"Embracing Worship" (1 Chronicles 16:7-18)

The ‘Why’ of Worship

1. To maintain and grow our spiritual health
2. To draw on each other’s strength, be encouraged, serve one another, and develop in our gifts
3. To keep focussed, build our faith, and appreciate how the Holy Spirit is moving
4. To be fully centred on God, and know how best to follow Jesus
5. It is through sincere, authentic, enthusiastic and life-changing worship, that the world will change and the Kingdom of God will grow
6. “What shall I return to the Lord, for all his goodness to me?” (Psalm 116:12)
7. Rather than attempting to live in isolation, God actually desires that people gather in worship
8. To keep committed to God’s cause of mission and provide convincing evidence that God is real and active
9. Worship helps us be an effective ‘Body of Christ’ that others will notice
10. True worship is at the heart of our faith

Introduction – the ‘how’ and ‘what’ of worship

When David brought the ‘ark of the covenant’ into the tent of meeting, he instituted worship there, and appointed Asaph and his family to lead that worship. The words given to guide that worship came from various psalms … that had likely been previously written and generally utilised in the worship life of the people of Israel. These words were given to the ‘chief musician’ Asaph … for him to form worship around. This is like our system here, where the worship leader selects songs based around the main text that the preacher is working from.

In reading our verses from 1 Chronicles 16, we have also read the words that appear in Psalm 105:1-11. It is clear then, that these particular words give us much insight into the content of worship among the people of God in Israel back then, and also offer some guidance into important facets of worship today. These words are NOT abstract, for they represent a real people’s experience of God. And, these words are NOT just aspirational – something that sounds like a good idea to strive towards, but rather they are ideas that we can totally engage with and embody together.

When David wanted to describe how worship was to take place (on this particular occasion), these are the words he called upon. These words largely reflect upon God’s faithfulness. It seems to me that worship should basically respond to God’s faithfulness, and interact with each human being’s need to know that faithfulness. This does seem right for us today! To put it another way – it is our need for God, combined with the truth of God’s faithfulness and goodness, that draws us into worship, and also forms the backdrop for how we will worship.

Content

As we look at these verses we notice the inclusion of the following:

• A good place to start is to … give thanks specifically to the Lord – calling directly out to God – and expressing our gratitude (v 8a). This immediately takes us out of ourselves and focuses us on a far bigger picture; where we capture the need of those who do NOT know God and, somewhat, feel their loss … leading to a desire to …

• Proclaim God’s gracious activity broadly to others (v 8b) – worship is NOT just for within the four walls, but is meant to escape outwards … to provide a public witness to God’s reality and availability and provision. There seems here to be an implied responsibility, that if we have benefitted in any way through God’s activity, if we feel we have been blessed in any way, then we must respond to this and mention this – “make known [God’s] deeds among the peoples … which also means that we …

• Sing praise … we lift up the name of God, particularly telling of God’s “wonderful works” (v 9a), which would include the beautiful creation (in which we live), God’s long-standing promises and ongoing answers to prayer, everything that Jesus has done, and everything that is happening through the Holy Spirit. As we consider all God has done, and sing out in praise, and renew our devotion, this better prepares us to know who God is … leading to …

• An Experience of Joy – we can (v 10) “Glory in his holy name”, or “Glory in who God is” – how good does that sound! We move from seeing the beauty of creation … to knowing the majesty of the Creator, we move from understanding the gift of mercy … to feeling the presence of the Redeemer. When we “seek” the Lord and ‘find’ the Lord and sense the Lord’s close presence, it’s like God’s glory shifts over onto us – as God is set apart we are set apart … we enter a special realm … where we can fully appreciate the way God loves us and accepts us and values us … we begin to realise how much this means to us … how this changes everything … how this potentially brings so much healing to our spirit … and we start to think how God thinks and feel how God feels. We “glory” in knowing Jesus – this means everything … now we can only “rejoice” … and we “rejoice” in our living relationship with God; and we can become ecstatic like at no other time.

