Worship.
Content
WORSHIP. BY HE RY ALEXA DER DOUGLAS
Psalm xcvi, 7—10.
" Ascribe unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people : ascribe unto the Lord worship and power. Ascribe unto the Lord the honour due unto His name. Bring presents and come into His courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Let the whole earth stand in awe of Him. Tell it out among the heathen that the Lord is King." THE Psalm to which these words belong may be called a Missionary hymn. The Psalmist, looking far forward down the long avenue of time, foresees that coming day when the honour of God should be declared unto the heathen; and he calls upon the kindreds of the people who then should acknowledge Jehovah as their King to do that which it would then be both their duty and their privilege to do, — " Ascribe unto the Lord worship and power. Ascribe unto the Lord the honour due unto His name. Bring presents — or offerings — and come into His courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness ; let the whole earth stand in awe of Him. Tell it out among the heathen that the Lord is King." The Psalmist, in the high language of poetry and devotion, prescribes to the nations of the earth the work which they must do, when converted to the faith of Christ. Digitized byCjOOQlC
SEBM. VII.l WOBSHir. 81
He commands them to flock to llie courts of God for purposes of worship. He speaks of God as the great King, to whose courts they must come that they may pay Him that sacred homage, which is due to His majestic holiness. Awe, reverence, religious fear must be the spirit in which they approach Him. Worship, honour, glory must be the service which they render. And they must not rest or end in feeling; but what their hearts feel their actions must declare and manifest. They must bring presents and make offerings when they come before the Lord and enter into His courts. ow, if having thus explained the import of these words which form the text, I should go on to say that they teach us the object for which, Sunday after Sunday, we come to church, I do not suppose that my statement would be disputed ; but there are some, I do not doubt, to whom it would appear strange. It is not commonly supposed that it is for such a purpose that we meet together in the house of God. I do not think that most men are aware that to go to church is to go to court. If, now at this moment you were aU to ask yourselves, * For what object am I here to-day?' I am far from supposing that all would answer — * I am here that I may worship God.' Some, no doubt, would answer thus ; but would it not be said by others : * I come to say my prayers ;' or * I come to hear a sermon ;' or ' I come because it is the custom, but why or wherefore it is customary I do not know V The question is one of those simple inquiries which everybody &ncies that any one can answer ; and yet which, if answered by one man rightly, would be answered by ten men or a hundred wrong. £5 Digitized by CjOOQIC
82 WORSHIP. [SERM. And yet the question is one of yery great moment. Sunday is one day in every seven, and going to church is the chief business of Sunday, so that, even if going to church was the work of Sunday only, the question would concern the end and aim of one seventh of our time. And if we consider, further, that Sunday is the greatest day of all the seven, the pearl of all the week, the bright and morning star of time, and that every other day should follow in the train of Sunday and be made as like to Sunday as possible, will it not then be true to say that to answer this question rightly is to know the end for which time is sent, and to spend our days well. I am sure, therefore, that I should do you all a good service if I could assist in clearing your thoughts upon this subject, and in setting plainly and intelligibly before you the business which you have here to do, and the motive for which you assemble as members of God*s household in His house, which is the church. Well, then, why do we go to church ? Why are we all assembled here to-day ? Why are we not at work ? Why are we not gone in search of pleasure ? Why have we been kneeling and standing and sitting, according to the work in which we have been engaged ? I answer, not for any selfish ends ; not for our own glory ; not for our own good. Get rid entirely of the common, but very false and beggarly notion that religion is the highest form of selfishness. Many men, I suppose, think that a man should be good for no other reason but only that he may save his soul. Whether you and I save our souls, my dear brethren, is, comparatively speaking, a matter of little moment, even to ourselves. There is another matter, so much
Digitized byCjOOQlC
