Reverence in the Local Assembly
by David Dunlap
Isaiah unfolds to us the holiness of God
unlike any other prophet before him. The holiness of God had gripped his heart
with unusual power and conviction. He was humbled by Him who is exalted high
above all His creatures with infinite greatness. He saw, like never before,
that there was a great chasm between the holiness of God and the unholiness of
man. Israel's corrupt spiritual condition demanded a fresh and powerful
manifestation of God's holiness.
Israel's Spiritual Condition
King Uzziah had reigned in Judah for 52
years. Although this king had protected his people from its enemies and
brought a measure of economic prosperity and a sense of security, inwardly the
nation was morally corrupt, spiritually empty, and superficial in its worship
of God. As a result, in Isaiah chapter five, Isaiah pronounces six judgments
of woe upon Judah. Many in Judah falsely believed that they were in a proper
spiritual condition because of its economic prosperity. But in 740 B.C., king
Uzziah died of leprosy when God struck him down because of his pride. When
Uzziah died, the nation's sense of security was shattered, and Isaiah felt the
need to enter into the presence of God. Isaiah, who sought to mourn a departed
king, found himself bowed before the exalted King of glory. It was here that
God gripped Isaiah with an awesome sense of His presence and holiness. He saw
the Lord high and lifted up. He heard the seraphim cry back and forth,
"Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts, the whole earth is filled with his
glory"
(v. 3). He is broken by his own unworthiness. Why was Isaiah so visibly
shaken by all that he had seen and heard? He tells us the reason,
"... mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts"
(Isa. 6:5).
Likewise, when we are gripped by the holiness
of God, our instant and only reaction must be worship and reverence. Without
such a revelation or conviction, we cannot truly worship God. Devotion and
reverence are the life-blood of worship. Worship that is marked by a fresh
vision of God's holiness is never casual, flippant, and superficial. True
worshippers do not rush into His holy presence unprepared to bow in reverence.
Sincere worshippers of God possess deep convictions about the holiness and
glory of God. However, just as in Isaiah's day there was great spiritual
apathy, so also is there much spiritual indifference and casualness in the
church today.
The Need for Reverent Worship
Many are concerned that today there is too
much shallowness in our worship of God. Irreverence in worship is now becoming
all too common in modern churches. Unfortunately, New Testament assemblies are
not immune to this affliction. Increasingly, believers are sashaying into
worship meetings 10-15 minutes late without the slightest hint of
embarrassment. The retelling of personal anecdotes, the singing of favorite
hymns, and nonchalance have replaced holy and reverent worship. Psalm 111:9
exhorts,
"Holy and reverend is His Name."
Hearts full of Christ have now given way to hearts full of competing
interests. Many still attend times of worship, but have lost their first love.
The stirring hymns of the faith are still sung, but rarely with passion and
conviction. Gripping passages of Scripture about Christ and the cross are still
read, but with little apparent devotion or heart-felt affection. Eloquent
prayers of praise and worship ring hollow.
True Reverence
It was not always this way. In earlier days
the assemblies were known for men of God whose passion to worship the Son of
God was unrivaled. The believers in the Lord Jesus Christ might have gathered
in a grange hall or a refurbished building, but the gathering place was not as
important as the gathering Center, the Lord Jesus Christ. The hymns were sung
heartily. Worship was mingled with tenderness and devotion by men of God who
knew the Word of God. There was a beauty of holiness that attracted all true
saints of God. The holiness and reverence that characterized the meeting were
evident to all. Concerning the character of those meetings, one writes,
"I sometimes smile when I hear ministers state the assumption that a new type
of building will create a worship atmosphere. In my late adolescence I
occasionally worshiped with those known as 'Plymouth Brethren'. Meeting in the
barest halls, adorned only with signs carrying Scripture verses, they had the
most worshipful services that I have ever attended. No organist in whispering
conferences, pushing or pulling stops. Greeting, giggling, whispering, and
coughing were all hushed by the miracle drug: reverence. Children were
quieted. People tiptoed to their places in the circle to sit with bowed heads
or read their Bibles. The keen anticipation of the movement of the Spirit of
God in leading one of the assembled men to announce a hymn, read the Scripture,
or to offer prayer was sensed in these moments of deep reverence, which sharply
contrasts with the hubbub of many Protestant services."
(1)
Reverence is not something we can bring to
God or create in ourselves, but rather, it is a spiritual grace we receive when
we begin to see God as He truly is. Reverence acknowledges in our hearts the
glory of God as presented in the Scriptures, and then yields to God His
rightful place in our lives. Reverent worshippers acknowledge their
unworthiness and in godly fear bow before an awesome and holy God. Concerning
this source of holy reverence, the Swiss reformer John Calvin writes,
"Reverence is that dread and amazement with which holy men were struck and
overwhelmed whenever they beheld the presence of God...Men are never duly
touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they
have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God."
