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A RESPONSE TO WILLIAM TEMPLE'S DESCRIPTION OF WORSHIP
A Paper Presented to the Music Ministry Department School of Church Music Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Fort Worth, Texas In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course Worship (SWBTS 3403) by Michael Mays September, 2003 |
1. "To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God."
The true worship of God is always preceded by a revelation of His Person and, subsequently, His holiness (Isaiah 6:1), and so long as we inhabit sinful bodies, His holiness will always remind us of our fallen nature (Is. 6:5). Before we can expect to worship God, we must some idea who He is. We are to come to Him in an attitude of sacrifice, giving of the "firstborn of [our] flock and of their fat." We do this because we owe it to Him.
2. "To worship is to feed the mind the truth of God."
I see the truth of this comment pertaining more to benefits to the specific worship act of proclamation than some intentional, active service by individual worshipers. Worship is not primarily for our benefit, but we do profit from it in spiritual ways-- including the reception of the truth of God--when we have come into worship with a heart open and receptive to His voice and His word. This is His gift to us, not a "payoff" for our sacrifice of praise.
3. "To worship is to purge the imagination by the beauty of God."
As the time between worship meetings progresses, our immersion in the world takes its toll on our spiritual strengths (especially if we deprive ourselves of the benefits of His Word), and we find it necessary to "recalibrate" our sensitivities to what are hearts really crave (Romans 12:1). When we come into true worship, we are revived by the beauty of Christ, restored by the unsurpassable grace of the Father, and refreshed by the matchless comfort of the Holy Spirit. This corrects our focus from the distractions of the mundane and worldly to the more significant, substantive issues of the heavenly.
4. "To worship is to open the heart to the love of God."
Our hearts were made specifically to be inhabited by our Lord. No other pursuit will satisfy the built-in need for a relationship with God, and no other relationship can be as fulfilling. Worship in the typical (that is, corporate) context will yield only a reflection of His love as we praise and worship Him; it is, after all, our time and place to "perform" for His sake. It is in private worship--prayer and meditation on the Word--that we really experience His love and grace.
This is not to say that we need not experience God's grace and love in a public worship service. On the contrary, God's mercies are often manifest in His people and in proclamation of His Word, so I do not mean to suggest that the worship service is--or even should be--one-way, or that God will not meet us with his blessed presence. But worship as a lifestyle (as opposed to an event) will be what really gives opportunity to re-immerse ourselves in His love and beauty.
5. "To worship is to devote the will to the purpose of God."
We understand worship to mean "the subjugation of one's will to another." When we come to God in true worship, we are availing ourselves for His service and plans. If we truly believe He is worth worshiping, then we understand the significance (or perhaps better said, "place") we have with respect to His will: we are His tools, His vessels, by which He supplies His love and mercy to this fallen world. Coincidentally, those unwilling to be available to the will of God demonstrate are typically the ones who complain most about the "style" of worship. In its own way, this is an admission that they are really not interested in communing with God, but being entertained.