VII.] WORSHIP* 83 higher, so much nobler, so much more glorious, that this, great as it is, is a mere trifle in comparison. A man should be good for God's sake, not for his own* Every sin detracts an atom from the Divine glory. Every good action adds to its surpassing lustre* Therefore a man should do and be good. The saving of his own soul is a secondary consideration, and selfishness is never high, not even in religion. Away, then, with all little selfish views on every subject, but especially in things which belong to God. The church is the palace of the great King, who there holds His court. That King, as He has all power, has also all benevolence, and none who come before Him with right hearts shall go away empty ; but as we come into His court, every thought should fade away into darkness before the awe of the brightness of that presence which is " clothed with majesty and honour." " Holy and reverend is His name;'' and reverence, hushing, subduing, and yet also elevating every faculty of our nature, should be the grand emotion, filling all the soul. Every thought of self should vanish before the dignity of that most aweful name, which sobers and yet animates the heart with holy fear. The work, therefore, which we go to church to do is worship. The worth of God is far beyond estimation; but we do what in us lies to show our estimate of its greatness by paying Him worthshi^y or as we commonly spell it worship. In our earthly palaces we pay respect and honour to our earthly kings, when, surrounded by their courtiers and all the signs of dignity, they receive the homage of their
people. In the heavenly palaces we worship the King of Heaven, looking upwards to His secret and e6 Digitized byCjOOQlC
84 WOBSHIP. [SEBM. invisible throne, where Angels cluster round Him and Cherubim compose His court. Other ends come in subordinate to this, but the key-note to all our service is praise. It is as the Prayer-book tells us, " We assemble and meet together to render thanks for the great benefits that we have received at His hands, to set forth His most worthy praise ; to hear His most holy Word ; and to ask those things which are requisite and necessary." That is, the first great end for which we go to the court of heaven is to thank Him who has made and redeemed us, and to praise Him for His glorious goodness. You see, my brethren, what it is that our Prayerbook teaches us, in that address with which the daily service opens. It shows us that the first of all the purposes for which we here assemble is to '' render thanks " and " set forth His most worthy praise." This is the end, higher than all other ends, towering far above every other consideration. For this our churches are built, and the ministers of Christ are ordained, and the people meet together on the day of God. When we have shot at this mark and hit it, then we may think about our own good, but not till then. God is our object, not man ; and our grand concern must be God's honour, not our own good. We meet together, first, to render thanks to God and to set forth His most worthy praise. Then, having come together for this purpose, filled with the thought of God, anxious to pay Him honour, ec^er to show
forth His praise, we are rewarded for our devotion by hearing His holy Word. Uplifting our hearts to Him and giving Him the glory which is His due, we are remembered by Him and are taught out of His blessed book the truth which makes the soul fi^e. The Digitized byCjOOQlC
yii.] woBSHip. 85 hearing of God's word read and preached is the second object for which we here assemble. We ascribe to God honour^ and then God teaches us His everlasting truth. And further, when from His Word read and preached to us in lesson, epistle, gospel, sermon, we have learnt the blessings which we need, we turn from praise to prayer. We listen first to truth, and then we pass to supplication ; asking at the hands of Him, whom we have honoured and who has graciously been pleased to teach us, the goods which flow out of His sovereign mercy, and the gifts which His grace is ready freely to bestow. Praise comes first, then teaching, then petition. We do not ask for goods till we have first ascribed to God honour, and listened to His majestic voice. Our own good is the last of three considerations. The first is God's person ; the second is God's truth ; the third, the last, the lowest is our x)wn good. o one who studies his Prayer-book, and endeavours to catch the spirit which breathes throughout the whole book, can doubt for a moment that the end for which we come to church is God's service. . The service of our God and Father is the great and all inclusive end which brings us here. From the " Lord, open thou our lips," with which, when sin has been confessed, our book of prayer opens, to the hymn of the Holy Sacrament, with which it closes in a burst of praise, it teaches us that we must come to God as worshippers ; it echoes the song
of those who cry in heaven, " worthy art thou, O Lord to receive glory and honour and power 5" it carries us above the thought of self that we may find in adoration our own highest good, and casts us before the footstool of that high and lofty being " who in^ habiteth eternity," that He may lift us as high as Digitized byCjOOQlC
