we cannot improve upon the doctrine of Christ. We cannot improve upon the inspired formula of worship given by the apostles of Christ, bound on earth and bound in heaven We, too, must go back to the time of our fathers. We must return to the Old Paths of approved New Testament worship. As Christians of the twentieth century, we are immeasurably indebted to the pioneers of the grandest spiritual awakening and Restoration Movement since the first century. The sacred ambition of these pioneers was to return to the “Old Paths,” both in doctrine, practice and worship. To this most sublime of all pleas they heroically dedicated their lives and fortunes. God forbid that we should ever think or speak disparagingly of their labors.

However, they were largely governed in what the> emphasized by the lines of controversial battles drawn, and the strategy employed by their sectarian opposition. The issues of rivalry, the force of prevailing winds demanded that they combine their energies toward a return to the Old Paths in the doctrine and formula of worship revealed in the New Testament. Those battles have now been fought and won on many fields. Many of them are preserved for posterity in printed form. Others were indelibly transcribed into fleshly tables of honest hearts. We have succeeded in restoring the apostolic worship in TRUTH; we have yet far to go, if we would return to the Old Paths of worship in SPIRIT.

These initial thoughts, though largely prefatory in nature, we deemed most vital to a fuller evaluation of the things that shall follow.

Worship Defined
Webster defines the verb, “Worship” as follows:
1. To treat with the reverence due to merit or worth; to respect, honor.
2. To pay divine honors to; to reverence with supreme respect and veneration;
to perform religious exercises in honor of; to adorn; venerate. Who can adequately define true worship in a single sentence? We think of songs, prayers, meditations on the Word, communion, giving—can we say that these overt acts constitute worship? Or, are they rather the divinely appointed media or means through which our genuine worship flowers as a mighty river of adoration to the throne of God. Have we taken too much for granted? Are we not too often guilty of supposing that all worshippers assembled are prepared in soul to worship? Has this hour for any of us degenerated into a cold, empty formalism or a vain ceremonial? Worship is not an accidental effort made, nor an occasional, incidental period spent, but on the contrary is a spiritual attainment in soul culture and intimate communion with God.

Worship is Natural
Man is by nature a worshipping being. It is as natural to worship as it is to breathe; and worship, like breathing, can be suffocated by sinister influences and impure atmosphere. Instinctively we look beyond us in reverence to a Power higher than human. It is much easier to believe in and worship God than to reject the ten thousand times ten thousand unmistakable voices in Nature and Revelation which tell us of God and remind us to worship him. To suppress this innate impulse within man, as infidels seek to do, is wholly unnatural. Never was there a nation composed of Atheists. As the grain grows upward, and the flower in its unfolding beauty turns toward the sun, so all the nations of men worship a higher being. Our tendency to worship heroes is but a human expression of a divine quality.

There is no thirst of soul nor longing of the heart that cannot be abundantly assuaged by the living waters of this Book from God. From the most civilized to the most barbaric tribes there is a varying but universal yearning after God. The primitive savage who rushes to his sacred spring to form out of blue clay and sand a monstrosity for his soul to venerate, is obeying the same innate instinct that sends the more civilized worshipper to his more exquisite cathedral.

Worship in Bible History
Christianity is the grand consummation of a divine philanthropy which was 4,000 years in unfolding, “ac-cording to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians 3:10). There was a time when men of faith and devotion worshipped God by means of an altar and the blood of a slain animal. The father was the priest and mediator for the family. There was a time when the people of God worshipped by means of a portable tabernacle, comprised of inanimate substances, very precious, and erected according to the divine pattern shown to Moses atop smoking, quaking Mt. Sinai.

