What is Worship that Pleases God?
By Paul R. Ipema, Pastor, Community United Reformed Church, Schererville, IN
According to the teaching of Scripture, worship that pleases God is:
1. God-centered: All too often worship is man-centered; that is, it is overly preoccupied with our felt needs and aspirations. True worship seeks to glorify God since He created and redeemed us for His glory [Isaiah 43:7]. God-centered worship stands in stark contrast against a great deal of contemporary worship which is often relational, anecdotal, humorous, casual, absorbed in felt human need, fixed on relational dynamics, heavily saturated with psychological categories, and filled with strategies for emotional healing. As one Reformed writer has stated, "Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man…worship abides forever." "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen." [Romans 11:36]
2. Bible Based and Bible Saturated: The content of our singing, praying, and preaching will always conform to the truth of Scripture. The content of God's Word will be woven through all we do in worship and will be the ground of all our appeal to authority. By application, the content of our songs for worship should be in harmony with Scripture and doctrinally sound. In his list of priorities for Protestant worship today, author Hugh Old writes, "At the head of the list should certainly be expository preaching. This has always been the glory of Protestant worship." "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it." [Joshua 1:8]
3. Covenantal and Dialogical: One of the best ways to describe God's relationship with His people is that it is a covenant, a reciprocal relationship of love and faithfulness. Worship is, quite literally, a meeting with God in which we commune with Him and draw near to Him, and He to us. Worship is also a dialogue between God and His covenant people. The very order of our worship reflects the conversation between God [who speaks to us in His call to worship, His law, the preaching of His word, and His parting blessing] and man [who responds in prayer, praise, obedience, alms-giving, and doxology]. "Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture." [Psalm 100:3]
4. Objective, Yet Able to Kindle Deep, Strong, Real Emotions Toward God: A common mistake is to evaluate worship purely in terms of our subjective impressions and feelings. Thus, for many people, worship is good only insofar as it makes them feel good. True worship does not attempt to manipulate people's emotions by failing to appeal to clear thinking about spiritual things based upon shareable evidences outside of ourselves. In the words of one theologian, "…when a hymn remains on the subjective level until the end, it no longer functions as a song of praise to God." "May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees. May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous. May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight. Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me." [Psalm 119:171-175]
5. Formal and Reverent: Worship that is informal and "loose," while certainly making people feel at ease, has the distinct disadvantage of encouraging a light, even irreverent view of God. The Lord God is holy and majestic, and we are called to worship Him "in the beauty of holiness." [Psalm 29:2] At the same time, we must not confuse reverence with a cold indifference or a stoic approach to worship that is emotionally detached and devoid of sincere joy. In view of God's character, our worship must not convey a trite, superficial, frivolous atmosphere, but instead set an example of reverence, passion and wonder. Our goal should be to sing, play, pray, and preach in such a way that people's attention will not be diverted from the substance by shoddy and half-hearted worship, nor by excessive finesse, elegance, or refinement. Natural, undistracting excellence will let the truth and beauty of God shine through. "Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few." [Ecclesiastes 5:2]
6. Corporate and Participatory: True worship, by its very nature, is not a spectator sport, nor is it entertainment. Rather, it is an activity in which God's people actively participate together for the glory of God. The Protestant reformers took great pains to remove the barriers which prevented congregational participation in worship, especially in the singing of praise to God. Although there have been varying opinions concerning the role of soloists and choirs in congregational worship, the Reformed tradition has always stressed the biblical teaching that congregational participation in worship was primarily reflected in corporate praise and taking heed to the proclamation of God's word. In addition, our songs should also reflect the corporate character of worship. As one writer has suggested, "A good hymn, even though it may be written in the first person, should give expression to that which all believers have in common as they worship God together." "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." [Ephesians 5:19-20]
In the words of the Protestant reformer, John Calvin:
"I know how difficult it is to persuade the world that God disapproves of all modes of worship not expressly sanctioned in His Word. The opposite persuasion which cleaves to them, being seated, as it were, in their very bones and marrow, is, that whatever they do has in itself a sufficient sanction, provided it exhibits some kind of zeal for the honour of God. But since God not only regards as fruitless, but also plainly abominates, whatever we undertake from zeal to His worship, if at variance with His command, what do we gain by a contrary course? The words of God are clear and distinct, 'Obedience is better than sacrifice.' 'In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men,' [I Samuel 15:22; Matthew 15:9]. Every addition to His word, especially in this matter, is a lie. Mere 'will worship' [Colossians 2:23]…is vanity. This is the decision, and when once the judge has decided, it is no longer time to debate." [On the Necessity of Reforming the Church]