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Reverence and Solemnity: Essential Aspects of Biblical Worship, part 6 of 8
Biblical requirements of regeneration and uprightness limit who is to be set up
as an example in public worship.
Pastors, song leaders, choir members, and all others involved in any
leadership capacity in the corporate worship of the holy Trinity must be
regenerate and holy people, as both the song writers and worship leaders in the
psalter were godly men such as David and Asaph. Vocal or musical skill is certainly
valuable—to “play skilfully”[1] is a command alongside of
“sing” (Ps 33:3; cf. 1 Chr 15:22; 2 Chr 34:12)[2]—but it is by no means
sufficient. Holy and skilled men—not
merely skilled men—are to lead the congregation of the saints in their worship.[3]
psalms were written by “holy men of God” (2 Pet 1:21). Does this fact teach the church that she
should not sing hymns composed by unregenerate and wicked men, any more than
churches should have the sermons of such men read from their pulpits? David Cloud notes:
contemporary worship musicians are radically ecumenical and the vast majority
are charismatic in theology. . . . All are enemies of a separatist Biblicist
stance. . . . Contemporary Christian Music is a jungle of end-time apostasy . .
. led by “another spirit” (2 Cor. 11:4). . . . There is something deeply and
inherently wrong with music that is comfortable in the midst of the most wretched
heresy and apostasy. And that is exactly
where Contemporary Christian Worship is most at home. (pgs. 1-2, Directory of Contemporary Worship Musicians,
David Cloud. Port Huron, MI: Way of Life, 2014)
done skillfully, it ought not to be done at all. In any case, congregational singing in the
church—which is far easier to justify from the commands of Scripture than
having one or a few sing and the rest listen—is at the very least equally “special
music” to such solos, duets, and choral singing. Indeed, in light of the ease with which one
can fail to personally offer the words of such music to the Lord while
listening to it, the argument can with much greater ease be made that
congregational song is definitively more special than “special music.” Simply playing music without words in
worship, even if the sound itself meets Biblical criteria, cannot be justified
in the assemblies of the Lord—none of the psalms, and nothing else in
Scripture, provides warrant for instrumentation without words in the worship of
God (short musical interludes between sections of a song with words being a
justifiable exception with exegetical support from the signification of Selah, [LXX, diapsalma, “musical interlude” (LSJ)] Ps 3, 4, 7, 9, etc.)
important to note that the singing of solos in the church of God is a recent
practice popularized by D. L. Moody’s associate Mr. Sankey:
quite a new thing . . . The words are plain and pleasant, but nothing
extraordinary; often not to be compared
to those of our well-known church hymns.
The music is generally pretty and pleasant, but little more” (pgs.
475-476, A Century of Gospel-Work: A History of the Growth of Evangelical
Religion in the United States, W. F. P. Noble. [Philadelphia, PA: H. C. Watts, 1876])
without opposition; for example, the great Southern theologian R. L. Dabney,
discussing both the newness of solo singing in the evangelical church and the
reduction in theological content in Sankey, noted:
Sankey, “singing the gospel.” The Jewish temple service had its chief singer.
It will be a curious result if [Moody and Sankey’s] modern movement should
develop this function into a new and prominent branch of the ministry
unauthorized by the New Testament. Singing is unquestionably a scriptural means
of grace, and good singing is a very efficient one. But in order that the
church may retain the blessing of good singing, the privilege which Mr. Sankey
and his imitators claim, of importing their own lyrics into God’s worship, must
be closely watched. . . . The most that can be said of Mr. Sankey’s developments
. . . is . . . that they exhibit no worse traits than a marked inferiority of
matter and style to the established hymnals of the leading churches. The most
danger thus far apparent is that of habituating the taste of Christians to a
very vapid species of pious doggerel, containing the most diluted possible
traces of saving truth, in portions suitable to the most infantile faculties
supplemented with a jingle of “vain repetitions.” What shall we gain by giving
our people these ephemeral rhymes in place of the immortal lyrics of Moses,
David, Isaiah, Watts, and Cowper, so grand in their rhythm and melody, so pure
in taste, and above all, so freighted with compact and luminous truth? “The old
wine is better.” (Pgs. 94-95, Discussions
by Robert Lewis Dabney: Evangelical, Robert L. Dabney, ed. C. R. Vaughan,
vol. 2. [Richmond, VA: Presbyterian
Committee of Publication, 1891].)
culture or to men’s desires, but is to be distinctly different, set apart, or
holy.[4] Believers must regulate their praise by
Scripture alone (Deut 12:32) and recognize that “strange fire” in worship is
everything “which He commanded . . . not” (Lev 10:1)—whatever is not commanded
in worship is forbidden.[5] The Lord warns His people not to be snared
into looking at what the wicked do, and then saying, “even so will I do
likewise” (Deut 12:30) in worship. On
the contrary, Scriptural worship is to be distinctly set apart and different
from that of heathen, unbelieving culture.
Consequently, the “contemporary worship” philosophy—which is nothing
less than taking the sound and style of this world system, which is under the
control of Satan (Eph 2:1-3), and offering it to God—is an abomination in His
holy sight. Musical styles created by
the world to glorify the devil, lust, and every sort of wickedness—such as rock,
jazz, blues, country-western, pop, and rap[6]—can
by no means be acceptable to that holy King who demands purity, solemnity, and
reverence in His worship. True church
growth does not come by offering the Head of the church false worship, nor by
turning the Father’s house into a house of merchandise through marketing and
promotion techniques (Jn 2:16), but through the miraculous power of the Holy
Spirit working through the Word as unified, holy, self-sacrificial disciples
boldly preach the gospel to every creature.
Consequently, pleasing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so that
heavenly fire and supernatural efficacy attend the proclamation of the gospel,
will lead to far more genuine church growth than will blaspheming the Father
and grieving the Spirit through false worship and man-made marketing
techniques. Godly music will drive
demons away and please the Holy Spirit, while ungodly music will summon demons
and cause God the Holy Ghost to depart (1 Sam 16:23; cf. 1 Chr 25:3). Do you regulate your worship by Scripture
alone, and consequently reject all worldly and fleshly worship?
This entire study can be accessed here.
NG´…gÅnŒ …wby¶IfyEh, “Do well in playing a stringed instrument.”
It
is noteworthy that the specific commands for skill are for those leading in
singing (1 Chr 15:22) and those playing instruments (2 Chr 34:12; Ps
33:3). In congregational song every
person is to sing, whether he has a good voice and vocal talent or not.
What
place, then, can unconverted and ungodly children have in a “children’s choir”
that is set before the church? How can
those who are not holy because they are yet unconverted—and who are not skilled
because they are children—lead the church in worship? Such children may be cute and funny as they
sing out of tune, and having them sing before the congregation may get parents
who themselves hate the Lord Jesus but care about their children to visit
services. But are cuteness and funniness
a substitute for obedience to the regulations of worship set forth by the holy
Head of the church?
After
all, the root idea of the sanctify/holy
(vdq/a‚gioß) word groups in the Old and New Testaments is to be set apart, to be distinctly different.
That
is, the Regulative Principle of worship, concerning which see
http://faithsaves.net/ecclesiology.