86 WORSHIP. [SEBM. we are fallen low, and reward us for our weak and miserable service by heavenly and never-ending gifts. So that the spirit of this Psalm is the spirit of our Book of Common Prayer. In ritual, custom, and observance, it calls on us to " give to God the honour due unto His ame." It prescribes to us a chaste but comely ceremonial. It does not fear beauty, as though beauty and holiness could never harmonize ; but crying out, " worship the Lord in the beauty of heliness," it exhorts us by all that art can do to make the house of God palatial, and by all that music can accomplish to render prayer devout and praise magnificent. It tells among the Gentiles that God is indeed " a Kingy^ and that the best of everything which earth can yield is not too good for Him who made man to be the image of His glory, and the universe to show forth His praise. Here, then, is a great principle. Worship is the work which men must do in church. God is a great King. The church is the palace of this great King. And worship is the work of those who visit His court. And now, let us apply this principle to conduct, and reflect on some out of many consequences which follow from it. I. It teaches us that we must come to God's
house with all reverence of heart. If God is the King of all the earth, and if we go to church to do Him honour, we must keep our feet (as the wise man teaches), and be careful that we do"not offer there " the sacrifice of fools." When we have crossed the threshold of His house we have passed from common to hallowed ground, and we must hear that aweful voice which spake of old to Moses : " Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou Digitized byCjOOQlC
VII.] WORSHIP* 87 standest is holy ground." A man should feel when he goes to church, — * I am going into the presence of that most holy and majestic Being of whom are all things and by whom are all things, and mine eyes and thoughts must rest on nothing but on Him alone.' The devout worshipper will therefore come to church with a spirit which is prepared for the work which he has there to do ; excluding from his mind all common thoughts ; locking the dopr of his soul against every earthly circumstance ; awe brooding like a cloud over him, and solemnizing all his soul. He will be punctual to the time appointed for the King's service, lest a slight be offered to the Eternal Majesty and others be distracted in their prayers. He will cast no curious and wandering eyes around him to see what others are doing, but with thoughts fixed on God's service and eyes bent upon his Prayer-book, he will be wholly given to the work of worship, kneeling with all humility at times of prayer, standing with confident and grateful heart as he follows the ascriptions of praise and thanksgiving, never careless, never forgetting where he is or what he is doing, but seeing God everywhere and in eveiything, watching his God and King "as He
goeth in the sanctuary," and following all His movements as He passes here and there throughout His courts. When the Psalms are sung his heart will rise as in a flight of adoration, wafted on the words which have been winged by song. When the Word of God is read he will listen with wrapt attention, thinking, * That blessed book is God's word and that voice which I hear is not the voice of man but of God.' When the minister of Christ, speaking as a prophet, stands up to exhort him in God's name, Digitized by V^OOg IC^
88 .WORSHIP. [S££M. he will remember that solemn faying of his Lord, " He that reeeiveth you receiveth me," and will " receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to saye " the soul. And when he prays he will feel that he is only a poor miserable sinner, with nothing to trust to but the King's benevolence and bounty, on which he casts himself with all confidence, as the unfailing source of all grace and all good. The true worshipper is never abject, never overwhelmed with slavish fear, but he is always reverent, always self-forgetful, always, whether rising high or &lling low, solemnized and awestruck by the sight of Him who scatters every thought of self before the majesty of His presence and the radiance of His eternal glory. II. Further : As we should come to church with all reverence, so the service of God should be surrounded with every circumstance which can express reverence or minister to devotion. The point of view from which to regard everything connected with the worship and service of God is not man's good but God's glory. In judging about such matters we must
not ask ourselves, — what will do man most good ? but what is most for God's honour ? That which is most for God's honour will also in the end be most for man's good, but God's honour is the first consideration. If the only end for which we came to church was to be edified by means of a sermon, any four walls which can be roofed over might be good enough for a church. But if the church is God's house ; if every church, however small and humble, is a palace of the great King^ whose chief dwelling is in heaven, then we must think very differently. Anything is good enough for man, indeed I might say Digitized by V^OOQ IC!
