The individual psyche of a post-exilic Israelite was wrapped up in national hope (real hopey-changey).  In addition to explaining again how they had gotten there, it provided a basis for confidence for the nation.   The God of the ark narrative (1 Chronicles 13-16) was the LORD (Jehovah), the covenant keeping God of Israel.  His mercy (lovingkindness, Old Testament love) endured forever.  God would deliver out of faithful love for His people.  We will see this point made in the psalm of 1 Chronicles 16.

Despite wonderful intentions and likely a very good heart, David had been wrong on the outward appearance, the actual doing of the worship with the ark in 1 Chronicles 13 (part one).  He could have concluded that God was done with him, but God communicated that He wasn’t finished through various means in 1 Chronicles 14 (part two).  These are the first two chapters of the ark narrative in 1 Chronicles, which sits at a pivotal place in the book, so as to emphasize worship of God.  And what is the emphasis in this emphasis on worship?

The emphasis isn’t the spirit of the worship, although that is likely why David’s good intentions did matter in that certain way.  If he didn’t care, he could have been a replay of Nadab and Abihu.  David put a lot of oomph into his worship effort with the musicians and the rest of the display of ceremonial grandeur.  He’s not going to stop that.  However, the emphasis is on what is that people are doing, what they are actually giving God.

We live in an era in which people deny objective beauty.  This smacks in the face of Christian history.  It also defies logic and natural law.  If there is no beauty, then there is no ugliness, and then it doesn’t really matter what we serve up to God, except that we like it.  In the modern and postmodern anthropocentric world view, beauty is a matter of personal taste.  It was never thought that way by Christians until those of this age.  It wasn’t even how people thought in Western Civilization until the Enlightenment.  What this does for church growth is attract unbelievers, because they are totally into personal taste.  The church relates with the world more than ever.  Much more to say here, but let us move on within the ark narrative itself.

One sort of odd point in chapter 15 is the first verse, and only the first half, which takes a brief detour to David making him houses.  Houses, plural.  Whaaat?  Likely this emphasizes the polygamy of David and the distraction that way.  I believe it is a mini shot at David and a small reminder of something that threw him off his game.  There is a contradistinction with David’s “houses” and God’s tent.  David would lose out on opportunity to please God with his self-gratification.  Narcissism does that kind of thing.  Let that be a lesson.  Our own agenda can be a distraction from the necessary time required not to skip things like priests carrying the ark on poles.  Putting that aside then, we move on to the subject at hand, the ark moving to Jerusalem.

We see David adjusting his initial approach, this time paying attention to what God had said about worship.  He prepared a place to put the ark, a tent.  Later would come the Solomonic temple, but for now, it was the same house as had served during the trek through the wilderness.  That had worked because it was Scriptural.  David wanted something more extravagant, but he would never have that opportunity.

In v. 2, we see David get back on the right track by taking care of some of the detail he had missed the first time as non-essential.  The Lord chose only certain people to do certain things.  For instance, He hasn’t chosen certain people to pastor churches, as seen in 1 Timothy 3.  People are disqualified, including all women.  Protesting that doesn’t help men or women.

And then we see that part of the worship was gathering.  A lot is put into that in chapter 15, listing various peoples and groups that were part of the assembly.  Corporate worship requires getting together.  People have to deem God worth it.  Today we’re seeing less gatherings, more emphasis on convenience.  Some will say that they don’t think they need to assemble to worship God.  When worship is actually gathering, not gathering eliminates the worship, no matter what the intentions might be while someone sits at home maybe watching Charles Stanley or listening to Chuck Swindoll.

(to be continued)

As we read Scripture, we not only look to find out what the words say, but what the balance of them says.  You really do want to emphasize what you see the Bible emphasize, because God is emphasizing it.  As I mentioned in part one, you get the genealogy of David, the fall of Saul, the enthronement of David, the explanation of David’s rise, and the action of David in his kingship is a worship act, as represented by the ark narrative.   Based on the flow of 1 Chronicles, you can see that the ark and worship is the emphasis.  It is given the position and space, as if everything up to that point was leading to the ark story.  The reign in Israel is about worship.  God is seeking for true worshipers.