Musicians, marketers, and students of
these types of music know that their songs are ungodly and against Jesus Christ
and the Bible. Rock stars and those who
study such music openly declare that its goal is “to change one set of values
to another … free minds … free dope … free bodies … free music” (The Rolling Stone Interviews,
1971). “Rock music . . . is
anti-religious, anti-nationalistic and anti-morality” (John Lennon). “‘Rock-and-roll,’ itself a blues-music term
for sex, suggested rebellion and abandon as much as it did a new style of music
when it first jarred adult sensibilities in the 1950s” (U.S. News & World Report, October 28, 1985). “If any music has been guilty by association,
it is rock music. It would be impossible to make a complete list, but here are
a few of the ‘associates’ of rock: drug addicts, revolutionaries, rioters,
Satan worshippers, drop-outs, draft-dodgers, homosexuals and other sex
deviates, rebels, juvenile criminals, Black Panthers and White Panthers,
motorcycle gangs, blasphemers, suicides, heathenism, voodooism, phallixism,
Communism in the United States (Communist Russia outlawed rock music around
1960), paganism, lesbianism, immorality, demonology, promiscuity, free love,
free sex, disobedience (civil and uncivil), sodomy, venereal disease, discotheques,
brothels, orgies of all kinds, night clubs, dives, strip joints, filthy
musicals such as ‘Hair’ and ‘Uncle Meat’; and on and on the list could go
almost indefinitely” (Frank Garlock, The
Big Beat). “Sex, violence, rebellion—it’s all part of rock ‘n’ roll” (John
Mellencamp, Larson’s Book of Rock). “Rock ‘n’ Roll . . . is . . . demonic. . . .
A lot of the beats in music today are taken from voodoo, from the voodoo drums.
If you study music in rhythms, like I have, you’ll see that is true . . . I believe
that kind of music is driving people from Christ. It is contagious” (Little
Richard). “[T]he sudden mingling of so many different tribes produced new
variations [of music] like candomble, santeria, and vodun [demonic religion] .
. . and out of this severing came jazz, the blues, the backbeat, rhythm and
blues, and rock and roll—some of the most powerful rhythms on the planet. . . .
It is hard to pinpoint the exact moment when I awoke to the fact that my
tradition—rock and roll—did have a spirit side, that there was a branch of the
family that had maintained the ancient connection between the drum and the gods
[demons]” (Mickey Hart, drummer for The
Grateful Dead). “Pop music revolves around sexuality. I believe that if
there is anarchy, let’s make it sexual anarchy rather than political” (Adam
Ant, From Rock to Rock). “Many rock performers grew up with country
and western music, and its characteristic forms and sounds are close to the
ensemble sound of rock—instrumental combinations and techniques are closely
parallel. . . . The division between country-and-western and urban pop has now
blurred almost to vanishing” (William J. Schafer, Rock Music). “As a country
artist, I’m not proud of a lot of things in my field. There is no doubt in my
mind that we are contributing to the moral decline in America” (Jacob Aranza, More Rock Country). “The overwhelming theme of country music is
triangle relationships. In addition, lost loves, broken homes, and the
glorification of liquor frequently pervade the lyrics of the songs” (David
Cloud). “The origin of the word ‘jazz’
is most often traced back to a vulgar term used for sexual acts. Some of the
early sounds of jazz were associated with whore houses and ‘ladies of ill repute’”
(http://www.jazzhistory/introduction).
“‘Jazz’ (also called ‘jass’ in its early days), like ‘rock and roll’ a
couple of generations later, had its origins as a slang term for sex; the
word’s risqué roots no doubt boosted its popularity in that age-old search by
hormonal, rebellious young people looking for edgy, exciting new ways to
express themselves and, if at all possible, worry their parents as well” (Larry
Nager, Memphis Beat). For more information, and original sources
for these quotations, see “The Character of Rock and Roll Music,” “Country
Music,” “Is There a Connection Between Rock Music and Voodoo or African
Paganism?” “Jazz,” and other articles on music in the database at http://wayoflife.org, published by Way of Life
Literature. Quotes above are taken from
the Fundamental Baptist CD-ROM Library,
ed. David Cloud. London, Ontario: Bethel
Baptist Church/Way of Life Literature, 2003).
Reverence and Solemnity: Essential Aspects of Biblical Worship, part 5 of 8
Applications of the Fact that Reverence and Solemnity
Essential Aspects of Biblical Worship
that reverence and solemnity are essential aspects of Biblical worship has
tremendous consequences for the practices of Christ’s earthly
congregations. First, it is evident that
“worship” that is not solemn and reverent, but is superficial, foolish,
thoughtless, vapid, flippant, trivial, and irreverent is in the highest degree
offensive to God. The Father seeks for
true worshippers, and “they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (Jn 4:23-24). Jehovah delights in His true children crying
“Hosanna to the Son of David” in His temple (Mt 21:15), but those who do not
worship Him in spirit and truth, but instead profane and defile His worship, He
destroys (1 Cor 3:17). False worship is
idolatry, and idolaters will be tormented with fire and brimstone forever and
ever (Rev 21:8). The Lord Jesus hated
false worship so much that at both the beginning and end of His earthly
ministry He violently drove out from the temple those that profaned the pure
worship of the Father (Jn 2:13-17; Mt 21:12-17; Mr 11:15-18), so that “his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of
thine house hath eaten me up” (Jn 2:17).
The Lord Jesus was so zealous for pure worship that He made a whip and
beat out of His Father’s house those that defiled it (Jn 2:15), In this
jealously for holy worship Christ was in full agreement with His Father, who
sent fire from heaven to burn up those that failed to worship properly (Lev
10:1-2) dealt in pitiless fury to slay utterly those that profaned His temple
(Eze 8), and eternally torments in hell those who offer Him false worship (1
Cor 6:9-11; Rev 14:9-11; 21:8).
facts above are most relevant for those who are members of true churches—the
kind the Lord Jesus started in the first century—historic Baptist churches.[1] Only such churches have the special presence
of the holy Trinity in their midst (cf. Mt 18:17, 20). What fearful judgment such churches should
expect from He whose eyes are as a flame of fire if they corrupt pure worship
(cf. Rev 2:5, 16, 20-23; 3:1-4, 14-18)! However,
other religious organizations in Christendom, from the liturgical and
hierarchical to the worldly megachurch, even if they do not possess the special
presence of Christ found in His true congregations, nevertheless will face the
judgment Christ will pour out on all idolaters.
Therefore let all the world take heed to the Biblical mandate for
reverent and solemn worship, and flee with horror from everything that deviates
in the least from such worship.
that it is absolutely essential to have grace
if you are to worship or serve God acceptably.
Only through grace can you serve God acceptably with reverence and godly
fear—consequently, God commands you to have grace (Heb 12:28).[2] Your prayers and praise must be with grace in
your heart if they are to be acceptable (Col 3:16). The only way of true access
to the Father is through the Son and by the Holy Spirit (Eph 2:18; Col 3:17; 1
Tim 2:5; Jn 14:6), so if you are unconverted, you are utterly unable to worship
God and offer Him true service. Only
regenerate people will enter into the New Jerusalem to worship God forever and
ever, and only regenerate people are those true worshippers that can worship
the Father in spirit and truth now (Jn 4:23-24). They only have fellowship with the Father and
the Son through the Spirit (1 Jn 1:3; 2 Cor 13:14). If you are unconverted, you cannot please God
in any way, you have no Mediator to bring you into the Father’s presence, no
Spirit to assist you in your coming, and consequently you face the awful and
immeasurable wrath of God against you for your sin in Adam, your sin nature,
and your innumerable personal transgressions (cf. Rom 8:8-9; Tit 1:15-16). Ought you not immediately turn from your sin
and flee to Christ, that you might receive mercy through His blood, the
imputation of His own perfect and everlasting righteousness to your account so
that you can stand perfect before the legal tribunal of God, and the freedom
from the bondage of sin under which you so awfully lie (Mr 1:15; Jn 3:16; Rom
5:1)?
you regenerate? Then sensibly recognize,
and all the more because your formerly blind eyes have been opened, and your
formerly insensible heart of adamant has been softened, how necessary grace is
for your to worship your Triune Redeemer acceptably! Do you not know by experience the truth of
Paul’s statement: “I find then a law,
that, when I would do good, evil is present with me” (Rom 7:21)? Do you not see your indwelling sin the more
awfully active the more you seek to approach the Lord in true reverence and
godly fear? Is it not especially active
when you engage in your especially holy duties?
