03.16. The Touchstone of Acceptable Worship

16. The Touchstone of Acceptable Worship My reader is probably a regular church-goer, and one who desires to go there, not merely for form’s sake, but to get a real blessing to his soul. I propose then to make three inquiries:

What should we go to the House of God for?

What should we bring with us in going there? And what should we endeavor to carry away? The First of these will occupy the present chapter — and of the other Two I shall speak in my next chapter.

What then should we go to the House of God for? I answer, for a twofold purpose; namely, to speak to God, and to hear His message to us. We should speak to Him in Prayer — and we should listen to the word which He sends us by the mouth of His Ministers. In speaking to God, what should be the nature of our communication with Him?

Confession is a leading feature in it. We should come before God in deep humility and self-abasement, placing ourselves as penitents at His footstool. It is true, He knows our sins better than we know them ourselves — still it befits us, in our approaches to Him, to begin by confessing all that is wrong in us, and by acknowledging our unworthiness in His sight.

Such was the attitude of the Publican in the Temple. Such was the manner in which the repenting Prodigal drew near to his Father. And you will observe that our Church thus prepares her worshipers to enter upon their work. She brings before us a string of Texts, every one of which is of a penitential character; and then bids us kneel down and join in a General Confession, telling God that like lost sheep we are ever erring and straying from the path marked out for us.

Another feature — perhaps the principal feature — in our communication with God is Petition, or Entreaty. We ask for something. Most of the Prayers which we put up are so many petitions from needy souls to Him who is the great and gracious Giver. In the Litany, for instance, we ask directly for something in every clause — our petitions being not merely for ourselves, but for others also. Indeed the very word ’Litany’ means Supplicatory Prayer. And have we not much to ask, when we come into God’s presence? Should we not come as suppliants, lifting up our earnest cries for the pardon which we so much need, and for the supplies which we are continually requiring?

Then another important and delightful feature in our communication with God is Praise. We go into His House to thank Him for His goodness to us. And for this purpose we repeat large portions of the Psalms. What are many of those Psalms — but beautiful songs of praise, which express our thankfulness better than we can express it in our own words? The Creeds too, which are somewhat dry in themselves, may be repeated in this spirit of Praise, as a declaration of our thankful belief in what God is, and in what He has done for us. To this may be added the singing of those Hymns of Praise, in which our hearts find vent for their holy joy; and also that beautiful Prayer towards the close of our service, which expresses our thankfulness for all the ordinary blessings of this life, but above all for God’s inestimable love in the great work of our redemption. But I pass on to yet another feature in our communication with God, which I can only describe by the word Worship.

Now, this word is commonly used to signify Prayer generally; and thus we call our service, ’Public Worship.’ But I wish now to use the word in its more restricted sense. By the term ’Worship’ I wish to describe something apart and distinct from Confession, or Petition, or Praise — something different from either. The old English word was originally ’Worthship,’ signifying the honor given to worth. It was formerly used in reference to men, as well as God. Thus in Wickliffe’s Translation of the Bible, the Fifth Commandment ran thus; ’Worship your Father and Mother;’ that is, Honor them. Also in certain passages of the Bible, as in Daniel, where it is said that ’the king worshiped Daniel.’ Daniel 2:46. To worship God then is to pay an act of homage to Him, such as a Servant would pay to his Lord, or a Subject to his Sovereign. In our ordinary Prayers, we ask God for something — we expect something from Him — we pour out the heart, with all its felt necessities, trials, and needs, before Him. But in the act of Worship there is the idea not so much of benefit to ourselves, as of glory to God.

It is something more too than Adoration. Adoration is the lifting up of the heart in silence; but when we express this in earnest words, that is Worship in the truest sense — when we bow before the Lord, and pour forth the reverential feelings of our hearts. When Solomon reared the Temple of old, his design in all its magnificence and grandeur, was to show forth the honor due to God. The Prayers, and the gorgeous Ceremonies, and the immense and costly Offerings, the clouds of Incense, the flood of Music poured forth on that occasion — were all to express the honor, and glory, and praise of God. But we, in these days, come before God with a much simpler ritual, and with less costly ceremonies. But still, direct Worship is a part of our service. We worship Him whom our hearts adore, and whom the very saints in Heaven worship also.

Let us take the Lord’s Prayer as an instance of what I am saying. Analyze that glorious Prayer, and you will find that much of it is simply Worship. The main idea pervading it, is the honor and glory of God. We place ourselves before Him as our Father, and we at once perform an act of Worship, exclaiming, ’Hallowed be your name. May your kingdom come. May your will be done, so that earth may be like Heaven.’ And then, after three Petitions — one for daily food, another for daily pardon, and a third for daily preservation from evil — we close with the words, ’Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever!’ The ’Te Deum’ too is a Hymn of Worship. There are here and there direct Petitions in it, and expressions of Praise; but the great body of it is strictly speaking Worship. We declare our admiration of God — we acknowledge Him to be the Lord. ’To you Cherubim and Seraphim continually cry: Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty!’ ’Day by day we magnify you, and we worship your name, ever world without end.’