VII.] WORSHIP. 89 anjthing is too good for man ; but nothing is good enough for God. ow, this is not the general opinion. Men build themselves costly houses, and furnish them with rich carpets, and beautiful woods, and polished marbles, while silver shines upon their tables and gold gleams along their walls. And they think that this is quite proper. Men do themselves good in this way, and all speak of them well. It is a common opinion that nothing is too good for ourselves ; but anything is good enough for God. Any building which can hold the worshippers who there assemble, if only it be decent and clean, is good enough for God's house. This is a common thought, and, if our principle be true, you must see that it is a wrong thought. David thought very differently. To him it was a source of pain and great disquiet that while he himself was ^dwelling in a house of cedar, the ark of God was in a house of curtains. God is a reality. God is not a mere name. God is not a word only about which a man may talk. God is. God^is a great King. And the church is God's
palace, in which His glory dwells. We must learn then to love our churches, and to make them such as to excite reverence and awaken love. A church should be so built and furnished and ornamented, that when a man enters it he should feel — this is sometliing quite different from every other building — this is the house of prayer and praise. Everything about it should be of such a character, that a man on entering should be induced by all its aspects to go down at once upon his knees and pray. It should seem what it is. It is a sacred place, dedicated to God's service. It is God's house, and it should seem God's house. It is a King's palace, Digitized byCjOOQlC
90 WOBSHIP. [SEBM. and as far as may be it should seem a palace. And so likewise in other things. The service offered in God's house should be conducted with the utmost reverence, as though God was felt to be present in the midst of us. His ministers should move like courtiers around a' king. Every thing little and every thing great should be done with care, with exactness, with propriety, with strict solemnity. The music of the court should be as good as possible. The best voices should be enlisted in* this service. The '^greatest care should be bestowed in training and preparation for the work of praise. Everything that music can do, acting as the handmaid of devotion, should be done to render our sacrifice of praise an acceptable service, and to express the worship of the heart in sounds of dignity and sweetness. God is a King, and everything connected with His house and ser^ce must be of the best. God is entitled to receive the best of everything, — the ablest and holiest of men for His
ministry, the best and most beautiful of buildings for His house, the best voices and choicest music for His praise. Everything is turned to its highest use when given to Him. We must worship God with sanctified souls, but we must also worship Him with hallowed bodies. We must " worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." III. Lastly, I would say this. We should think tliat we come to church to present to God gifts. " Bring presents," says the Psalmist to all the kindreds of the people. Self-dedication is the fgreat idea of worship. We come to church to dedicate ourselves to Him who is our God and King. We come to sacrifice ourselves . in praise and every mode of offering, " to Him who has loved us and washed us from our sins in His own
y Google
VII.] WORSHIP. 91 blood," The altar, therefore, at which we commemorate and plead the one atoning sacrifice, linking ourselves there with Him who pleads for us in heaven, is the centre around which our worship radiates, and the end to which it all leads. We come to church to sacrifice ourselves. And in token that we* offer self we offer gifts. We give presents in token that we give ourselves. o service of God is perfect in which we do not offer our gifts. Give then your alms and your oblations freely to Him who has done all for you. The altar is the footstool of your King's throne. Thither bring your substance in gratitude to Him. To Him you owe everything, — ^life, health, strength, and all the gifts of nature ; regeneration and all the blessings of grace. Return Him love for love, and
sacrifice for sacrifice. Seek not self in anything, but look to God always. And judge everything not as it may conduce to your own good, but as it may ascribe to the Lord honour and advance your Father's glory.