How, then, can you worship the Lord in solemnity and reverence, when sin
clings to even your most zealous and holy thoughts and deeds, so that you
deserve nothing more than to be thrust into the depths of hell for the most
holy act of worship you have ever done in your life? “If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O
Lord, who shall stand?” (Ps 130:3). What, then, is the answer? Grace—“But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.” (Ps
130:4). You have in the Lord Jesus a
perfect High Priest who bears the iniquity of your holy things, that you may be
accepted before Jehovah (Ex 28:38).[3] Then let grace
be of infinite sweetness to your soul, the rejoicing of your renewed heart, and
your constant dependence in all your acts of personal and corporate worship
before your Lord.
is more, you must not only be regenerate, but also have an upright heart, for
if you regard iniquity in your heart, the Lord will not hear your prayers or
accept your worship (Ps 66:18). As a
believer, you are individually the temple of God (1 Cor 6:19-20), even as the
corporate assembly is His temple also (1 Cor 3:15-20; 1 Tim 3:15). You must be a clean and holy temple if your
individual worship is to be acceptable.
You must individually be a clean and holy temple the whole week if your
part of corporate worship on the Lord’s Day is to be acceptable (Is
1:13-15). If you cannot lift up holy
hands (1 Tim 2:8) because your hands are stained with sin, or stained with the
blood of the unconverted to whom you refused to give the gospel (Ac 20:26-27;
Eze 33:8), do you think the Lord will be pleased with your worship? Can you pray reverently to the King of heaven
because you have a regenerate and upright heart?
This entire study can be accessed here.
See
“Bible Study #7: The Church of Jesus
Christ” at faithsaves.net/Bible-studies/, and also the resources at
faithsaves.net/ecclesiology/ for the identifying marks of true churches.
That
is, “let us have grace” is a hortatory subjective, which “is used to urge someone
to unite with the speaker in a course of action upon which he has already
decided” (pg. 464, Greek Grammar Beyond
the Basics, Wallace), and which consequently bears an imperatival
notion—for only through grace can men worship acceptably with reverence and
godly fear: e¶cwmen ca¿rin, di∆ h∞ß latreu/wmen
eujare÷stwß twˆ◊ Qewˆ◊ meta» ai˙douvß kai« eujlabei÷aß.
Cf.
“Christ our High Priest, Bearing the Iniquity of our Holy Things,” Horatius
Bonar (http://faithsaves.net/soteriology).
Reverence and Solemnity: Essential Aspects of Biblical Worship, part 4 of 8
Reverent and Solemn Worship Befits the Character of the Church as God’s Earthly
Temple and Befits the Access Saints Have Into Heaven Itself
and solemnity are also essential aspects of Biblical worship because the
church, the assembly of baptized believers,[1]
is the very temple of the living God. As
God dwelt in the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament
tabernacle and temple, so does He dwell in each of His congregations now.[2] Each true church is “an holy temple in the
Lord” and “the house of God,” each church member being a living stone in the special
dwelling place of the Triune God (Eph 2:19; 1 Tim 3:15; 1 Pet 2:5; 1 Cor
3:11-15).[3] “Tremble, thou
earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob” (Ps
114:7); “Fear ye not me? saith the LORD:
will ye not tremble at my presence[?] (Jer 5:22). The Lord is a great King—He must be
worshipped with reverence in His holy temple, the church. Those who fail to do so should fear, because
God will destroy them: “If any man
defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy”
(1 Cor 3:17). “Be wise now therefore . .
. be instructed[.] . . . Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his
wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust
in him” (Ps 2:10-12).
is the church the earthly dwelling place and sacred temple of the living God,
but also both the individual Christian and the corporate Christian assembly
have access into heaven itself.[4] Heaven is a place of infinite holiness and
reverence, and so the worship of the saints on earth must be solemn and
reverent, a worship that befits their union with the worship of the saints in
heaven. New
Testament believers in their worship have “boldness to enter into the holiest
by the blood of Jesus,” that is, into “heaven itself” (Heb 10:19; 9:24). They “draw near . . . the holiest” (Heb
10:19, 22; cf. 12:22-23) through Christ and “have
access by one Spirit unto the Father” (Eph 2:18), entrance into the very
heavenly presence of their holy and heavenly God and Father. Consider carefully the description of worship
in Revelation 4-5:
with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be
hereafter. 2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a
throne was set in heaven, and one sat
on the throne. 3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and
a sardine stone: and there was a
rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. 4 And
round about the throne were four and
twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed
in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. 5 And
out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning
before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. 6 And before
the throne there was a sea of glass
like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before
and behind. 7 And the first beast
was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had
a face as a man, and the fourth beast was
like a flying eagle. 8 And the four beasts had each of them six
wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they
rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was,
and is, and is to come. 9 And when those beasts give glory and
honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, 10
The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and
worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the
throne, saying, 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and
honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they
are and were created. 1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat
on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven
seals. 2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who
is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? 3 And no
man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the
book, neither to look thereon. 4 And I wept much, because no man was
found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. 5
And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of
Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the
seven seals thereof. 6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the
throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as
it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven
Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 7 And he came and took
the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. 8
And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of
them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open
the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy
blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10
And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the
earth. 11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round
about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten
thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12 Saying
with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and
riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 13
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth,
and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing,
and honour, and glory, and power, be
unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14
And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four
and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and
ever.
ineffably and immeasurably solemn, reverent, and holy? But the astonishing truth is that Revelation
4-5 depicts not the worship of heaven only, but that of earth also![5] When the saints open their mouths in praise
and prayer, they are uniting with this holy and heavenly chorus of worship
before Jehovah’s throne! How necessary,
then, is the highest solemnity and reverence in the earthly worship of the
people of God!
This entire study can be accessed here.
The
texts that refer to the church as the Lord’s Temple do not refer to a
universal, invisible “church” but to the visible congregation of the
saints; cf. “A Word Study Demonstrating
the Meaning of the Word Church, Ekklesia, and Consequently the Nature of
the New Testament Church” at http://faithsaves.net/ekklesia-church/.
That
is, each assembly is not just the hieron,
but the naos of God:
but only of the sacred edifice (or sanctuary) itself, consisting of the Holy
place and the Holy of holies (in classical Greek used of the sanctuary or cell
of a temple, where the image of the god was placed, called also domos, seœkos, which is to be
distinguished from to hieron, the whole temple,
the entire consecrated enclosure; this distinction is observed also in the
Bible; see hieron, p. 299a) . . . used
specifically of the Holy place, where the priests officiated: Luke 1:9,21f; of
the Holy of holies . . . Matt. 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45; in the visions of
the Revelation used of the temple of the “New Jerusalem”: Rev. 3:12; 7:15;
11:19; 14:15,17; 15:5f,8; 16:1,17; . . .
metaphorically, of a company of Christians, a Christian church, as dwelt in by
the Spirit of God: 1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:21; for the same reason, of
the bodies of Christians, 1 Cor. 6:19. [O]f the body of Christ . . . John 2:21,
and according to the Evangelist’s interpretation in 19 also. . . . [T]o
hieron and ho naos differ, in that the former designates the whole
compass of the sacred enclosure, embracing the entire aggregate of buildings,
balconies, porticos, courts (viz., that of the men or Israelites, that of the
women, that of the priests), belonging to the temple; the latter designates the
sacred edifice properly so called, consisting of two parts, the “sanctuary” or
“Holy place” (which no one except the priests was allowed to enter), and the
“Holy of holies” or “most holy place” . . . which was entered only on the great
day of atonement by the high priest alone. (Thayer on nao/ß and i˚ero/n)
enclosure, the te÷menoß, including the
outer courts, the porches, porticoes, and other buildings subordinated to the
temple itself; ai˚oi˙kodomai«
touv i˚erouv (Matt. xxiv. 1.) But nao/ß (=‘aedes’), from nai÷w, ‘habito,’ as the proper habitation of
God (Acts vii. 48; xvii. 24; 1 Cor. vi. 19); the oi•koß touv qeouv (Matt. xii. 4; cf. Exod. xxiii. 19), the German
“duom” or “domus,” is the temple itself, that by especial right so called,
being the heart and centre of the whole; the Holy, and the Holy of Holies,
called often aJgi÷asma (1 Macc. i. 37;
45). This distinction, one that existed and was acknowledged in profane Greek
and with reference to heathen temples, quite as much as in sacred Greek and
with relation to the temple of the true God (see Herodotus. i. 183; Thucydides,
iv. 90 [ta¿fon me«n ku/klwˆ peri« to
i˚eron kai« ton new»n e¶skapton]; v.18; Acts xxix. 24, 27), is, I
believe, always assumed in all passages relating to the temple at Jerusalem,
alike by Josephus, by Philo, by the Septuagint translators, and in the N. T.
