Worship – Focus

Bill van Schie. Trowel & Sword. February 2003

Preamble: Attending a church service would appear to most to be a simple process. You walk in, go to the same seat you have been sitting in, perhaps for years, and perhaps even “gently” admonish someone who has had the temerity to “inadvertently” sit in “your seat”. You sing some songs, listen (or not) while the minister recites one or more prayers, perhaps drop a few coins, or notes into the collection bag as it is passed around, settle in for a half hour sermon (lecture?), and wait patiently for the final “amen” which is usually an indication that the service is coming to an end. If engaged by the sermon you may listen intently and maybe even remark to a few other attendees that it was a “good sermon”. If not some will find other ways to occupy their minds; a favourite method being to scroll through their mobile phones. If any of this sounds familiar, the next few articles in TSR may be for you as Bill van Schie takes us through some of the fundamentals of what a church service should look like. We humbly suggest that there may also be some ministers in our churches who would also benefit from a reminder of why they are there.

Worship – Focus

One of the good things about writing a regular column in a magazine such as this, that it gives us the opportunity to enter into dialogue with others. We have the opportunity to wrestle together on the basis of the Word of God.

During the past months a number of people have written in and have questioned the concept that worship has “an audience of one” that is God alone. Some have emphasised that the worship service is primarily God speaking to us and that we are the audience. Whereas others have emphasised that we come to church “to be taught in the word”, that we are an audience of students.

This raises a very important question. What should be our primary focus in corporate worship? The answer to this question is significant because it can determine what blessings we receive from the Lord in the worship service. Again, let us not base our examination on what we are used to, not even our human customs and traditions. Let us go back to the Word of God. When the Word of God uses the word “worship” what does it mean?

The Hebrew word in the Old Testament most commonly used to describe worship is “Shachah”. This word means “to worship, to prostrate oneself, to bow down.” The fact that it is found more than 170 times in the Hebrew Bible shows something of its cultural significance.

The act of bowing down in homage is generally done before a superior or a ruler. Shachah is used as the common term for coming before God in worship, as in (1 Sam. 15:25) and (Jer. 7:2). Sometimes it is in conjunction with another Hebrew verb for bowing down physically, followed by “worship,” as in (Exod. 34:8): “And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.” (from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)

The Greek word in the New Testament most commonly used to describe worship is “proskuneo.” This word means “to make obeisance, do reverence to” (from pros, “towards,” and kuneo, “to kiss”), is the most frequent word rendered “to worship”(sic). It is used of an act of homage or reverence (a) to God, e. g., (Matt. 4:10; John 4:21-24; 1 Cor. 14:25; Rev. 4:10; 5:14; 7:11; 11:16; 19:10) (2nd part) and (22:9); (b) to Christ, e. g., (Matt. 2:2,8, 11; 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 20:20; 28:9,17; John 9:38; Heb. 1:6)

These and many other words are used throughout Scripture to describe the activity of worship. Although they each emphasise different aspects of worship the one common denominator in all these words is the fact that true corporate worship is always God focussed. It is a humbling of sinful self in confession and reverence before a holy God. It is coming into his presence bringing him honour, glory and praise for who He is and what he has done and will do. It is a coming before God and serving Him as the pre-eminent one.

The focus of the concept of “worship” in Scripture is never the worshipper’s mind, feelings, will or in any other way, that would be idolatry. The focus of true worship in Scripture is always the Lord alone. True worship in Scripture has an audience, a focus, of one!

Our English word worship reflects this very value. “Worship” means “to proclaim the worth of a greater person”. To adore, to revere and honour, to venerate”. Again the focus of the word in English is not the worshipper in any way but the one being worshipped.

The Reformers understood that God is the primary focus of our worship. Calvin emphasised that “the object of our worship is God alone.” (Institutes 2.8.1 & 1.12T). Ursinus commenting on Lord’s day 38 states that the Sabbath day has been given primarily so “God may be publicly praised and worshipped in the world”.

The Reformers following the Biblical teaching that worship must be God focussed realised a very important principal. That it is in worshipping and being focussed on God alone that God’s people are blessed. To focus on God’s people as students who come to learn, or to focus on people who come to be satisfied with new experiences means that we can actually detract from God’s blessing and even dabble in areas of idolatry.

It is an awesome concept, and it is an amazing reality, that God calls us into his presence to focus wholly on him and that in that focus we are amazingly blessed as our almighty God actually connects with us.

But you may ask, What about those aspects in the worship service where we receive and we learn? Is that not worship as well? How does the dialogue principle fit into this definition of worship? Well more about this next time. (ie. next week. ed.)

Bill van Schie.

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