The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1960-10-07
We Worship God
Lesson for October 9, 1860

Lesson for October 9, 1860
What does worship" mean?
We hear or read the word on all
sides. We speak of Public Wor-
Ship" some churches have what
is called a Directory for Wor-
Ship" a manual telling how it
should be done. Some churches
have books called a Book of
Common Worship" Exactly what
is worship?
Let us write off two common
uses of the word. One is any use
OF it that has to do with human
beings only, as when we say that
a mother worships her child, or
a girl worships her lover. This
has some meaning, but not what
we are after. We also put aside a
notion of worship that thinks of it
as just the same as what is done
in a church between (say) II and
II on Sunday mornings.
What Worship Is Not
What does it mean to worship
God? It does not mean to say
nice things about him, or to pay
him compliments, though this
(on high level may be a part
of worship. There used to be a
popular but irreverent. song, in
Guiding the words God is livin'
doll" Now that was a compli-
ment. or intended as such, but it
was long way from worship.
For the compliment was a cheap
one, and the mood was flippant.
The greatness of God was left
clear out Of sight. Worship, again,
is not just the same thing as
prayer. although all true wor-
shippers pray. (These lessons
will consider prayer in particu-
lar in November Further, wor-
ship is not just reverent thoughts
about God. One may think good
thoughts about a God one never
expects to meet, and never tries
to meet.
Worship is the response of
human being tor, we may add,
an angen who feels himself to
be in the presence of God. What
a man does under those circum-
stances is called an "act of wor-
ship" Such an act can be saying
something fsuch as prayer, or
the exclamation "Hallelujah!"o,
or it can be doing something
fSuch as making an offering, or
taking the Sacrament. If the
words are said, or the act is
done, carelessly and without
thought Of God. with no sense of
his nearness and greatness. then
there is no worship, there is only
an empty form.
A famous 19th-century writer
once pointed out two opposite
elements in worship. One is at
traction and one is fear. The wor-
shipper seeks to be close to God,
yet he also cannot help a kind of
dread. The Old Testament ex-
preston used to be, Fear God"
as well as Love God" The
name for this combination of de-
sire-and-fear is called Awe.
Bible Worship
The oath Psalm is a good ex-
ample Of an expression Of wor-
ship, as long-ago saint expert
enced it. This Psalm was, of
course. first of all a thought, or
thoughts, in someone's mind.
Then it got written down, and it
was sung at Temple services,
and in some form or other it has
long been read, said and sung in
the Christian church. Who knows
how many persons have been
helped in their own worship by
this ancient poem? You will not
ice oversees 1,2) short medi-
tation about God. whose great
ness is shown in his created uni
verse. Then (vs) 3-6 there is
media ton on the kind of person
who can truly worship. And fin
ally there is a great welcome
song for the Almighty, the king
of Glory
The sentence from Ephesians
f3:14-2D bring out Christian wor-
ship. For Christian worship is in
a class by itself because the
Christian understanding Of God
is, we believe, not only unique
but right God here is acknow-
lodged not only as King and Gre
ator, for Paul as a Jew would
take that for granted, but as
Father, the Father. Here is
prayer, in the form Of alteration;
here is prayer in the form of
request. But note what it is Paul
prays for; nothing cheap. nothing
selfish. nothing small! Above all,
this prayer is for the "fullness
of Cod" But the Christian under
stands what the 'fullness of
God" is: it is to know in all its
tremendous glory the love of
Christ. So for the Christian, to
worship Christ is to worship God.
BASED on outlines copyrighted
by the Division of Christian Edu-
cation, National Council Of the
Churches Of Christ in the U. S. A.
Released by Community Press
Service.)