The Theater of God’s Glory

This world we live in is not simply the backdrop for our lives, like a movie set in Hollywood. The created universe is the theater of the glory of the Triune God.

It is easy to live a divided, compartmentalized kind of life in which God fits neatly into Sundays and Wednesday nights, as well as in our quiet times, but then to view everything else from our jobs to our back yards to our meals with completely secular lenses. But Scripture, and I think especially the psalms, call us to reject such a notion. This actually sounds an awful lot like the pagan nations who would have a god of the sea and a god of rain and a god of fertility, and they would only deal with those gods in those specific situations which they controlled. But from a little stone temple in Jerusalem a very different tune was being sung:

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul!

O LORD my God, you are very great!

You are clothed with splendor and majesty,

2covering yourself with light as with a garment,

stretching out the heavens like a tent.

3He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;he makes the clouds his chariot;

he rides on the wings of the wind;

4he makes his messengers winds,

his ministers a flaming fire.

5He set the earth on its foundations,

so that it should never be moved.

6You covered it with the deep as with a garment;

the waters stood above the mountains.

7At your rebuke they fled;

at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.

8The mountains rose, the valleys sank down

to the place that you appointed for them.

9You set a boundary that they may not pass,

so that they might not again cover the earth.(Psalm 104:1-9)

Israel’s God, Yahweh, was not limited to a certain sphere of the world; he was the Creator of all things – their covenant God was the Lord of the universe! And so we must see, and confess, and delight in the truth that everything – everything – belongs to the Triune God of our salvation. It was created by him and for him.

Let us remind ourselves today that we are not simply going about business as usual; we are passing through the theater of the glory of God.

The Bible: The Great, Cosmic Comedy

“When speaking of comedy as a type of story, literary critics do not mean a humorous story but rather one with a certain shape of plot. Comedy is the story of the happy ending. It is usually a U-shaped story that begins in prosperity, descends into tragedy, and rises again to end happily. The first phase of this pattern is often omitted, but the upward movement form misery to happiness is essential. . . It is a commonplace of literary criticism that comedy rather than tragedy is the dominant narrative form of the Bible and the Christian gospel. The Bible as a whole begins with a perfect world, descends into the misery of fallen history, and ends with a new world of total happiness and victory over evil.”

Leland Ryken, How to Read the Bible as Literature . . . and get more out of it (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 82-83.

Meeting a True Bishop

The following tells the story of the day when Emperor Valens, an Arian, was preparing to visit Caesarea to apply some muscle to her newly elected bishop, Basil the Great, a devoted Trinitarian . . .

“Many imperial officers arrived at Caesarea in order to prepare Valens’ visit. The emperor had ordered them to subdue the new bishop through a combination of promises and threats. But Basil was not easy to subdue. Finally, in a heated encounter, the praetorian prefect lost his patience and threatened Basil with confiscating his goods, with exile, torture, and even death.

Basil responded, ‘All that I have you can confiscate are these rags and a few books. Nor can you exile me, for wherever you send me, I shall be God’s guest. As to tortures you should know that my body is already dead in Christ. And death would be a great boon to me, leading me sooner to God.’

Taken aback, the prefect said that no one had ever spoken to him thus. Basil answered, ‘Perhaps that is because you have never met a true bishop.’”

From Justo Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity, Vol I (New York: HarperCollins, 1984), 185.

The Life of Study

Seminary studies have begun again for me and many other brothers this week, so the time has come to not only learn thesubject matter being studied in the classroom, but also to relearn how to be a faithful pastor-student (and in many cases, husband, father, and employee). Gearing up for a slightly more demanding schedule, I am reminded of the account I read last year in the biography of James P. Boyce of the schedule kept by Princeton Seminary students back in 1850:

“They rose early, usually about 4:30 in the morning, and in cold weather built fires in their stoves. Some took short walks before the 6:45 a.m. prayer meeting. Breakfast was in the refractory – a separate building constructed in 1842. The fare was plain but abundant. Many of the students formed themselves into “little clubs” and studied the Shorter Catechism during mealtimes. There were classes to attend in the morning and afternoon and daily chapel. Most students to a walk before supper. There were meetings nearly every night in the week, then there was study until bedtime.”

Quoted in Tom Nettles, James Petigru Boyce: Southern Baptist Statesman (Philippsburg, NJ: P&R, 2009), 87.

Worship Book Round-Up

I have mentioned that corporate worship has been our theme and focus during the month of January. I have come to realize in recent days that thinking about and participating in the gathered worship of Christ’s church on the Lord’s Day is one of the greatest delights of my life! There are a number of books that have been helpful to me in this area of worship that I would mention today. Some of these I have read within the last month, others within the last year.