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Psalm xcvi, 7—10.
" Ascribe unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people : ascribe unto the Lord worship and power. Ascribe unto the Lord the honour due unto His name. Bring presents and come into His courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Let the whole earth stand in awe of Him. Tell it out among the heathen that the Lord is King." THE Psalm to which these words belong may be called a Missionary hymn. The Psalmist, looking far forward down the long avenue of time, foresees that coming day when the honour of God should be declared unto the heathen; and he calls upon the kindreds of the people who then should acknowledge Jehovah as their King to do that which it would then be both their duty and their privilege to do, — " Ascribe unto the Lord worship and power. Ascribe unto the Lord the honour due unto His name. Bring presents — or offerings — and come into His courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness ; let the whole earth stand in awe of Him. Tell it out among the heathen that the Lord is King." The Psalmist, in the high language of poetry and devotion, prescribes to the nations of the earth the work which they must do, when converted to the faith of Christ. Digitized byCjOOQlC
SEBM. VII.l WOBSHir. 81
He commands them to flock to llie courts of God for purposes of worship. He speaks of God as the great King, to whose courts they must come that they may pay Him that sacred homage, which is due to His majestic holiness. Awe, reverence, religious fear must be the spirit in which they approach Him. Worship, honour, glory must be the service which they render. And they must not rest or end in feeling; but what their hearts feel their actions must declare and manifest. They must bring presents and make offerings when they come before the Lord and enter into His courts. ow, if having thus explained the import of these words which form the text, I should go on to say that they teach us the object for which, Sunday after Sunday, we come to church, I do not suppose that my statement would be disputed ; but there are some, I do not doubt, to whom it would appear strange. It is not commonly supposed that it is for such a purpose that we meet together in the house of God. I do not think that most men are aware that to go to church is to go to court. If, now at this moment you were aU to ask yourselves, * For what object am I here to-day?' I am far from supposing that all would answer — * I am here that I may worship God.' Some, no doubt, would answer thus ; but would it not be said by others : * I come to say my prayers ;' or * I come to hear a sermon ;' or ' I come because it is the custom, but why or wherefore it is customary I do not know V The question is one of those simple inquiries which everybody &ncies that any one can answer ; and yet which, if answered by one man rightly, would be answered by ten men or a hundred wrong. £5 Digitized by CjOOQIC
82 WORSHIP. [SERM. And yet the question is one of yery great moment. Sunday is one day in every seven, and going to church is the chief business of Sunday, so that, even if going to church was the work of Sunday only, the question would concern the end and aim of one seventh of our time. And if we consider, further, that Sunday is the greatest day of all the seven, the pearl of all the week, the bright and morning star of time, and that every other day should follow in the train of Sunday and be made as like to Sunday as possible, will it not then be true to say that to answer this question rightly is to know the end for which time is sent, and to spend our days well. I am sure, therefore, that I should do you all a good service if I could assist in clearing your thoughts upon this subject, and in setting plainly and intelligibly before you the business which you have here to do, and the motive for which you assemble as members of God*s household in His house, which is the church. Well, then, why do we go to church ? Why are we all assembled here to-day ? Why are we not at work ? Why are we not gone in search of pleasure ? Why have we been kneeling and standing and sitting, according to the work in which we have been engaged ? I answer, not for any selfish ends ; not for our own glory ; not for our own good. Get rid entirely of the common, but very false and beggarly notion that religion is the highest form of selfishness. Many men, I suppose, think that a man should be good for no other reason but only that he may save his soul. Whether you and I save our souls, my dear brethren, is, comparatively speaking, a matter of little moment, even to ourselves. There is another matter, so much
Digitized byCjOOQlC