There was a time when God was venerated in that magnificent wonder of architecture, the Temple of Solomon, in the Holy City. It was exquisite, expensive, extraordinary; yet, composed of lifeless stones that could neither speak nor feel, and which were subject to the decay of time and the depredations of war. But finally, in the “last days” our Heavenly Father designed a True Tabernacle “which the Lord pitched and not man.” He erected a Temple not made with hands. It is comprised of “living stones”—purchased at the unfathomable cost of the blood of Christ. These living stones are far more precious than any stone that embellished the Temple of Solomon; far more precious than any gem or fabric in the handwork of the ancient Tabernacle. The Temple of God today •is composed of stones which time and desolation cannot efface, and wars cannot destroy (See 1 Peter 2:5; 2 Corinthians 6:6; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

Throughout all the vicissitudes of God’s people during the sixty centuries from Adam’s blissful Garden until now, One Underlying, Unvarying Principle Has Governed All Acceptable Worship to God. That principle is: “The Absolute and Complete Submission of the Human Will to the Will of God.” Our need is not a mere profession of this truth, but a real possession of it; not a dreamy pretense, but a genuine subordination of all the thoughts, appetites, passions, volitions and impulses—bringing “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

It is of little avail to deal with specific fundamental errors in worship in leading deluded souls back to the Old Paths of true worship, Unless this Sacred Principle Can First Be Enthroned in their Hearts. How are we to convince a beloved friend that he should sing spiritual songs without mechanical instruments in his praise to God under the New Covenant, unless first his heart is yearning and burning with the desire to embrace this truth which undergirds all true worship to God? Our Savior voiced this principle in Matthew 7:21 when he said, “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”

God is Unchangeable
“For I am the Lord: I change not . . .” (Malachi 3:6). God is unchanged and unchangeable. However, we are expressly told that “. . . he changeth the times and the seasons; he removeth kings, and setteth up kings . . .,” etc. So dispensations have come and gone. Ordinances and ceremonies have changed, priests and priesthoods have changed necessitating changes in law. But God, the object of our worship changeth not. We worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The avenues of worship have changed, but throughout all divine history certain principles have remained steadfast.

Among them are these:
1. Acceptable worship has always been “by faith” and not by sight. As remote in antiquity as the time of Cain and Abel, this element of faith was vital. “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice that Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh” (Hebrews 11:4).
2. Acceptable worship has always been defined, described and stipulated by God and never legislated by man. “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you” (Deuteronomy 4:2).
3. Acceptable worship has always been based upon the sacrifice of blood. The idea of “sacrifice” was in-herent in the offering of Abel. It is signifcant to note parenthetically here, that the first time the word “worship” appears in the King James Version is Genesis 22:5 in connection with Abraham’s offering of his only son Isaac, whom he loved. The friend of God said, “. . . Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” What a terrific sacrifice that hour of worship envisioned in Abraham’s heart of undaunted faith! This ideal of sacrfice maintains in the New Dispen-sation. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name” (Hebrews 13:15). When the wise men worshipped Christ, the new-born King, they presented unto him “gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11).
4. Acceptable worship has always demanded the right attitude of heart, namely reverence, humility, sincerity, and purity of life. “0 worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness . . .” (Psalms 96:9).

So, although dispensations and divine laws of acceptable worship have varied, the principles that underlie them never change.

Kinds of Worship
Basically there are only two kinds of worship: True Worship and False Worship. There can be but one true worship. There are many false worships. The Bible indentifies such forms of worship as: Ignorant worship (Acts 17:23); Vain Worship (Matthew 15:9) ; Will-worship (Colossians 2:23). Under one or more of these classifications we have: Creature worship (Romans 1:25); Nature worship (Deuteronomy 4:19; Jeremiah 44:15-23); demon worship (Deuteronomy 32:17; Revelation 9:20) ; Man worship (Acts 12:22-23; Acts 10:26); Angel worship (Revelation 22:9; Colossians 2:18); Idolatry (including graven images, relics, so-called “canonized saints” and even covetousness “which >s idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). And I have heard of something called “preacher worship” (1 Corinthians 1:11-13).