1 and 2 Kings reminded or explained to captive Israelites how they got into their trouble.  1 and 2 Chronicles gave their post-exilic brethren hope for their future, wrapped around the Davidic covenant.  So the first 9 chapters establish David’s credentials.  Chapter 10 erases the reign of Saul, man’s choice.  In chapter 11, enter David himself, passing through the intermediate reign in Hebron, moving to the throne in Jerusalem.  How God accomplishes His choice?  Mighty men — chapter 12.  We get David on the throne and what’s the first thing God wants freed captives to think about?  Worship.

David Cloud recently produced the following video exposes of the music of West Coast Baptist College and Lancaster Baptist Church in Lancaster, California. To show how out-of-touch I was on this issue, I didn’t even hear about it until about three weeks ago,when the whole shabang actually started in March of this year. Once I did, I found that it had exploded online with other Cloud articles, discussion on fundamentalist forums, blogs, a multitude of emails positive and negative sent to Cloud, and at least one answer from Paul Chappell (which Cloud answers here).

First, here are the presentations by David Cloud. You’ll be able to figure out what he’s doing.
One.

Two.

Three.

I hate this stuff by West Coast/Lancaster, even if it weren’t written and performed by CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) groups. I hate what they do. I hate the way they do it. I hate the philosophy of ministry that it represents. I hate the way it misrepresents the God of the Bible. I hate the way it deceives the people with whom it is involved. I hate what it does to churches. I hate the way that it harms and even ruins discernment. I hate the way that it perverts a biblical or true understanding of spirituality and love. I will not tolerate it. I will have nothing to do with it. I hate the way that it endorses false worship for churches. It’s disgusting.

Second, what about Cloud’s point? Is it wrong to do what West Coast does, that is, adapt the CCM songs to fit their view of God? I don’t think it matters for West Coast, because they already know what they want, and if a CCM group doesn’t write it for them, they will either write it themselves or find it somewhere else. However, it should be tell-tale to anyone that West Coast finds it necessary to dip into or borrow from the CCM world to fulfill their goals. I believe there is understandable reasons for this. These CCM performers know what they are doing with their music. They contrive and choreograph emotions and feelings with their music to produce an fraudulent, imitation experience of spirituality that fools the participants. And then what the CCM people want to get happens to be some of the very same that West Coast wants. The biggest difference is the smoke. West Coast misses some CCM smokiness. Taking away the smoke is like putting lipstick on a pig.

Most of Puritan Stephen Charnock’s works were transcribed after his death, the most well-known of these, The Existence and Attributes of God. The fourth chapter (Discourse IV) is entitled “On Spiritual Worship.” Seventeenth century Christianity had not had the kind of corruption in worship that we see today. However, Charnock had thought deeply in Scripture on the topic of worship. If this one chapter alone were read and followed, we would cut out a huge amount of the garbage seen today in churches. If you have not read this chapter, you haven’t finished your research on the worship. Here are selected excerpts from that fourth chapter.

Just because we delight in it, Charnock says, is not evidence that it is spiritual worship.

A man may invent a worship and delight in it; as Micah in the adoration of his idol, when he was glad he had got both an Ephod and a Levite (Judges xvii). As a man may have a contentment in sin, so he may have a contentment in worship ; not because it is a worship of God, but the worship of his own invention, agreeable to his own humor and design, as (Isa. Iviii. 2) it is said, they “delighted in approaching to God;” but it was for carnal ends. Novelty engenders complacency ; but it must be a worship wherein God will delight; and that must be a worship according to his own rule and infinite wisdom, and not our shallow fancies. (p. 235)

Charnock writes that spiritual worship is performed with spiritual ends for the glory of God.