VII.] WORSHIP* 83 higher, so much nobler, so much more glorious, that this, great as it is, is a mere trifle in comparison. A man should be good for God's sake, not for his own* Every sin detracts an atom from the Divine glory. Every good action adds to its surpassing lustre* Therefore a man should do and be good. The saving of his own soul is a secondary consideration, and selfishness is never high, not even in religion. Away, then, with all little selfish views on every subject, but especially in things which belong to God. The church is the palace of the great King, who there holds His court. That King, as He has all power, has also all benevolence, and none who come before Him with right hearts shall go away empty ; but as we come into His court, every thought should fade away into darkness before the awe of the brightness of that presence which is " clothed with majesty and honour." " Holy and reverend is His name;'' and reverence, hushing, subduing, and yet also elevating every faculty of our nature, should be the grand emotion, filling all the soul. Every thought of self should vanish before the dignity of that most aweful name, which sobers and yet animates the heart with holy fear. The work, therefore, which we go to church to do is worship. The worth of God is far beyond estimation; but we do what in us lies to show our estimate of its greatness by paying Him worthshi^y or as we commonly spell it worship. In our earthly palaces we pay respect and honour to our earthly kings, when, surrounded by their courtiers and all the signs of dignity, they receive the homage of their
people. In the heavenly palaces we worship the King of Heaven, looking upwards to His secret and e6 Digitized byCjOOQlC
84 WOBSHIP. [SEBM. invisible throne, where Angels cluster round Him and Cherubim compose His court. Other ends come in subordinate to this, but the key-note to all our service is praise. It is as the Prayer-book tells us, " We assemble and meet together to render thanks for the great benefits that we have received at His hands, to set forth His most worthy praise ; to hear His most holy Word ; and to ask those things which are requisite and necessary." That is, the first great end for which we go to the court of heaven is to thank Him who has made and redeemed us, and to praise Him for His glorious goodness. You see, my brethren, what it is that our Prayerbook teaches us, in that address with which the daily service opens. It shows us that the first of all the purposes for which we here assemble is to '' render thanks " and " set forth His most worthy praise." This is the end, higher than all other ends, towering far above every other consideration. For this our churches are built, and the ministers of Christ are ordained, and the people meet together on the day of God. When we have shot at this mark and hit it, then we may think about our own good, but not till then. God is our object, not man ; and our grand concern must be God's honour, not our own good. We meet together, first, to render thanks to God and to set forth His most worthy praise. Then, having come together for this purpose, filled with the thought of God, anxious to pay Him honour, ec^er to show
forth His praise, we are rewarded for our devotion by hearing His holy Word. Uplifting our hearts to Him and giving Him the glory which is His due, we are remembered by Him and are taught out of His blessed book the truth which makes the soul fi^e. The Digitized byCjOOQlC
yii.] woBSHip. 85 hearing of God's word read and preached is the second object for which we here assemble. We ascribe to God honour^ and then God teaches us His everlasting truth. And further, when from His Word read and preached to us in lesson, epistle, gospel, sermon, we have learnt the blessings which we need, we turn from praise to prayer. We listen first to truth, and then we pass to supplication ; asking at the hands of Him, whom we have honoured and who has graciously been pleased to teach us, the goods which flow out of His sovereign mercy, and the gifts which His grace is ready freely to bestow. Praise comes first, then teaching, then petition. We do not ask for goods till we have first ascribed to God honour, and listened to His majestic voice. Our own good is the last of three considerations. The first is God's person ; the second is God's truth ; the third, the last, the lowest is our x)wn good. o one who studies his Prayer-book, and endeavours to catch the spirit which breathes throughout the whole book, can doubt for a moment that the end for which we come to church is God's service. . The service of our God and Father is the great and all inclusive end which brings us here. From the " Lord, open thou our lips," with which, when sin has been confessed, our book of prayer opens, to the hymn of the Holy Sacrament, with which it closes in a burst of praise, it teaches us that we must come to God as worshippers ; it echoes the song
of those who cry in heaven, " worthy art thou, O Lord to receive glory and honour and power 5" it carries us above the thought of self that we may find in adoration our own highest good, and casts us before the footstool of that high and lofty being " who in^ habiteth eternity," that He may lift us as high as Digitized byCjOOQlC