Five Ds in Worship
When worship is suggested to me I like to think of five words, each of which begins with the letter
D. We might call them “Five D’s of worship.”
1. God Desires our worship. “But the hour cometli, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father Seeketh Such to Worship Him” (John 4:23). What a scene to behold! Our Creator seeking the worship of his creatures. This picture is beautifully expressed in 1 Peter 3:12, “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers. This passage pictures a loving Father who is bending, leaning toward creatures in his image, inclined to hear the prayers, praise and devotion of his righteous children. Yes, “The Father seeketh such to worship him.”
2. God Deserves our worship. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (Psalms 24:1). Let us remember that “we are the Lord’s”’; we do not belong to ourselves. “What! Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and Ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Our Savior emphasized this truth when he said “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s: and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (1 Chronicles 16:29). “Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor” (Romans 13:7). Can you think of one to whom more tribute, honor and fear are due, than to our God?
3. God Demands our true worship. The Savior said, “. . . for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” It is the prerogative of the Creator to expect not only respect and obedience from his creaturs, but devoted worship, adoration and praise as well. It is also his right to stipulate the worship with which he is well pleased.
4. God describes our true worship. My friends, there are no new discoveries in Christianity. Anything that is more modern than the New Testament is too modern to save the soul. When men seek to “streamline” the gospel or the worship of the church, the only possible result is apostasy from the perfect pattern of inspired revelation. All worship should be attuned to the same key that governs acceptable prayer, “Nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). In our Savior’s memorable conversation with the woman at Jacob’s well, he announced the cardinal principles circumscribing our New Testament worship. “The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:19-24).

Congregational and Individual Worship
The Scriptures recognize two aspects of worship: congregational and individual. God has designated
each with distinct and significant appellations. The congregation is variously called by such names as, “the body of Christ,” “church of God,” “house of God,” or plurally “churches of Christ.” “And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26). “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf” (1 Peter 4:16). (It is significant to note parenthetically here that no inspired writer ever confused these names and applied the individual’s name “Christian” to any church body, nor the congregational appellation to an individual). A review of the letters to the seven churches of Asia enhances our appreciation of the fact that our Loving Heavenly Father inspects and evaluates an entire con-gregation in its collective capacity, and pronounces commendation or judgment accordingly. Yet, he never loses sight of the individual worshipper in the masses. Therefore, concerning our personal accountability we read, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).

Revelation 11:1 is beautifully suggestive of this thought. It reminds us that God has a standard by which he measures not only the church (temple of God) but also the worship (altar) and the worshippers therein. “And there was given unto me a reed like unto a rod, and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship." As we review the inspired description of approved worship “in spirit and in truth,” let us think of each overt act of worship as a “medium” through which man’s spirit expresses unto God the veneration which is so justly due unto him. I love to think then of the “media of worship” in preference to “items of worship.” Webster defines “medium” as “that through or by which anything is accomplished, conveyed, or carried on; an intermediate means or channel.” We worship One God through One Mediator by Five Media or Channels of true worship on the Lord’s Day. In order to make our study as inclusive in its scope as possible, let us envision the Lord’s day worship of the church. It includes all the overt acts that a scriptural worship might include. A mid-week assembly certainly would include less, but no more.

It is generally conceded that the worship of the church of Christ is safe and scriptural. Even our religious friends and critics do not question the scripturalness of the things we do in worship. We have all to geain and nothing to lose by endeavoring to find a scrintural command or example for everything we fulfill in our devotions to God.

Acts 2:42 has been a guiding light in our worship. The Jerusalem church is described in these words, “And they continued steadfastly 'in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Behold, therefore, dear friends, a resume of the worship with which God 13 well pleased. In our assemblies we pray. The early church prayed “steadfastly,” “continually,” “without ceasing.” “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all god-liness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). “I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray wiht the understanding also . ." (1 Corinthians 14:15). The Bible abounds in instructions about prayer. In our worship we give money. In this phase of Christian fellowship, we should give: Regularly: “Upon the first day of the week . . . ,” Individually: “let every one of you lay by him in store,” Proportionately: “as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come” (1 Corinthians 16:2). Purposefully: “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give”; Cheerfully: “not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). We should give Bountifully: “But this I say, he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6) ; Willingly: “For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; praying us with much entreaty that we should receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints” (2 Corinthians 8:3-4) ; “Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have” (2 Corinthians 8:11). And we must give Sincerely: “I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love” (2 Corinthians 8:8). In our true worship we sing praises to God without the innovation or interference of mechanical instruments of music. We have no authority for more than singing. Listen to the beautiful array of scriptural thought relative to the praise of God in the New Testament church. At the conclusion of the institution of the Lord’s Supper, “And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives” (Matthew 26:30). In the prison scene in Philippi, “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them” (Acts 16:25). “. . . For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name” (Romans 15:9). “What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the understanding also” (1 Corinthians 14:15).