It is natural for man to worship God for self; self-righteousness is the rooted aim of man in his worship since his revolt from God, and being sensible it is not to be found in his natural actions, he seeks for it in his moral and religious. By the first pride we flung God off from being our sovereign, and from being our end, since a pharisaical spirit struts it in nature, not only to do things to be seen of men, but to be admired by God (Isa. Iviii. 3): “Wherefore have we fasted and thou takest no knowledge?” This is to have God worship them, instead of being worshipped by them. Cain’s carriage after his sacrifice testified some base end in his worship ; he came not to God as a subject to a sovereign, but as if he had been the sovereign, and God the subject, and when his design is not answered, and his desire not gratified, he proves more a rebel to God, and a murderer of his brother. Such base scents will rise up in our worship from the body of death which cleaves to us, and mix themselves with our services. (p. 240)

Charnock warns against carnal, fleshly, unholy, profane worship.

And therefore infinite goodness and holiness cannot but hate worship presented to him with deceitful, carnal, and flitting affections; they must be more nauseous to God, than a putrefied carcass can be to man; they are the profanings of that which should be the habitation of the Spirit; they malee the spirit, the sent of duty, a filthy dunghill; and are as loathsome to God, as money-changers in the temple were to our Saviour. (p. 271)

Charnock admonishes a spiritual frame of existence to encourage spiritual worship.

To avoid low affections, we must keep our hearts as much as we can in a settled elevation. If we admit unworthy dispositions at one time, we shall not easily be rid of them in another; as he that would not be bitten with gnats in the night, must keep his windows shut in the day: when they are once entered, it is not easy to expel them; in which respect, one adviseth to be such out of worship as we would be in worship. If we mix spiritual affections with our worldly employments, worldly affections will not mingle themselves so easily with our heavenly engagements. If our hearts be spiritual in our outward calling, they will scarce be carnal in our religious service. (p. 271)

Charnock asserts that spiritual worship, acceptable to God, must reflect His majesty.

Nourish right conceptions of the majesty of God in your minds. Let us consider that we are drawing to God, the most amiable object, the best of beings, worthy of infinite honor, and highly meriting the highest affections we can give; a God that made the world by a word, that upholds the great frame of heaven and earth; a Majesty above the conceptions of angels; who uses not his power to strike us to our deserved punishment, but his love and bounty to allure us; a God that gave all the creatures to serve us, and can, in a trice, make them as much our enemies as he hath now made them our servants. Let us view him in his greatness, and in his goodness, that our heart may have a true value of the worship of so great a majesty, and count it the most worthy employment with all diligence to attend upon him. When we have a fear of God, it will make our worship serious; when we have a joy in God, it will make our worship durable. Our affections will be raised when we represent God in the most reverential, endearing, and obliging circumstances. (pp. 272-273)

Charnocks sets the world and worship as mutually exclusive.

Let us take heed of inordinate desires after the world. As the world steals away a man’s heart from the word, so it doth from all other worship; “It chokes the word” (Matt. xiii. 27) ; it stifles all the spiritual breathings after God in every duty; the edge of the soul is blunted by it, and made too dull for such sublime exercises. The apostle’s rule in prayer, when he joins” sobriety with watching unto prayer” (1 Pet. iv. 7), is of concern in all worship, sobriety in the pursuit and use of all worldly things. A man drunk with worldly fumes cannot watch, cannot be heavenly, affectionate, spiritual in service. There is a magnetic force in the earth to hinder our flights to heaven. Birds, when they take their first flights from the earth, have more flutterings of their wings, than when they are mounted further in the air, and got more without the sphere of the earth’s attractiveness: the motion of their wings is more steady, that you can perceive them stir; they move like a ship with a full gale. The world is a clog upon the soul, and a bar to spiritual frames ; it is as hard to elevate the heart to God in the midst of a hurry of worldly affairs, as it is difficult to meditate when we are near a great noise of waters falling from a precipice, or in the midst of a volley of muskets. Thick clayey affections bemire the heart, and make it unfit for such high flights it is to take in worship; therefore, get your hearts clear from worldly thoughts and desires, if you would be more spiritual in worship. (p. 273)

I encourage you to read and meditate upon the truths of this chapter of Stephen Charnock’s book.