86 WORSHIP. [SEBM. we are fallen low, and reward us for our weak and miserable service by heavenly and never-ending gifts. So that the spirit of this Psalm is the spirit of our Book of Common Prayer. In ritual, custom, and observance, it calls on us to " give to God the honour due unto His ame." It prescribes to us a chaste but comely ceremonial. It does not fear beauty, as though beauty and holiness could never harmonize ; but crying out, " worship the Lord in the beauty of heliness," it exhorts us by all that art can do to make the house of God palatial, and by all that music can accomplish to render prayer devout and praise magnificent. It tells among the Gentiles that God is indeed " a Kingy^ and that the best of everything which earth can yield is not too good for Him who made man to be the image of His glory, and the universe to show forth His praise. Here, then, is a great principle. Worship is the work which men must do in church. God is a great King. The church is the palace of this great King. And worship is the work of those who visit His court. And now, let us apply this principle to conduct, and reflect on some out of many consequences which follow from it. I. It teaches us that we must come to God's
house with all reverence of heart. If God is the King of all the earth, and if we go to church to do Him honour, we must keep our feet (as the wise man teaches), and be careful that we do"not offer there " the sacrifice of fools." When we have crossed the threshold of His house we have passed from common to hallowed ground, and we must hear that aweful voice which spake of old to Moses : " Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou Digitized byCjOOQlC
VII.] WORSHIP* 87 standest is holy ground." A man should feel when he goes to church, — * I am going into the presence of that most holy and majestic Being of whom are all things and by whom are all things, and mine eyes and thoughts must rest on nothing but on Him alone.' The devout worshipper will therefore come to church with a spirit which is prepared for the work which he has there to do ; excluding from his mind all common thoughts ; locking the dopr of his soul against every earthly circumstance ; awe brooding like a cloud over him, and solemnizing all his soul. He will be punctual to the time appointed for the King's service, lest a slight be offered to the Eternal Majesty and others be distracted in their prayers. He will cast no curious and wandering eyes around him to see what others are doing, but with thoughts fixed on God's service and eyes bent upon his Prayer-book, he will be wholly given to the work of worship, kneeling with all humility at times of prayer, standing with confident and grateful heart as he follows the ascriptions of praise and thanksgiving, never careless, never forgetting where he is or what he is doing, but seeing God everywhere and in eveiything, watching his God and King "as He
goeth in the sanctuary," and following all His movements as He passes here and there throughout His courts. When the Psalms are sung his heart will rise as in a flight of adoration, wafted on the words which have been winged by song. When the Word of God is read he will listen with wrapt attention, thinking, * That blessed book is God's word and that voice which I hear is not the voice of man but of God.' When the minister of Christ, speaking as a prophet, stands up to exhort him in God's name, Digitized by V^OOg IC^
88 .WORSHIP. [S££M. he will remember that solemn faying of his Lord, " He that reeeiveth you receiveth me," and will " receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to saye " the soul. And when he prays he will feel that he is only a poor miserable sinner, with nothing to trust to but the King's benevolence and bounty, on which he casts himself with all confidence, as the unfailing source of all grace and all good. The true worshipper is never abject, never overwhelmed with slavish fear, but he is always reverent, always self-forgetful, always, whether rising high or &lling low, solemnized and awestruck by the sight of Him who scatters every thought of self before the majesty of His presence and the radiance of His eternal glory. II. Further : As we should come to church with all reverence, so the service of God should be surrounded with every circumstance which can express reverence or minister to devotion. The point of view from which to regard everything connected with the worship and service of God is not man's good but God's glory. In judging about such matters we must
not ask ourselves, — what will do man most good ? but what is most for God's honour ? That which is most for God's honour will also in the end be most for man's good, but God's honour is the first consideration. If the only end for which we came to church was to be edified by means of a sermon, any four walls which can be roofed over might be good enough for a church. But if the church is God's house ; if every church, however small and humble, is a palace of the great King^ whose chief dwelling is in heaven, then we must think very differently. Anything is good enough for man, indeed I might say Digitized by V^OOQ IC!