(Trench on i˚ero/n, nao/ß)
The
“house of God” is terminology for the special dwelling place of God in His
place of corporate worship, and is overwhelmingly temple terminology (Gen
28:17; Jud 18:31; 20:18, 26, 31; 21:2; 1 Chr 6:48; 9:11, 13, 26–27; 22:2;
23:28; 24:5; 25:6; 26:20; 28:12, 21; 29:7; 2 Chr 3:3; 4:11, 19; 5:1, 14; 7:5;
15:18; 22:12; 23:3, 9; 24:7, 13, 27; 25:24; 28:24; 31:13, 21; 33:7; 34:9; 35:8;
36:18–19; Ezra 1:4; 2:68; 3:8–9; 4:24; 5:2, 13–17; 6:3, 5, 7–8, 12, 16–17, 22;
7:24; 8:36; 10:1, 6, 9; Neh 6:10; 8:16; 11:11, 16, 22; 12:40; 13:7, 9, 11; Ps
42:4; 52:8; 55:14; Eccl 5:1; Dan 1:2; 5:3; Zech 7:2; Matt 12:4; Mark 2:26; Luke
6:4; 1 Tim 3:15; Heb 10:21; 1 Pet 4:17).
Note
the tremendous presentation of this Biblical truth by John Owen in “The Nature
and Beauty of Gospel Worship,” elec. acc. http://faithsaves.net/ecclesiology.
Without
getting into a detailed exposition of Revelation 4-5, the unity of Old and New
Testament saints pictured in the 24 elders, the specific references in the
chapters to the unity of this heavenly worship with that on the earth
(5:13-14), and the agreement of the rest of Scripture that the saints on earth
enter into heaven itself in their worship (Eph 2:18; Heb 9-10) make the unity
of heavenly and earthly worship indubitable.
Reverence and Solemnity: Essential Aspects of Biblical Worship, part 3 of 8
Where Does Scripture Speak of Solemnity?
relevant texts[1]
in the King James Bible on solemn
worship are found in several groups. The
first[2]
refers to the public gathering for worship as a “solemn assembly”:
Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth
day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made
by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye
shall do no servile work therein.
On the eighth day ye shall have a solemn assembly: ye shall do no
servile work therein:
Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be
a solemn assembly to the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work therein.
And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed
it.
And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the
dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.
Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of
the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day
was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.
Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons
and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is
iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and
all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and
cry unto the LORD,
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn
assemblies.
refers to “solemn feasts,” “solemn assemblies,” or specific gatherings for
worship as “solemnities”:
Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the
beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt
offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to
you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.
And will make an offering by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, or a
sacrifice in performing a vow, or in a freewill offering, or in your solemn feasts,
to make a sweet savour unto the LORD, of the herd, or of the flock:
And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in
the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,
Behold, I build an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it
to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual
shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths,
and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This
is an ordinance for ever to Israel.
Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of
Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts,
three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in
the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.
Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see
Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down;
not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the
cords thereof be broken.
ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her
gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is
in bitterness.
he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden:
he hath destroyed his places of the assembly: the LORD hath caused the solemn
feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the
indignation of his anger the king and the priest.
Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath abhorred his sanctuary, he hath given up
into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces; they have made a noise in
the house of the LORD, as in the day of a solemn feast.
Thou hast called as in a solemn day my terrors round about, so that in
the day of the LORD’S anger none escaped nor remained: those that I have
swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.
As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so
shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I
am the LORD.
And it shall be the prince’s part to give burnt offerings, and meat
offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the
sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare
the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace
offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel.
But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts,
he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the
way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall
go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the
gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.
And in the feasts and in the solemnities the meat offering shall be an
ephah to a bullock, and an ephah to a ram, and to the lambs as he is able to give,
and an hin of oil to an ephah.
will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her
sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.
What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the
LORD?
And I that am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee
to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast.
will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who
are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.
similarly refers to “solemn feasts” or “solemnit[ies]”:
Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the
place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in
all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt
surely rejoice.
Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast
day.
shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept;
and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain
of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel.
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that
publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for
the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even
the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with
it.
praise the Lord, not in public worship only, but also in private, with a
“solemn sound”[5]:
“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing
praises unto thy name, O most High: to shew forth thy lovingkindness in the
morning, and thy faithfulness every night, upon an instrument of ten strings,
and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.” A “solemn sound” befits both the public
worship of “the Sabbath day” for Israel (Ps 92 title) and the Lord’s Day for
the church, and also the individual believer’s worship every morning and night
(Ps 92:2).
This entire study can be accessed here.
In
Genesis 43:3 the verb “to protest,” intensified with the infinitive absolute,
is rendered “solemnly protest” (·dIoEh
d∞EoDh);
the KJV margin reads “protesting protested.” A similar use appears in 1 Samuel 8:9’s
“protest solemnly” (‹dyIoD;t
d§EoDh).
These two texts are the only ones other than those referenced below that
employ a form of solemn in the KJV.
The
Hebrew noun h∂rDxSo is employed in these verses. The word occurs in the Hebrew OT in Lev
23:36; Num 29:35; Deut 16:8; 2 Kings 10:20; Is 1:13; Jer 9:1; Joel 1:14; 2:15;
Amos 5:21; Neh 8:18; 2 Chr 7:9. TWOT,
pg. 691, supports and provides a possible explanation for the development of
the meaning of “solemn, sacred assembly” for h∂rDxSo.
the assembly Jehu proclaimed for the purpose of exterminating the worshippers
of Baal employed the “solemn assembly” language in allusion to the Scripture
language employed of the feasts of Jehovah.
On the days of solemn assemblies to the true God work was not to be
done, so proclaiming a day of solemn assembly to Baal would give the
worshippers of the idol the leisure to attend to Jehu’s command and
consequently be exterminated. To assume
that the worship of Baal was genuinely solemn, as the worship of Jehovah truly
was, would be an invalid assumption.
However, it is nonetheless true that false worship can have a kind of
solemnity to it while rejecting other essential features of true worship—such
as, for worshippers of Baal, recognizing the true God as the One who must
receive worship.