Worship: It’s Priority, Principles, and Practice by J.C. Ryle

If you do not presently have the time to devote to an extensive study of worship through numerous resources, then at least get this short, inexpensive little pamphlet by J.C. Ryle (34 pp, $1.40 @ wtsbooks.com). As with everything Ryle writes, this work is clear, thorough, and powerful. You could easily purchase several of these to give to a small group or simply make available. I have been posting quotes from this work the past couple of Sundays.

Christ-Centered Worship by Bryan Chapell

This is a wonderful source-book for anyone who is involved with planning worship. I could go into much more detail, but the book is divided into two parts. The first part speaks to the issue of structure in worship, and the idea that corporate worship has always been intended to tell a story (ie: recognizing who God is at the beginning of the service leads immediately to recognizing who we are before him, thus making confession of sin appropriate). Chapell devotes several chapters to the way various church traditions, from Rome to Luther to Calvin, etc., have worked out how this story should be told in worship. This is a foundational sort of idea for anyone planning worship, and Chapell does an excellent job of unpacking it. The second half of the book is devoted to the various elements of worship, with chapters on Scripture reading, confession of sin, etc. Here, he gives concrete examples of how these might be done. So, so useful.

Worship in Spirit and Truth by John Frame

In my limited experience, I have always found Frame to be a clear communicator, gifted with the ability to speak of lofty, complex subjects on a popular level. That is certainly the case in this very unintimidating book (less than 200 pp). In a very down-to-earth manner, Frame gives a basic biblical-theological framework for thinking about worship, speaks to the specific elements of worship, and also interacts with contemporary issues in worship. The book is somewhat provocative at times, as Frame distances himself from what he considers to be overly-strict interpretations of the regulative principle and the Puritan tradition of worship. Frame also includes questions for discussion at the end of each chapter, making it a very practical resource for a Sunday school class or small group. Perhaps the only draw-back here is that Frame is constantly alluding to issues in the Presbyterian / Reformed tradition, which would are simply outside the experience of a Southern Baptist (including this Southern Baptist!). However, one could easily use Frame’s book as a guide through a series on worship, making use of and excluding whatever material was pertinent to the group. A great introduction to the issues in worship, written from a Reformed, thoroughly biblical perspective. Read and be challenged!

A Primer on Worship and Reformation: Recovering the High-Church Puritan by Douglas Wilson

This is good reading to stir you from your slumber about Sunday morning worship. As with everything Wilson writes, this book is provocative, for good or for ill! While I may dissent at some points, the big idea he is arguing for here, that worship is the way God advances his Kingdom in the world and that something of universal, eternal significance is taking place when Christ gathers his people to worship, is exactly the picture I want to have before me and my people every Lord’s day morning when we gather together.

Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship by David Peterson

This is simply an excellent example of Biblical theology applied to a specific, important issue in the life of the Christian church. There are no sample orders of service or nuts-and-bolts sorts of appendixes included here. Instead, Peterson lays out an invaluable biblical-theological foundation for thinking about what worship is. One of the major points that Peterson effectively develops over the course of the book is that New Covenant worship encompasses all of life (ie, Rom 12-16, Heb 13), so he does not spend as much time speaking about the practice of the gathered church on Sunday mornings, but shoots for a broader framework. I do not think a week has gone by since I read this book over a year ago that I have not remembered something that Peterson wrote. I would consider this essential reading on the subjects of worship and biblical theology.

Worship by the Book, ed. D.A. Carson

This book has become something of a standard in recent days in all discussions of worship. Carson writes the introductory essay on worship, and is followed by three chapters, each written from a different historic tradition. Mark Alston, an Anglican; R. Kent Hughes, Free Church tradition; and Tim Keller, a Presbyterian. A helpful set of sample worship orders is included at the end of each chapter. Very stimulating, though, really, not even in the top five of the books listed here that I would recommend.

Return to Worship by Ron Owens

This book is different from all the rest, written in a popular style by a worship leader with a reverence for corporate worship and a heart for revival. The book is made up of a series of personal letters written by Owens on a variety of issues at stake in worship. The first half of the book are letters written to the church; the second half of the book are letters written to worship leaders. Some chapters are better than others (ie, some could perhaps be more theologically nuanced, like his discussion of the Sabbath), but the author reveals a very warm heart throughout the book, which is one of its greatest draws. I read this book a year ago, and still remember a number of excellent points and appeals that Owens made; I truly benefitted from this book. The chapters are short, and ideal for discussion with church members; one could easily assign specific chapters for reading and exclude others.

Singing in Worship

We continued our Sunday morning studies in worship by considering the important place of singing in worship, from Colossians 3:16. The sermon audio is available below.