“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16). “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name” (Hebrews 13:15). “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms” (James 5:13).

If we worship God “by faith” today, this is all we can afford to do in our praise service. In promising the Messiah, Jehovah declared in Deuteronomy 18:18-19, “I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” This prophecy was quoted in the powerful sermon of Peter recorded in Acts 3:22-23. It was reiterated on the Mount of Transfiguration when the voice out of the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” (Matthew 17:5).

Jesus made adequate provisions for the preservation of “his words.” Among the assurances he gave con-cerning the coming of the Holy Spirit to his apostles, he said, “He shall guide you into all truth,” “He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you,” “He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall bear, that shall he speak,” “He shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John chapters 14 and 16). We have, therefore, beloved, in the New Testament, all the words which the Father gave to his Son, the new prophet, and thence to us, by the revelation of the Holy Spirit. We cannot safely go “beyond that which is written.” We cannot worship God “by faith” and bring into the worship that which he has not authorized! In our worship we commune with Christ in the Lord’s Supper. “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight” (Acts 20:7). “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16). In 1 Corinthians 11:20-30 the Holy Spirit reveals both the worthy and unworthy manner in which this communion can be observed.

Behold, the sower who goes forth to sow. Soon afterwards, we envision a field of shimmering grain, waving in the breeze. Then a gigantic machine comes forth to cut it down in its prime and beauty. Then it is threshed, whipped, beaten and scourged; finally it is rolled, crushed until a life indentity is lost. After being put in the intensity of heat, it comes out a pale, helpless bit of bread of which we partake in “memory of him.” How fitting is this monument to the one who was “bruised for our iniquities.” He was beaten and scourged. “Who shall declare his generation, for his life is cut off from the earth?”

Go with me to yonder vineyard. Behold the luscious fruitage of the vine. In its most beautiful appearance, bunches are plucked from the vine; they are carried to a winepress where they are crushd, squeezed until the very fruit of the vine exudes from the broken body of the grapes. That which comes forth beautifully symbolizes the “blood and water” which flowed from the riven side of Jesus (John 19:34). “This do in remembrance of me.” Can you think of a monument more universally understood? As long as the law of seed time and harvest, the seasons of endless procession continue, and as remote as human beings may be from civilization, this language can be understood, and this monument to the sufferings of Jesus can be perpetuated . It is not subject to the desolations of war, the corroding influences of time, nor the decay and degredation of temporal things. In our true worship we listen to God as his word Is expounded. We meditate upon things divine. Such were the divine media of worshipping Cod during the “Old Paths” of primitive New Testament worship.

5. God denounces all false or vain worship. “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, this people draweth nigh unto me wHh their mouth, and hororeth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:7-9). We necessarily conclude, therefore, that any worship unto the true God, dictated by any doctrine or commandment of man, constitutes vain and empty worship. Does your worship, friend, measure up to the standard of truth? The church of Christ occupies a unique and singular position in the religious world. So far as I know it is the only religious body in this city which worships God without the distinctive legislation of any manmade, human creed to govern its worship, or become a rule of faith, fellowship or distinction.

I regret deeply that occasionally someone or some small group within the church seeks to impose a fana-tical, self-invented creed, or fabricate an unwritten test of fellowship upon the church. However, we must not judge an honorable majority by a disreputable few. Such rare exceptions in no way reflect truly the church of Christ nor its plea for a return to the Old Paths. All human creeds are designed for destruction in the great conflagration that shall consume all things at the end of time. “. . . the earth also and thp works therein shad be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). Jesus said, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). A humanly fabricated will-worship is pictured in Colossians 2. “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy-day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: what are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind” (vs. 16-18). Then verses 20-23 declare, “Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not, taste not; handle not; which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh.” In the King James Version just read, we can concur that the passage is a bit obscure. For clarification, I call your attention to the rendition of Conybeare in his “Life and Epistles of Paul,” Vol. 2, page 390, “If then when you died with Christ, you put away the childish lessons of outward things, why, as though you still lived in outward things, do you submit yourselves to decrees (hold not, taste not, touch not—forbidding the use of things which are all made to be consumed in the using) founded on the precepts and doctrines of men? For these precepts, though they have a show of wisdom, in a self-chosen worship, and in humiliation, and chastening of the body, are of no value to check the indulgence of fleshly passions.” Here then is the inspired condemnation of selfchosen or will-worship. Mechanical instruments of music were “self-chosen” by Roman Catholic authorities first in 606 A. D. during the papal reign of Pope Vitalian I. Schism threatened the Papacy as a result, and they were temporarily abandoned. Later they were self-chosen again and have remained until now.