Again, towards the close of the ’Litany’ we exclaim, ’O God, we have heard with our ears, and our fathers have declared unto us the noble works that you did in their days, and in the old time before them!’ Observe, there is not a word here of Petition or Supplication — nothing is asked for; it is simple Worship. We express our adoring sense of what God has done, and is still doing, for us. And once more, in the Communion Service we also worship God in the strictest sense, when we say, ’With Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of Heaven, we laud and magnify your glorious name, saying, Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty — Heaven and earth are full of your glory! Glory to you, O God, most high.’ And again, ’We praise you, we bless you, we worship you — for you only are holy — you only are the Lord — you only, O Christ, are most high in the glory of God the Father.’

I lay stress upon these particular acts of Worship, because I think it is well that, when we come here, we should feel that it is not merely to ask something from God — not merely under the pressure of our needs — -but that we come to honor Him, to do Him homage, to glorify Him, to give Him the only thing we can give Him — the offerings of our lips. But it may be said with regard to Public Worship generally, and indeed all our services, ’How little can a poor sinner honor God!’ This is true. But we must give Him what we are able to give, and what we know He will mercifully accept. In Isaiah’s day the Jews brought the burnt offerings and their sacrifices; and the Lord was ever ready to accept them at their hands. Our sacrifices are those of Prayer, and Praise, and adoring Worship — and these He is graciously pleased to accept, if we place them on Christ’s Altar, pleading His atonement. Yes, God loves to receive these offerings of our hearts — they are a sacrifice and a sweet-smelling savor to Him.

Such then are the component parts of our Public Services, so far as our Addresses to God are concerned. But there is another object for which we go to the House of God, and one of no small importance — and that is to receive the messages which He is pleased to send us. Christ employs Ministers as His Ambassadors. They come to us in God’s name. They speak to us for Him. They preach Christ to us. They tell us of His love, and of His all-sufficiency to save. They speak of Him as the Friend of our souls — as the living, loving one, in whose shelter there is safety, and in whose bosom there is a resting-place of repose and peace.

If we undervalue this part of the Service, we are depreciating that Ordinance which God has appointed as the great means of bringing men to Himself — for it has pleased Him by the foolishness of preaching, not merely to benefit, but to save those who believe. This however I would say, That as important as preaching is, it is not, as some would seem to think, everything, or even the most important part of the service of the Sanctuary. Our Church reminds her children, more than any other Church does, that they are worshipers, and that Prayer is the leading feature in our Christian Assemblies.

Many of our brethren who belong to other Churches fall into the error of regarding the Sermon as the one great and absorbing feature in their religious gatherings. With them the Sermon is everything, and Prayer is a secondary object. This is clearly a mistake. For the chief errand on which we come here is to pray. The House of God is not merely a ’Place of Hearing’ — but a ’House of Prayer.’

Let me now offer you two or three affectionate words of counsel.

Attend the House of God — not sometimes but always — not spasmodically but regularly. Your soul will starve if it is not periodically nourished by those appointed means of grace which God has in mercy provided for you. People frequently neglect the assembling of themselves together, on the plea that they can be just as much benefitted by reading and praying at home. But has not the Lord promised a blessing, and His own special presence — when we are gathered in His name? And dare we choose another method of our own? Would we not thus be dishonoring God?

Suppose a Friend of ours were to die, we might perhaps spend our time profitably by shutting ourselves up, and refusing to honor his memory by our presence at his funeral. Or, if some great Person were to be passing along the street, we might feel as much respect, and derive more profit to ourselves, by remaining at home, and refusing to join the throng which goes out to do him honor. But this would be but a poor way of showing either that we truly lament the dead — or really honor the living. And after all, the question, What will it profit me? is not the question on which God would have our religious duties turn — but, How shall I bring glory to Him, and live as His faithful and true servant?

Never go to the Sanctuary with itching ears in the hope of hearing something new, something that will please and excite you — but go there to pray and draw near to God. Go there to place yourself in the very presence of God — to praise Him, to adore Him, to worship Him. And remember that your bearing in the House of God has its influence on others. The conduct of one really devout and earnest person will have a blessed effect on the worshipers around him. It will tend to make others devout and earnest also.

Lastly, be very watchful. Indeed I know nothing which needs more close watchfulness than our church-going.

God is there to bless us. He stands with open hands, offering us His bounteous gifts. Christ is in the midst of our assemblies, as the great Intercessor, ready to intercede for us, to carry the prayers and praises from our poor lips to His Father’s ear, and adding the priceless value of His own merits to our feeble cries!

Ah, but there is another present, watching every avenue by which he may dart into our minds some worldly, trifling thought; bent upon spoiling our devotions, and robbing us of that comfort and peace which God promises to the true worshiper. Before you go then, and while there, ’Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation;’ for though the spirit may be willing, the flesh is miserably weak. May God ever bless to you the Services of His Church; and especially that richest and best of all, in which we commemorate the dying love of our blessed Lord. May you ever find in that sacred ordinance the comfort, the strength, and the refreshment which you long for! May it be a time to you of refreshing from the presence of the Lord — so that as you return from it you may be able to say, ’I sat under his banner with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting-house, and his banner over me was love!’