VII.] WORSHIP. 89 anjthing is too good for man ; but nothing is good enough for God. ow, this is not the general opinion. Men build themselves costly houses, and furnish them with rich carpets, and beautiful woods, and polished marbles, while silver shines upon their tables and gold gleams along their walls. And they think that this is quite proper. Men do themselves good in this way, and all speak of them well. It is a common opinion that nothing is too good for ourselves ; but anything is good enough for God. Any building which can hold the worshippers who there assemble, if only it be decent and clean, is good enough for God's house. This is a common thought, and, if our principle be true, you must see that it is a wrong thought. David thought very differently. To him it was a source of pain and great disquiet that while he himself was ^dwelling in a house of cedar, the ark of God was in a house of curtains. God is a reality. God is not a mere name. God is not a word only about which a man may talk. God is. God^is a great King. And the church is God's
palace, in which His glory dwells. We must learn then to love our churches, and to make them such as to excite reverence and awaken love. A church should be so built and furnished and ornamented, that when a man enters it he should feel — this is sometliing quite different from every other building — this is the house of prayer and praise. Everything about it should be of such a character, that a man on entering should be induced by all its aspects to go down at once upon his knees and pray. It should seem what it is. It is a sacred place, dedicated to God's service. It is God's house, and it should seem God's house. It is a King's palace, Digitized byCjOOQlC
90 WOBSHIP. [SEBM. and as far as may be it should seem a palace. And so likewise in other things. The service offered in God's house should be conducted with the utmost reverence, as though God was felt to be present in the midst of us. His ministers should move like courtiers around a' king. Every thing little and every thing great should be done with care, with exactness, with propriety, with strict solemnity. The music of the court should be as good as possible. The best voices should be enlisted in* this service. The '^greatest care should be bestowed in training and preparation for the work of praise. Everything that music can do, acting as the handmaid of devotion, should be done to render our sacrifice of praise an acceptable service, and to express the worship of the heart in sounds of dignity and sweetness. God is a King, and everything connected with His house and ser^ce must be of the best. God is entitled to receive the best of everything, — the ablest and holiest of men for His
ministry, the best and most beautiful of buildings for His house, the best voices and choicest music for His praise. Everything is turned to its highest use when given to Him. We must worship God with sanctified souls, but we must also worship Him with hallowed bodies. We must " worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." III. Lastly, I would say this. We should think tliat we come to church to present to God gifts. " Bring presents," says the Psalmist to all the kindreds of the people. Self-dedication is the fgreat idea of worship. We come to church to dedicate ourselves to Him who is our God and King. We come to sacrifice ourselves . in praise and every mode of offering, " to Him who has loved us and washed us from our sins in His own
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VII.] WORSHIP. 91 blood," The altar, therefore, at which we commemorate and plead the one atoning sacrifice, linking ourselves there with Him who pleads for us in heaven, is the centre around which our worship radiates, and the end to which it all leads. We come to church to sacrifice ourselves. And in token that we* offer self we offer gifts. We give presents in token that we give ourselves. o service of God is perfect in which we do not offer our gifts. Give then your alms and your oblations freely to Him who has done all for you. The altar is the footstool of your King's throne. Thither bring your substance in gratitude to Him. To Him you owe everything, — ^life, health, strength, and all the gifts of nature ; regeneration and all the blessings of grace. Return Him love for love, and
sacrifice for sacrifice. Seek not self in anything, but look to God always. And judge everything not as it may conduce to your own good, but as it may ascribe to the Lord honour and advance your Father's glory.
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