All Protestant denominations that were swept into this tide in subsequent years embraced the same selfchosen innovations—most of them over the strenuous protest of their cherished founders and reformers. Every vestige of modern worship, for which there is not New Testament authority, comes under this heading of “self-chosen” worship.

Veils That Blind the Heart
It is unreasonable to assume that Christ would direct our adoration to the one true and living God, yet leave us groping in darkness as to how to worship him acceptably. We must choose the true God out of “gods many and lords many.” Likewise, we must choose the true worship out of the many forms of vain, traditional, empty worship of men.

Most Jewish people worship the true God, but reject Christ, our one mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5). We deplore that unbelief. Most protestant denominations also lament this rejection of Christ. In profession they seek to worship God and also accept Christ. However, a veil has blinded their hearts, as Paul pictures over the minds of many Jews: “And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: but their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:13-16). As the orthodox Jew can see God in his worship, but cannot see his Son; so, the denominationalist can see God, and Christ in his worship, but a veil just as real has blinded his mind to the authority of Christ. Therefore, he rejects the ordinances and commandments of Jesus, imposes his own standard of worship, and by means of self-chosen rituals, worship God “in vain.” In the momentous prophecy of Daniel, as he pictures the ten horns out of the Roman Kingdom, he declares, “. . . and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given ’into his hands until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Because he expresses it so fully, I choose to quote here from Adam Clarke’s Commentary, the remarks on this passage. “To none can this apply so well or so fully as to the Popes of Rome. They have assumed infallibility, which belongs only to God. They profess to forgive sins, which belongs only to God. They profess to open and shut heaven, which belongs only to God. They profess to be higher than all the kings of the earth, which belongs only to God. And they go beyond God in pretending to loose whole nations from their oath of allegiance to their kings, when such kings do not please them! And they go against God when they give indulgences for sin. This is the worst of all blasphemies.”

“ ‘And shall wear out the saints’—By wars, crusades, massacres, inquisitions and persecutions of all kinds. What in this way have they not done against all those who have protested their innovations, and refused to submit to their idolatrous worship? Witness the ex-terminating crusades published against the Waldenses and Albigenses. Witness John Huss, and Jerome of Prague. Witness the Smithfield fires in England! Witness God and man against this bloody, persecuting, ruthless and impure church!”

“ ’And think to change times and laws. Appointing fasts and feasts; canonizing persons whom he chooses to call saints; granting pardons and indulgences for sins; instituting new modes of worship utterly unknown to the Christian church; new articles of faith; new rules of practice; and reversing, with pleasure, the laws both of God and man.” The foregoing, my friends, is but a prophetic and historical sample of the apostasies which have multiplied to fasten upon the unsuspecting world the chaotic worship which we now behold in a divided religious world.

We find no place for special days and seasons in the Old Paths of true worship. There is no Easter Sunday, no Thanksgiving Monday, nor Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday nor Preparation Saturday in God’s worship (See Colossians 2:16).

Preparation For Worship
We speak of the scriptural antecedents of baptism, the qualifications of elders, deacons, etc. We know that certain definite steps of obedience are necessary in becoming a child of God. May we not appropriately ask, “Who is prepared to approach God in worship?” “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart” (Psalms 15:1-2).

There are definite hindrances to the true spirit of worship. Saturday night hilarity incapacitates one for consecrated meditation on the Lord’s day. Social late hours, lodge meetings, dissipation, with the consequent mental and physical fatigue deprive the soul of spiritual service on Sunday. Other hindrances include: nursing a grudge against a brother, the desire to be seen of men, hypocrites in the church, habitual Sunday headaches which usually disappear by Monday morning, distinguished visitors in the home, a precious new baby, etc.