The
Hebrew noun dEowøm is employed in these verses. The word occurs in the Hebrew OT in Gen 1:14;
17:21; 18:14; 21:2; Ex 9:5; 13:10; 23:15; 27:21; 28:43; 29:4, 10–11, 30, 32,
42, 44; 30:16, 18, 20, 26, 36; 31:7; 33:7; 34:18; 35:21; 38:8, 30; 39:32, 40;
40:2, 6–7, 12, 22, 24, 26, 29–30, 32, 34–35; Lev 1:1, 3, 5; 3:2, 8, 13; 4:4–5,
7, 14, 16, 18; 6:16, 26, 30; 8:3–4, 31, 33, 35; 9:5, 23; 10:7, 9; 12:6; 14:11,
23; 15:14, 29; 16:7, 16–17, 20, 23, 33; 17:4–6, 9; 19:21; 23:2, 4, 37, 44;
24:3; Num 1:1; 2:2, 17; 3:7–8, 25, 38; 4:3–4, 15, 23, 25, 28, 30–31, 33, 35,
37, 39, 41, 43, 47; 6:10, 13, 18; 7:5, 89; 8:9, 15, 19, 22, 24, 26; 9:2–3, 7,
13; 10:3, 10; 11:16; 12:4; 14:10; 15:3; 16:2, 18–19, 42–43, 50; 17:4; 18:4, 6,
21–23, 31; 19:4; 20:6; 25:6; 27:2; 28:2; 29:39; 31:54; Deut 16:6; 31:10, 14;
Josh 8:14; 18:1; 19:51; Jud 20:38; 1 Sam 2:22; 9:24; 13:8, 11; 20:35; 2 Sam
20:5; 24:15; 1 Kings 8:4; 2 Kings 4:16–17; Is 1:14; 14:13; 33:20; Jer 8:7;
46:17; Eze 36:38; 44:24; 45:17; 46:9, 11; Hos 2:9, 11; 9:5; 12:9; Hab 2:3; Zech
3:18; Zech 8:19; Ps 74:4, 8; 75:2; 102:13; 104:19; Job 30:23; Lam 1:4, 15;
2:6–7, 22; Dan 8:19; 11:27, 29, 35; 12:7; Ezra 3:5; Neh 10:33; 1 Chr 6:32;
9:21; 23:31–32; 2 Chr 1:3, 6, 13; 2:4; 5:5; 8:13; 30:22; 31:3.
various texts in the Vulgate; e. g., in
2 Chr 2:4 the “solemn feasts of the LORD our God” is rendered as solemnitatibus Domini Dei nostri, in Is
33:20 “the city of our solemnities” is civitatem
solemnitatis nostræ, in Lam 1:4, “solemn feasts” is solemnitatem; in Lam 2:7 “solemn feast” is solemni; in Eze 36:38 “solemn feasts” is solemnitatibus; in Eze 45:17, “solemnities of the house of Israel”
is solemnitatibus domus Israël; see also Eze 46:9, 11, Hos 9:5, etc.
because of its fundamental meaning of “appointed time, place, or meeting” (BDB)
and its derivation from dAoDy, “to appoint,” supports the Regulative Principle of
worship, namely, that whatever is not commanded in Scriptural worship is
forbidden. See
http://faithsaves.net/ecclesiology for further information on the Regulative
Principle as a crucial Biblical teaching.
Deut
16:15 employs the verb gÅgDj, while Ps 81:3; Is 30:29; Nah 1:15; Mal 2:3 employ
the noun gAj. The verb
occurs in the Hebrew OT in Ex 5:1; 12:14; 23:14; Lev 23:39, 41; Num 29:12; Deut
16:15; 1 Sam 30:16; Nah 1:15; Zech 14:16, 18–19; Ps 42:4; 107:27. The noun occurs in the Hebrew OT in Ex 10:9;
12:14; 13:6; 23:15–16, 18; 32:5; 34:18, 22, 25; Lev 23:6, 34, 39, 41; Num
28:17; 29:12; Deut 16:10, 13–14, 16; 31:10; Jud 21:19; 1 Kings 8:2, 65;
12:32–33; Is 29:1; 30:29; Eze 45:17, 21, 23, 25; 46:11; Hos 2:11; 9:5; Amos
5:21; 8:10; Nah 1:15; Zech 14:16, 18–19; Mal 2:3; Ps 81:3; 118:27; Ezra 3:4;
6:22; Neh 8:14, 18; 2 Chr 5:3; 7:8–9; 8:13; 30:13, 21; 35:17. The Latin Vulgate
renders gAj as “solemnity,” solemnitas,
in texts such as 2 Chr 7:9; Neh 8:18; Ps 81:3 (Lat. 80:4); Is 30:29; Eze 45:17;
Hos 2:11; Mal 2:3, etc.
NwøyÎ…gIh. The noun occurs in the OT in Ps 9:16; 19:14;
92:3; Lam 3:62. The idea of
“meditation,” not in the Eastern mystical sense but in the Biblical sense of
active thinking about God, is also found in the word (cf. Ps 9:16; 19:14; Lam
3:62). Biblical music is both solemn in
sound and of a sort that encourages active use of the mind in thinking on the
character of the Lord. Concerning the
solemnity idea in NwøyÎ…gIh here, note: “NwøyÎ…gIh . .
. a musical notation (prob. similar to the modern affettuoso to indicate solemnity of movement) . . . solemn sound”
(pg. 32, A Concise Dictionary of the
Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible, James Strong. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software,
2009). “Kimchi . . . explains higgâyôn to be ‘the melody of the hymn
when played on the harp’” (pg. 44, The
Psalms, with Introductions and Critical Notes, vol. 1, 2nd ed., A.
C. Jennings and W. H. Lowe. (London:
Macmillan and Co., 1884)). “Higgaion . . . means ‘meditation,’ and,
combined with Selah, seems to denote
a pause of unusual solemnity and emphasis” (Commentary
Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Robert Jamieson, A. R.
Fausset, and David Brown. (Oak Harbor,
WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), on Ps 9:16). “Higgaion
. . . befits the solemn theme” (pg. 116, Psalms
1-50, Peter C. Craigie & Marvin E. Tate. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1983)). “Higgaion,
a call to deep reflection or solemn musing . . . [in Psalm 92:3] הִגָּיוֹן [is] ‘solemn
heart-musing’ to accompany the harp. For this seems the only plain sense of
NwâøyÎ…gIh y™ElSo. It is upon the heart-strings,
so to speak, as well as harp-strings”
(pgs. 33, 278-279, Christ and His Church
in the Book of Psalms, Andrew A. Bonar.
(New York, NY: Robert Carter
& Brothers, 1860)).
Reverence and Solemnity: Essential Aspects of Biblical Worship, part 2 of 8
Testament renders three different Greek words with forms of reverence. The Gospels indicate that the Son of God must
receive “reverence” (Matt 21:37; Mr 12:6; Lu 20:13), and Hebrews 12:9 indicates
that if human fathers deserve “reverence,” God the Father is so much the more
worthy of reverent submission. The word
employed in these verses[1]
means “to cause to turn (in shame),
to shame” or “to show
deference to a person in recognition of special status, turn toward
something [or] someone, have regard for, respect.”[2] It is to “give heed or regard to,
respect, reverence,”[3]
“to show respect to a person on the basis of his high status.”[4] Elsewhere in the New Testament the verb is
employed of showing “regard” for and connected with “fearing” (Lu 18:2, 4), is
rendered “shame” (1 Cor 4:14) or “ashamed” (2 Thess 3:14; Tit 2:8). The related noun is rendered “shame” (1 Cor
6:5; 15:34), and means “the state of being ashamed, shame, humiliation”
or “deference to a person in recognition of special status, respect, regard,”[5]
that is, “respect, reverence.”[6] The word indicates “a state of embarrassment
resulting from what one has done or failed to do,” focusing “upon the
embarrassment which is involved in the feeling of shame”[7]
and which is associated with a “change of conduct, that return of a man upon
himself, which a wholesome shame brings with it in him who is its subject”
(Trench). The Father and the Son are
shown reverence when believers, conscious of and ashamed of their sin,
approach God with deference, deep humility, abased subjection, and profound
respect, recognizing that this One with whom they have to do is the omniscient
and infinitely holy King. Such reverence
is not optional—those who show God reverence live (Heb 12:9)—those who do not
die.
12:28-29 indicates that God must be served
or worshipped[8] with “acceptably with reverence and
godly fear: for our God is a
consuming fire.” The only other text in
the New Testament with this word for reverence[9]
translates the word as “shamefacedness” (1 Tim 2:9). This word for reverence signifies “modesty, with . . . resulting respect.”[10]
It is man’s “attitude in face of . . .
the awful, wherever and however manifested. It is dread . . . of the violation
of the [standard]. Its opposite is hubris.