Public Worship: God’s Great Instrument in Doing Good to Souls

“. . . from the days of the apostles down to this hour, public worship has always been one of God’s great instruments in doing good to souls. Where is that sleeping souls are generally awakened, dark souls enlightened, dead souls quickened, doubting souls brought to decision, mourning souls cheered, heavily-laden souls relieved? Where, as a general rule, but in the public assembly of Christian worshippers, during the preaching of God’s Word? Take away public worship from a land, shut up the churches and chapels, forbid people to meet together for religious services, prohibit any kind of religion except that which is private, do this, and see what the result would be. You would inflict the greatest spiritual injury on the country which was so treated. You could do nothing so likely to help the devil and stop the progress of Christ’s cause, except the taking away of the Bible. Next to the Word of God there is nothing which does so much good to mankind as public worship.“

J.C. Ryle, Worship: It’s Priority, Principles, and Practice, 7-8.

Declaring Important Truths in Song

Here’s a thoughtful observation from theologian John Frame about the way that in Biblical times, the most important truths/statements were often expressed and declared through poetry or song. Considering this should cause us to treat the act of singing in worship with greater gravity and dignity:

“The music revealed in these [Biblical] examples is very different from the typical uses of music in contemporary society. In our time, we tend to see music mainly as entertainment, or perhaps as “art for art’s sake.” Matters of historical importance, however, like congressional bills and international treaties, are always written in prose. To put them into poetry or music would seem o trivialize them. It would, indeed, be ludicrous for a president of the United States to sing a new treaty agreement. But the use of song for this purpose would not have seemed odd in the ancient world. Then, the most important things were commonly expressed in poetry and music. So we see that God’s word is typically poetic when something of great, lasting importance is taking place: the establishment of institutions, covenant promises, blessings and curses, and prophecies . . .”

John Frame, Worship in Spirit and Truth (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1996), 112-113. [emphasis mine]

God’s Grace to Me through His Singing People

Thinking about the “polemical” nature of singing this morning, I was reminded of an episode in my own life when the singing people of God were instrumental in calling me away from serving other gods.

I was eighteen years old, and at a true crossroads in my life. I had been raised in a godly home by godly parents, had “stayed out of trouble” throughout my high school years, and had displayed an interest in following Christ since I was very young. Now I was a freshman in college, away from home for the first time in my life, and, perhaps unbeknownst to observers, my heart was falling in love with the world. I looked around at some of my friends and the pleasure-seeking lives they were pursuing, and could feel an almost irresistible pull in that direction. I was listening to the siren call of the spirit of the age, and was ready to follow wherever it may have lead me.

But something (or some One) compelled me to get up one Sunday morning that fall and go to church. I can still remember getting dressed and quietly stepping out of my dorm room while my roommates slept. I drove to an Assemblies of God church, where I did not know a soul, and slipped into the back row as the music played. I don’t remember what they were singing that morning, but I remember it was an old hymn that had some real substance to it – they were singing about the blood of Christ and the faithfulness of God. And suddenly, the truth of those words washed over me, the Spirit who had called me from death to life and who had lead me to that seat personally visited me, and the difference in the two paths I had been considering became so clear. I had to sit down. I wept silently, unable to sing anymore, but listened to the broader body of Christ teaching and admonishing their anonymous younger brother in song. I can still see a few members turning around and casting a compassionate, almost knowing glance in my direction, then turning back and continuing to sing.

Looking back now, I can see that this was one of the key moments the Lord used to break me like Jacob at the River Jabbok, to show me my helpless estate and his boundless mercy, and ultimately to call me into his service as a minister of the Gospel.

And he used a singing people to do it.

Oh sing to the LORD a new song;

sing to the LORD, all the earth!

Sing to the LORD, bless his name;

tell of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous works among all the peoples!

For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;

he is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,

but the LORD made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before him;

strength and beauty are in his sanctuary (Psalm 96:1-6)

“Praise is Always Polemical”

I listened to an outstanding sermon on Psalm 100, the Bible’s quintessential call to worship, by Dr. Ray Van Neste today on my lunch break. Dr. Van Neste does an excellent job bringing out a number of important themes in this psalm, including joy and gladness in worship and the manliness of singing unto God in worship. He made another striking point early on:

Praise is always polemical, that is, it is always fighting in a certain sense . . . to come together and say, ‘Praise,’ or ‘Worship,’ or, ‘Serve Yahweh,’ is to say not to worship anyone else.

In other words, there is much more going on at the Sunday morning ’song service’ in the little country church down the lane than meets the eye and the ear. When those old hymnals are cracked open and those voices begin singing “This is My Father’s World” in faith, the people of God are defying the spirit of the age; they are assaulting the gates of hell; they are joyfully declaring that Jesus is alive, and he is Lord. Praise is polemical.

That’s enough to fire you up about singing this Sunday. So is Van Neste’s sermon — listen to it here.