Even after assembling, people are often hindered in worship by chewing gum, manicuring finger nails, thumbing song books, writing notes, allowing children uncontrolled to disturb, coming in unnnecessarily late and marching to the front, powdering faces, day dreaming, etc. The wandering eye, the empty gaze, the worried countenance, the pre-occupied look, the attitude of disgust, the superficial, hyper-critical stare and the jocularity too often expressed, all declare that while we may honor God with the lips, our hearts can be far from him.

Equally as vital to spiritual reverence are the qualities of soul culture and spiritual self-discipline to “prepare our hearts unto the Lord.” We must worship “the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (Psalms 96:9). To be prepared for acceptable worship, one must first become a Christian. “The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous . . .” (1 Peter 3:12). Obedience to the gospel initiates you into the family of God, and as a righteous child of the heavenly Father, you can worship acceptably. “Whosoever turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination” (Proverbs 28:9). One who rejects the law of Jehovah is neither prepared in heart to worship nor to pray.

We must cultivate the right attitude of heart. True worship should be the overflow of our love, adoration, devotion, praise and thanksgiving. “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?” (Psalms 116:12). “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Psalms 122:1).

Humility, poverty of spirit are the springs out of which reverential worship flow. Salaried choirs, frescoed galleries, fastidious preachers and gaudy ceremony accompanied by their attendant pride, vanity and hypocrisy were no part of the ancient spirit of worship. When fashion enters worship, simplicity and humility depart. Warm Christian fellowship thrive in the deep-freeze of ostentation, sham or pretense.

Attempted reconciliation with brethren is indispen- sible to preparation in worship. “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).

We must separate ourselves from the world and worldly things (2 Corinthians 6:14; 2 Corinthians 7:1). There must be a removal of iniquity, pride and all evil desires, surmis- ings, etc. Isaiah 1:10-18 is beautifully suggestive of the challenge to cleanse ourselves inwardly, before we attempt to worship God. In this passage we find these words, “Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an obomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will, not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean: Put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes: Cease to do evil.”

Personal Blessings of Worship
There is an unvarying law of life that decrees that a man'has a tendency to grow into what he believes himself to be, and into a likeness of that which he venerates. There are unmistakable evidences that the evolutionist actually becomes what he teaches himself to be, nothing more than a brute with neither feeling nor conscience; neither moral nature nor divine re-sponsibility. In true worship, we assimilate into our spiritual nature the likeness of him whom we honor. As Peter expresses it, “That by these ye might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). Another translation reads, “. . . That ye might become sharers in the very nature of God.” Actually by means of faithful worship we fulfill the beautiful challenge of 2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with open face, beholding as in a glass (mirror) the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Several years ago, one of England’s leading actors and dramatic readers was delighting a group of voyagers with select readings. An aged minister arose to request, “Could you, sir, recite to us the beautiful Twenty-Third Psalm?” After a moment’s pause, the actor said, ”1 can, sir, and I will upon one condition; and that is that after I have recited it, you, my friend, will do the same.” It was agreed.

Impressively, the artist began the Shepherd Psalm. His voice and intonations were perfect. His inflections were sublime. He held his audience spellbound; and, as he finished, great bursts of applause came from the guests. The aged preacher arose in a “manner grandly awkward, and with a countenance grotesque,” slowly, feebly he quoted this beautiful chapter. No sound of applause came forth, but instead, people, in-cluding the dramatic artist, dried tears with their handkerchiefs as their heads and hearts were bowed in revential awe. The actor faced the audience again, and with uncontrollable emotion, and quivering voice, he laid his gentle hand upon the shoulder of the veteran preacher, and said to the group assembled, “I have reached your eyes and ears, my friends; this man has reached your hearts. The difference is this: for years I have known the Twenty-third Psalm, but my friend here knows the Shepherd.”

If you would begin or renew a life of sweet com-panionship with the Good Shepherd, then come while together we unite in the invitation hymn.