It is thus ‘reverence’ before God . . . respect for the one visited by the
[grace] of God.”[11]
Hebrews 12 associates reverence with “godly fear.”[12] One can compare Ephesians 5:33, where
“reverence” is the standard New Testament verb for “fear,”[13]
signifying “to have a profound measure
of respect for, (have)
reverence, respect, with special reference to fear of offending.”[14] The “godly fear” of Hebrews 12:28 is employed
of the prayers of Christ in Hebrews 5:7, where the Father accepted the Lord
Jesus’ prayer “in that he feared.” The
noun is related to the adjective meaning God-fearing,
devout, reverent, or pious[15]
found in Luke 2:25 and Acts 2:5; 8:2.
“Godly fear” involves “that mingled fear and love which together
constitute the piety of man toward God”;
the devout man:
is prescribed with the consciousness of the danger of slipping into a careless
negligent performance of God’s service, and of the need therefore of anxiously
watching against the adding to or diminishing from or in any other way altering,
that which has been by Him commanded[.] . . . [T]he [one with “godly fear” is
the] anxious and scrupulous worshipper, who makes a conscience of changing
anything, of omitting anything, being above all things fearful to offend [God].[16]
to build the ark (Heb 11:7), acting out of anxious “concer[n] [and] reverent
regard.”[18] Such reverence and godly fear are necessary
if believers are to “serve” or worship God “acceptably”[19]
(Heb 12:28), that is, in a way that is “wellpleasing” and thus “acceptable” to
Him (Rom 12:1–2; 14:18; 2 Cor 5:9; Eph 5:10; Phil 4:18; Col 3:20; Titus 2:9;
Heb 13:21).[20] Reverence and godly fear are the necessary
attitude for acceptance before a God who is a “consuming fire” (Heb 12:29).
This entire study can be accessed here.
e˙ntre÷pw. It appears in
the NT in: Matt 21:37; Mark 12:6; Luke
18:2, 4; 20:13; 1 Cor 4:14; 2 Th 3:14; Titus 2:8; Heb 12:9. The related noun e˙ntroph/ appears in 1 Cor 6:5; 15:34.
BDAG.
Greek-English Lexicon, 9th
ed., G. H. Liddell & R. Scott. New
York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1996 (LSJ).
Louw-Nida.
BDAG.
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament,
Henry Thayer. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1978 (reprint ed.) (Thayer).
Louw-Nida.
latreu/w.
ai˙dw¿ß.
Louw-Nida.
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament,
Kittel, Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, & Gerhard Friedrich,
eds. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964– (TDNT).
eujla¿beia, found only in Hebrews 5:7; 12:28.
fobe÷w.
BDAG.
eujlabh/ß. See BDAG,
LSJ.
Synonyms of the New Testament, Richard
Chenevix Trench. London: Macmillan and
Co., 1880 (Trench).
eujlabe÷omai. The word is
found elsewhere in the NT only in Acts 23:10.
BDAG.
eujare÷stwß.
See
BDAG on the related adjective euja¿restoß, the references to
which are listed above. In Hebrews 12:28
eujare÷stwß is a hapax
legomenon. Note also the verb eujareste÷w, found in Heb 11:5-6; 13:16.
Reverence and Solemnity: Essential Aspects of Biblical Worship, part 1 of 8
Where Does Scripture Speak of Reverence?
texts on reverence[1]
in the Authorized Version are:
Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the
LORD.
shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the
LORD.
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence
of all them that are about him.
He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever:
holy and reverend is his name.
But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence
my son.
Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them,
saying, They will reverence my son.
Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved
son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him.
Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as
himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we
gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection
unto the Father of spirits, and live?
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace,
whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
is reverend—and consequently His
worship, which is to reflect His character, is to be characterized by reverence. Hebrews 12:28 commands that God’s service involves reverence, and service is one of the standard Greek
words for worship.[3]
The assemblies, services, or worship of the
Lord’s church must be characterized by reverence and godly fear if they are to
be acceptable or well pleasing[4]
to the Lord. In “the assembly of the
saints . . . God is greatly to be feared . . . and to be had in reverence” (Ps
89:7). His “sanctuary,”[5]
His holy place where His holy worship takes place, the tabernacle and temple in
the Old Testament and the church in the New Testament, is to be a place of
“reverence” (Lev 19:30; 26:2). Reverence
is contrasted with idolatry (Lev 26:1-2).
Reverence is not optional—it is essential if worship is to please the
infinitely holy God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
What is Reverence?
Authorized Version renders a number of Hebrew and Greek words as reverence. In Leviticus 19:30;[6]
26:2[7]
& Ps 89:7 reverence is the
standard Hebrew word for fear.[8] God’s name is holy and reverend because He is to be feared on account of His glorious
redemption and covenant (Ps 111:9), His majestic creation (Ps 139:14), and His
terrible judgments (Ps 145:6). He is
separate from and infinitely superior to all false gods, as One who is “glorious
in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders” (Ex 15:11). “[G]reat is the LORD, and greatly to
be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods” (1 Chr 16:25). The “LORD your God is God of gods, and
Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible” (Deut 10:17; 7:21). “For the LORD most high is terrible; he
is a great King over all the earth” (Ps 47:2). Jehovah
thy God is a “glorious and fearful name” (Deut 28:58), and “with God is
terrible majesty” (Job 37:22); “I am
a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the
heathen” (Mal 1:14). The people of God
ought consequently to address Him as: “LORD
God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for
them that love him and observe his commandments” (Neh 1:5; 9:32; Dan 9:4). “Let them praise thy great and terrible name;
for it is holy” (Ps 99:3). The Lord and His Messiah (Ps 45:4) do
“great and terrible things” and “terrible things in righteousness” for the
redemption and salvation of their people (Deut 10:21; Ps 65:5; 2 Sam 7:23; Neh
4:14; Ps 106:22; Is 64:3). The Lord’s
redemption makes Him “a name of greatness and terribleness” (1 Chr 17:21). “[T]here is forgiveness with thee, that
thou mayest be feared” (Ps 130:4). He
likewise executes fearful judgments on the wicked in the “great and terrible
day of the LORD” (Joel 2:11, 31; Zeph 2:11; Mal 4:5). He is to be adored and worshipped because of
His reverend and holy terribleness and fearfulness (Ps 66:3, 5; 68:35; 76:7,
12; 96:4). The saint’s reverence for Jehovah and His Messiah is
a sacred fear of Him flowing from the glory and majesty of the Holy One’s
awe-inspiring redemption of His blood-bought people and righteous and
retributive wrath upon the unholy.
with “greatly fearing” God, employing a verb for trembling with fear or awe.[9] The word is rendered elsewhere as “terrified”
(Deut 20:3) and “shake terribly” (Is 2:21).
The persistent warnings in the Pentateuch that any improper approach
into the presence of God could lead to instant death (Ex 28:35, 43; 30:20, 21;
Lev 15:31; 16:2, 13; Num 4:15-20, etc.)—warnings that were not mere idle
threats, but were actually carried out (Lev 10:1-2)—illuminate the sort of
reverential fear and awe that befits worship that enters into the presence of
Jehovah, Sovereign of heaven and earth. Sanctifying
or setting apart God as holy is connected with this reverent fear: “Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let
him be your fear, and let him be your dread” (Is 8:13). “[S]anctify the Holy One of Jacob, and . . .
fear the God of Israel” (Is 29:23). Biblical
worship sets apart and exalts God as the high, holy, and sanctified One by approaching
His awful majesty with reverence. On the
other hand, irreverence is an idolatrous perversion of the character of
God. He will not tolerate irreverence,
but will punish those who profane or make common His holy name with awful
temporal and eternal punishments.
In
the Old Testament, 2 Samuel 9:6; 1 Ki 1:31 & Esth 3:2, 5 also contain the
English word reverence, in each case
containing a form of the verb hÎwSjA;tVvIh, meaning “to worship” God or “to bow down” with
reference to men, a sign of respect given especially those in authority such as
kings.