• Worship is also about … discovery (v 11 – “Seeking the Lord”) – if we are continually in God’s presence and focussed on Jesus in an ongoing way, we will be more likely and more ready and more equipped to know and carry out God’s will, God’s ways and God’s mission. There needs to be a space within our worship through which to learn and grow, and to discover how to do things better than we did the last time. We learn by discovering new things we hadn’t seen before, and we deepen our faith by rehearsing those central truths that are so significant … which is what the rest of these verses point to …

• Remembering (v 12-18) – committing to memory (through repetition) all of what God has done for those He loves … all that has been beneficial for humanity and the whole earth. We have given thanks for them, and sung our praise – but we also need to cement our knowledge of God’s gracious acts as the foundation of our lives … thus building our confidence, our trust, and our courage.

[In the wording given in the NRSV for verse 15 in the Psalm 105 version (verse 8) we read “[God] is mindful of his covenant forever” – meaning that it would be almost impossible for Him to forget – and so our level of remembering needs to attain to this sort permanency – we should be thinking of God’s covenant of love often.]

Apart from God’s “wonderful works”, two main things are mentioned here:

(i) God’s “judgments” (v 12b & v 14b) or, ‘how God sees things’ – which is certainly reflected in God’s teaching through the scriptures and the prophets, also through Jesus and the apostles [and how this teaching is seen to apply in everyday life]; and then the big one … with huge emphasis here …

(ii) God’s “covenant” (v 15-18) – which in a nutshell refers to God’s age-old commitment to love the people of Israel (and provide for them), and through Abraham’s fatherhood on earth – to love (and provide for) the people of all nations – ‘I will be your God, if you will be my people and keep my commandments’. This was the central invitation to a relationship that the whole Bible explores, which eventually culminated in the ‘new covenant’ brought in through Jesus, where we are no longer measured by ‘law’, but rather through grace, thereby experiencing liberating forgiveness … so that we CAN in reality be God’s people (as we follow the resurrected Jesus). God’s “covenant” represents God’s unrelenting heart of love toward all people. This is what we have to remember and be constantly mindful of!

If would also be fair to say, that as people have so often failed to keep God’s commandments, ‘repentance’ would also fit well into our worship. This is why words of lament and prayers of confession … seeking mercy, are often part of worship services – probably an essential part. We NOT only remember God’s wonder, but also how far short we often come – and certainly how far short the world as a whole comes. Then we humbly accept responsibility, while also receiving assurances of forgiveness … through which we can move forward (hopefully better prepared for the next challenge).

God’s “covenant” represents God’s unrelenting heart of love toward all people. This is a “covenant” that was not only a good idea, but an idea that God put into action on our behalf. God remembered this “covenant” when the people of Israel were oppressed in Egypt … and brought them freedom, and then preserved them as they wandered in the desert. God brought them into a land in which they could thrive, and each time, through disobedience, they lost their way and were defeated, God was close-by available for the prodigal nation to return to Him (and be restored to their land).

We read in 2 Chronicles 7:14 – “If my people … humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land”. Ultimately, God remembered this “covenant” by sending His own Son Jesus as the Messiah, to seek to redeem all people of all nations to His presence. A review of recorded biblical history, always becomes a revelation of the persistent faithfulness of God to His covenants with us; and, it could be, that a similar review of our lives, looking back, could also be a revelation of God’s persistent faithfulness to us (G Campbell Morgan).

Yet we need to also understand that this “covenant” is aimed primarily at serving the broad interests of the Kingdom of God (Derek Kidner), which is why the ancient people of Israel didn’t always get what they thought they should, and why we don’t always get what we think we should (when we are only thinking about ourselves). God’s faithfulness always has a ‘collective’ note, which, necessarily, draws us to worship together. This is because God’s faithfulness to you … is an element of God’s faithfulness to me, and God's faithfulness to me … is an element of God's faithfulness to you!

Application

So, as we come into worship together, we …

1. Give thanks – in word, in song, in prayer; this is connected to …

2. Proclaim God’s gracious activity – in word, in song (loud and bold), in communion {1 Cor 11:26 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes}. I say in word, because it may be good worship if we are able to engage these questions:

• Did anyone have anything good happen this week (that they can attribute at least in part to God)?
• Is anyone facing a particular challenge (that can be brought to God)??