(2)
Just a sudden glimpse of the holiness of God will change us forever. As
Isaiah is thrust into the presence of God and the seraphim cry out,
"Holy, holy, holy",
the prophet confesses,
"Woe is me! For I am undone."
Isaiah, the righteous prophet, in one brief moment, is exposed and broken
under the gaze of the Almighty. In an instant he is measured by the ultimate
standard of holiness; he is weighed in the balance and is found wanting. The
holiness of God has seized his heart, soul, and mind. He cannot forget what he
has seen. Boredom, casualness, and lukewarmness about the things of God are
gone forever.
"Mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts"
(Isa. 6:5).
The Biblical Standard for Reverent Worship
All too frequently churchgoers gather to
worship God who have never had a fresh vision of God's holiness. Nice songs
are sung, religious thoughts are offered to God, and well-crafted words are
uttered, but all this falls far short of true worship. This worship may be
more psychological and fleshly than spiritual. This kind of worship bears no
resemblance to the worship that we find in Scripture. The psalmist writes,
"He is to be feared above all gods...splendor and majesty are before Him,
strength and beauty are in His sanctuary...O worship the Lord in the beauty of
holiness: fear before Him all the earth"
(Ps. 92:4-6, 9). Godly fear, majesty, the beauty of holiness, and splendor
were ready themes in the hearts of the worshippers of old. How this should
challenge our hearts! There are many who study theology, but where are those
who study to be worshippers of God? Where are the churches today whose
passion is to
"worship God in spirit and truth"?
Where are the books exhorting, teaching, and equipping this generation to
worship God? A. W. Tozer exhorted the fundamentalist-Bible-believing church
prior to his death in 1951,
"Many of our popular songs and choruses in praise of Christ are hollow and
unconvincing. Some are even shocking in their amorous endearments, and strike
a reverent soul as being a kind of flattery offered to One with whom neither
composer nor singer is acquainted. The whole thing is in the mood of a love
ditty, the only difference being the substitution of the name of Christ for
that of the earthly lover. How different and how utterly wonderful are the
emotions aroused by true Spirit-incited love for Christ. Such love may rise to
a degree of adoration almost beyond the power of the heart to endure, yet at
the same time it will be serious, elevated, chaste, and reverent. Christ can
never be known without a sense of awe and fear accompanying the knowledge. He
is the fairest among ten thousand, but also the Lord high and mighty. He is
the friend of sinners, but also the terror of devils. He is meek and lowly in
heart, but He is also the Lord and Christ who will surely come to be the judge
of all men. No one who knows Him intimately can ever be flippant in His
presence. If Bible Christianity is to survive the present world upheaval, we
shall need to recapture the spirit of worship."
(3)
May God raise up such an army of worshippers, those who long to reverently
remember Him who first remembered us on Calvary's cross. Might God raise up
tender-hearted worshippers; but more than this, may He raise up those whose
passion and aim is to equip others to worship God.
A Call to Reverent Worship
Sadly, there are many today to whom
the idea of reverence in worship sounds too old-fashioned, so out of step with
the times, and at odds with contemporary worship trends. Indeed, many
believers seem to be strangers to the foundational truths that form the basis
for our worship. The New Testament teaching concerning worship, the Lord's
supper, and the person of Christ no longer seem to hold their interest. These
do not seem to be popular. We are a spiritually carefree generation.
Unfortunately, the broad road has always been more appealing than the narrow
way. But the apostle Paul's exhortation must not go unnoticed,
"For we are the circumcison, which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in
Jesus Christ, and have no confidence in the flesh"
(Phil 3:3). Therefore, let us draw near unto Him, who in mercy, first drew
near to us and humbly bow our hearts as worshippers in His holy presence. May
our reverent worship once again shine bright as the hallmark of our devotion to
Christ.
Endnotes
(1) John Drakeford
The Awesome Power of a Listening Heart
(Grand Rapids, MI : Zondervan , 1985)
(2) R. C. Sproul
The Holiness of God
(Wheaton, IL:Tyndale House, 1985), p. 72
(3) A. W. Tozer
That Incredible Christian, The Art of True Worship
(Harrisburg, PA:Christian Publications, 1964), p. 125.
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"Spiritual tone is difficult to describe, but is nevertheless very real...There
is a sense of the presence of God, of the reality of unseen but eternal
verities, and the hush of reverent awe that quiets the spirit and prepares the
soul for worship."
A. P. Gibbs
(1890-1967)
"A holy life is made up of a multitude of small things. It is the little
things of the hour, not the great things of the age. Little words, not
eloquent speeches; little deeds, not one great heroic effort. It is also the
little sins, little inconsistencies, little evils, little acts of selfishness
that hinder the holy life."
Horatius Bonar
(1808-1889)
"'Great fear came upon all the church'(Acts 5:5). We have become so busy being
happy, we have forgotten to be holy. We have gone in for fun and lost our
fear... nobody is afraid to join such churches."
Vance Havner
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