Pastors
and other mere mortals should not have “rev.” by their name, for God’s Name is
reverend, while the name of Parson Jones, Bishop John, or Pastor Jim is not.
latreu/w, “to perform religious rites as a part of worship —
‘to perform religious rites, to worship, to venerate, worship’” (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament:
Based on Semantic Domains, Louw, Johannes P. Louw & Albert Nida. New York, NY: United Bible Societies, 1996
[Louw-Nida]). The complete list of NT
texts is: Matt 4:10; Luke 1:74; 2:37; 4:8; Acts 7:7, 42; 24:14; 26:7; 27:23;
Rom 1:9, 25; Phil 3:3; 2 Tim 1:3; Heb 8:5; 9:9, 14; 10:2; 12:28; 13:10; Rev
7:15; 22:3.
eujare÷stwß, “in a manner well-pleasing to one, acceptably” (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament,
Henry Thayer. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1978 (reprint ed.); [Thayer]), an
adverb related to euja¿restoß, “pleasing, acceptable” (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian
Literature, 3rd ed. (BDAG).
Walter Bauer, Frederick W. Danker & William Arndt. Chicago, IL:
University of Chicago Press, 2000); see Rom 12:1–2; 14:18; 2 Cor 5:9;
Eph 5:10; Phil 4:18; Col 3:20; Titus 2:9; Heb 13:21) and the verb eujareste÷w, “1. to do someth[ing] or act in a manner that is
pleasing or satisfactory, please,
be pleasing . . . 2. to experience pleasure, be pleased, take delight” (BDAG; see Heb
11:5–6; 13:16). Compare eujare÷sthsiß,
“the experience of being pleased because of what another does, being pleased”
(BDAG). Note the significant frequency
of the eujareste÷w
word group in connection to worship.
v∂;dVqIm,
from, våd∂q, hence “holy place.”
:h`DOwh◊y
y™InSa …waó∂ryI;t y™Iv∂;dVqIm…w …wr$OmVvI;t y∞AtOtV;bAv_tRa
Leviticus
19:30 and 26:2 are identical in Hebrew.
aérÎy, “to
fear God . . . to tremble for, to honor” (Brown-Driver-Briggs
Hebrew and English Lexicon, Francis Brown, Samuel R. Driver, & Augustus
Charles. Oxford: Clarendon, 1906. [BDB]). The Niphal, found in Psalm 89:7, means “to be
feared, be honoured (God) . . . dreaded . . . awesome, terrible” (BDB). The rest of the paragraph in the text above
lists the other instances of the Niphal of the Hebrew verb Psalm 89:7 renders
as reverend; it is usually translated with some form of fear, terror, or dread.
XårDo, “cause
to tremble, tremble (in terror, or awe)” (BDB).
The verb is found in: Deut 1:29;
7:21; 20:3; 31:6; Josh 1:9; Is 2:19, 21; 8:12–13; 29:23; 47:12; Ps 10:18; 89:8;
Job 13:25; 31:34.
Bible Truths for Seventh-Day Adventists (SDA), part 7: SDA rejection of the Lord’s Day for Saturday Sabbath Worship and its Teaching that Worship on the 1st Day is the Mark of the Beast
Note: This composition has been moved to the FaithSaves website. The text from “13.) The true church … fire and brimstone” was originally in the text of this post. Read the complete composition by clicking here.
What the Worship War or Music Issue Really Is About
I’ve been talking about the music/worship issue here for quite a few posts, and will continue next week, Lord-willing. We can go back and forth about how someone judges what is wrong and right, or whether someone can even judge what is wrong and right, but ultimately that’s not what this is all about. In almost every case, it’s impossible for the two sides to come together, because it isn’t about what the two sides even argue about.
The music/worship issue is not about one side believing there is a standard for God, that lines should be drawn, and that the other side, after much study and prayer and concern, doesn’t see there being a standard or lines to be drawn. One side does believe there is an objective standard, does believe that lines should be drawn. The other side has mainly three other reasons for where it’s at. First, for many, they just want to listen to and play whatever music they want. They really like their own music, and they don’t want to give it up. They conform their version of Christianity to what they like. That’s now acceptable, so why not? So, one, people don’t want to give up their own music. Related to this, they don’t even want to be judged for their music. They don’t want to feel guilty about their music. Usually there will be anger here if they’re even judged. They want complete acceptance and complete toleration with no judgment at all.
The second reason is all about numbers. Churches use all the forms of pop music as a church growth method. It has worked a lot. Related to this directly is money and success and “God’s blessing.” The church uses the music among other similar means of amusement, they get bigger, the offerings are bigger, more money for the leaders, they are recognized for success, and there is the assumption that this is God working somehow. The music is huge, even as Rick Warren has said in his Purpose Driven Church book. It’s key to the whole deal. If they don’t start with the music or give it up, the numbers go way, way down. They shrink exponentially. It doesn’t even work. These people wouldn’t even be able to continue without the music. It’s that important. It’s more than the music, but the music is pivotal — a necessity. Obviously the numbers relate to what people like, so one and two go together. These churches allow whatever dress, music, entertainment — generally, what anyone wants in the world. They encourage it — it’s a big part of their religion.
The third reason is the bigger picture — coalitions, sales, parachurch, etc. If you judge someone is wrong, you’re out of the club. This is called unity, but it really is just getting along. The huge coalitions are held together by toleration and acceptance. This expands the audience for music and books. The colleges and seminaries can keep their numbers up. The less restrictions, the more inclusion. More and more can get along and you can keep up the big national and worldwide coalitions.
Those are the three things that this music issue is really about. It’s not about what the Bible says. It isn’t about what will honor God. It isn’t. It never has been. The side I’m talking about in the worship war didn’t start with a study of the Bible or a concern over some kind of apostasy on music, because of the overtly restrictive standards. It started with what people like, which related then to getting bigger, first locally and then nationally. The discussions about whether it will honor God or what the Bible says begin on the side of those with music standards.
If you have a church without music standards and you have a church with music standards, the one without is almost always going to be bigger. If it doesn’t matter, why shouldn’t everyone go to the church with no music standards? Why not have God and the music that you want or like? The churches with music standards should just send all their people to the ones with none. On the other hand, if they are going to be distinct from those churches with no standards, they are going to tell you that those churches are wrong. They are going to take a stand and tell you they are wrong. What else would the churches with no standards expect?
I believe there is a lot at stake here, because the music/worship issue is much bigger than what the churches with no standards will say. People’s view of God is shaped by the music. The church becomes like the world and there becomes little to differentiate. It’s only getting worse.
Proving the Music Issue in the Worship War: Is there Holy Hip Hop? pt. 10
This link has links to parts 1-7, and the last two days are 8 and 9.
I’m going to get straight to it, but let’s review again.
One, we are to prove all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
Two, music has meaning.
Three, as an addendum to two — since music is a means of communication, it can communicate moral or immoral.
Four, we determine what is moral, sacred music by applying biblical principle.
Five, applying scripture requires an understanding of truth in the real world.
Six, Music as Praise or Worship is Directed to God and the Gospel Is Preached.
Seven, God is worshiped with beauty (there is objective beauty).
Eight, Christians have historically, characteristically, considered or believed beauty to be objective and measured after the nature of God.
Nine, we now have an idea of what Israel’s music sounded like.
Ten, music directed to God must be melodic.
Eleven, music directed toward God must be spiritual.
Twelve, God must be worshiped with true affection. I use the terminology “true affection.” Maybe I could say “genuine affection,” but better, “ordinate affection.” In saying “affection,” I’m saying “versus passion,” which is the equivalent of “bowels” versus “belly” and “chest” versus “belly” (C. S. Lewis). There have been various ways of designating this in the history of Christianity. I’m also saying “ordinate affection” versus “inordinate affection,” so “true affection” in that way.
This also relates to euphoria, enthusiasm, and ecstasy, versus something that is truly spiritual. This overlaps with #11. Those are mistaken for something spiritual. But the last three — 10, 11, 12 — all overlap. There’s nothing wrong with having a feeling or getting a feeling, but how do you get it? That matters.