3. Sing praise to God

Singing is good for us, yet some people find it hard, or aren’t into it (irrespective of issues of voice quality). So, in this or any season where singing is hard, it’s about engaging with the music and focussing on the words, and loosening your body, and allowing God to move you inside and out. The outcome of this will differ from person to person, each of us being unique creations, but we certainly need to engage in some way in the corporate worship.

Singing praise is NOT about singing a song like at karaoke, NOR just fulfilling a (traditional) ritual, because worship is about allowing for change – allowing God to do something within us. So, it’s NOT the singing itself that’s the key … it’s the heart behind it … it’s worship that comes naturally out of the integrity of our lives – lives that have been conformed to the Jesus pattern. 

God may not even hear our fantastic melodies and beautiful harmonies and occasional wrong notes, but only hear the rhythms of our inner being. Having said all this, singing does open us up to our emotions and expressing ourselves, so that we can better get in touch with God, and is therefore good for us. Singing can be very therapeutic and alter our mood in a good way. And in reading Revelation, we can see the prevalence of singing in heaven (e.g. 4:1-11, 19:5-8). And the idea, because of where our real citizenship lies, is to engage with some of the life of heaven now.

4. Experience Joy – i.e. glorying in the Lord – this can happen throughout all of our worship time, as we know that we are in the presence of God, sharing something significant and remarkable together. We sense how the Holy Spirit is moving, speaking to us, speaking to others; we will never be the same again. We sense that we are ultimately on the victory side – where our burdens are being lifted, and our wounds are being healed!

5. Discover – in listening to someone else pray, or when praying ourselves, we are likely to be confronted with new ways of thinking about things, and by possible new ways of responding to people or events. Prayer is always about having one ear open for God’s answer as we pray the question. Our prayers should also be considering how we can be part of that answer. And, worship is a learning environment, as we open the Scriptures, and are ready to be confronted by the text – what this teaching means in the grand scheme of the world, what it means for the church of today, and how personally I am challenged by it. What do I need to be reassured about, and what needs to change??

6. Remember – we remember God’s covenant of love and grace to all people … and God’s great faithfulness … every week through communion {1 Cor 11:24 & 25 – when taking the bread, then the cup, Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of me”}; and at this time have the opportunity of confession and forgiveness. And, we remember God’s judgments (or the way God sees things) through our preaching and teaching.

This seems to me to highlight that the key factors in our worship would (generally speaking) be:

• singing,
• prayer,
• communion,
• teaching;

and … testimony (or sharing). This testimony (or sharing) can come from the front through preparation, but should also be able to come from the congregation almost spontaneously. This is because worship is NOT just about what we have planned, but more so about what the Holy Spirit wants to bring. Remember … if this is to be worship, rather than just conversation, we have to consider where Jesus has been (or will be) involved!!

Conclusion

Spiritual worship today, between Pentecost and Eternity, is about our public response to God’s faithfulness, ultimately now understood through the gift of Jesus, and also allowing the Holy Spirit to confront us with God’s will for our lives. Worship also asks questions of us: Do we love Jesus? Can we proclaim his greatness and his servanthood? Are we open to change? How is Jesus transforming us? Are we being his disciple? What is God saying to the church today? How are we experiencing grace?

What is the starting point … especially if you have a struggle engaging with worship? If you truly desire God in your life, then, as we have discovered this week and last, you need to worship God, and worship God in the company of true believers! Where does this start? That is the topic for next week … this starts with humility.

Footnote

With worship, there is the issue of relevance … to our times. I think that the broad relevance of our worship will work itself out … if this worship is done with faith, sincerity and integrity. We never have to ‘dumb-it-down’ or ‘seeker-sensitise’ it, because most people are coming … looking for a true experience of God (which is missing in their world) and/or a true experience of community (which may also be missing in their world). We do have to be sensitive and properly welcoming to those we invite, understanding the wide backgrounds they come from, and some of the hurts and reservations they carry, but I think … what will respond to their needs best … will be an honest presentation of how we have found God to be faithful ourselves. This is what worship is about! Amen.