If we love God, like He loves us, then our love is impassable, that is, we love God with a lack of passion. Loving God starts with true thoughts about God, which affect the will. Emotions follow, but it is worship based upon truth. This is related to Jesus saying, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” We hear His commandments, think about them, learn them, and obey them. We don’t feel His commandments.
The overlap here comes with the nature of spiritual worship. Our worship is to be spiritual (Philippians 3:3), which means, it is genuine, which always starts with the truth, and truth should begin with the mind. We must get the right estimation or value or worth of God first.
When it starts with true thoughts, it will not be deceived by feelings, as it was in Corinth with the mystery religion. They mistook their feelings for spirituality, because they worshiped in passion rather than affection. The feelings can be manipulated, as they were in Corinth.
Affections are directed by the thoughts, and true affections will reflect true thoughts about God. The emotions will be shaped or formed by those right thoughts. Inordinate affections come from the thoughts, but not right thoughts. It is more than just thinking, but thinking right. When we are thinking right, then emotion will be directed. This relates to God’s emotion. For instance, God doesn’t blow up. He doesn’t have mood swings. His emotions are not directed by the outside, but by Himself, which is always the Truth.
Only certain musical forms are conducive to impassability or affection. Emotion is not neutral. There is good and bad and right and wrong. Our thoughts should be after God, but so should our emotions. This is how we love Him with our soul.
More to Come
Proving the Music Issue in the Worship War: Is there Holy Hip Hop? pt. 9
Awhile back, I read the following from none other than Leonard Bernstein:
[F]or some people music and melody are the same thing. It’s the whole meal so to speak: when you think of music, you think of melody right away — melody: music. And they’re right, in a way, because what is music anyway but sounds that change and move along in time? And that’s practically a definition of melody, too: a series of notes that move along in time, one after another.
Well, if that’s true, then it’s almost impossible to write music that doesn’t have melody in it. I mean, if a melody is simply one note coming after another, how can a composer avoid writing melodies if he just writes notes. He must write melodies all the time.
Some would like professing believers to think that how things are going with music today is about how things have always been. Their narrative is that Bach took secular music and Christianized it, Luther did it, Watts did it, Finney did it, Moody did it, the Jesus movement did it, and we have just kept on doing that, so that here we are today. What’s to question? Using rock, rap, jazz, and all of that are just another iteration of that same practice — that idea. So the people who charge that the use of popular music are the ones outside of the historical stream of worship music. This narrative turns this use of these popular music forms into the same as its always been, a “good thing.” No. It’s a false narrative. This is a new bad or an all time bad.
For quite a long time now, professing Christians have been misjudging true spirituality. We do know that this is old, going back to biblical times, and what we have today is actually another iteration of that false notion or corruption, something we have been warned about in the Bible. And Paul deals with it in 1 and 2 Corinthians and other places in the New Testament. Satan would have men think they’re in the right place spiritually, that whatever it is that is occurring is the Holy Spirit, when it’s not. It’s actually another spirit, as Paul writes about in 2 Corinthians 11. The level of deceit here is that men think something is spiritual that is really physical, a feeling. Jonathan Edwards warned about this shortly after colonial days with the passions versus affections.
True spirituality relates to thinking. We read that in 1 Corinthians 2. The natural man, who isn’t spiritual, doesn’t understand the things of the Spirit of God. He doesn’t know them, can’t know them. Spirituality is about knowing and understanding. Paul had to talk to the Corinthians like they were carnal and not spiritual (1 Corinthians 3), because they were not receptive to the Word of God as they should have been and then been obedient to it. Spirituality is understanding the Word of God and then living obediently to it. The way that this is bypassed is through the feelings, and that’s what was happening in Corinth. The mystery religion found in pagan Corinth had worked its way into the church, replacing true spirituality with a false kind. This is also what is happening with music today. The feeling orchestrated in Corinth, that was mistaken for spirituality, came through euphoria and enthusiasm that was created.
Alright. With all that being said, if music is spiritual, it will emphasize the Word of God and the mind. There is music that is like that. There is feeling to it, but the feeling is secondary. The popular forms work against true spirituality, because they deal primarily with the body, with the flesh, with carnality. When the Holy Spirit is working, the body takes a back seat, subjects itself to the mind. We sin when we are drawn away of our own lust (James 1), so Paul commanded that we were to make no provision for the flesh (Rom 13:14). If music is spiritual, it will take the biblical priority of mind and body. Music that prioritizes body over mind is not spiritual. The Holy Spirit works through the Word of God through the mind. He doesn’t work through the body, through the lust.
All music has rhythm, but when the rhythm takes prominence in music through various musical means, the body is taking priority in the music. Musicians know how to do this. I remember several years ago that there was a kind of music that you could purchase, called Hooked on Classics. People who didn’t ordinarily like the classics could develop a “taste” for them by means of a rock rhythm that was placed in the background. The people who produced this were “hooking” or “addicting” people to that music by changing the rhythm (here’s some Hooked on Bach). People weren’t questioning what this “hooked on” genre was all about. Almost any imbecile could get what was happening. However, now professing Christians act like they don’t know what we’re talking about when we talk about what rhythm can do to music. It’s an insult to intelligence. We have to go along with the act so that people can have what they want.
That rhythm that is to hook people changes the nature of the music. It becomes more physical, so it has more feeling. The rhythm puts the feelings on steroids, so to speak. Spiritual music is not about that orchestrated feeling, that is multiplied by the rhythm. We can talk about all the ways that music does this, but true affections will come from the mind. It’s not that they bypass feelings period. Feelings are involved, but they take the proper diminished role. The mind works toward the will toward the feelings. That is God’s order and it is spiritual. It promotes knowledge and understanding.
Right now, right at this time, I was thinking about a typical kind of argument against what I’m presenting, which everyone knows about music. Rock musicians have liked what their music can do in making them more popular and sometimes adding to their harem. Professing Christians play possum, act the part of the village idiot, take on a totally naive posture, in order to keep it. What’s worse, they then think it’s fine for worship. But I digress. I was thinking about march music, Sousa, John Philip Sousa. Does his music honor God? Rhythm is primary there. I was thinking of that kind of argument. No, I don’t think Sousa should be used for worship, but I do believe it is permissible for marching. And the rhythm has most to do with that. There is nothing wrong with marching. But is there anything wrong with jiving? I won’t go there right now, but Sousa actually doesn’t help someone who wants to argue for a priority of the physical or of rhythm for worship.
Earlier I talked about the beauty of holiness. Holiness is the distinctiveness, the uniqueness, the majesty of God. A quality of God is order, the proper order, a Divinely mandated order. We see it all over the universe. As this relates to classical music, consider what Bernstein said:
That’s what classical music really means: music written in a time when perfect form and balance and proportion are what everybody is looking for -music which tries more than anything else to have a perfect shape – like a beautiful ancient Greek vase.
Now the two giant musical names of these first 50 years of the 18th Century were Bach and Handel. Especially Bach; because he took all the rules that the composers who lived before him had been experimenting with, and fiddling with – and he made those rules as perfect as a human being can make them. For instance, take that form called the fugue. Now the rules of a fugue are something like the printed directions you get when you buy an Erector set; they tell you exactly how to build a house, or a fire truck, or a Ferris Wheel. You start a Ferris Wheel by attaching one metal section to another on the floor; then you add one exactly four notches higher; then another five notches higher than that; and so on.
Bernstein wasn’t arguing for the exclusivity of this type of music. He was just being honest about it. If he did care about how God was worshiped, he could have talked about the order and precision to music after the nature of God. Many today find that kind of music too intellectual. They want their music more emotional. They want to feel more. If you want to feel more, just add to the rhythm in a number of different ways. Musicians know what they are doing. This is what popular music is about. It goes to the lowest common denominator to pull people in. It’s marketing. It’s making money. It’s having a hit. You cannot take that music and use it for worship.
More to Come
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