by Michael Shaughnessy
One
thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek
after;
that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord
all the days of my
life,
to behold the beauty of
the Lord,
and to inquire in his
temple.
- Psalm 27:41
We have access to heaven
now
The hustle and bustle of
traffic and pedestrians all busy with their
affairs is non-stop in the modern world. In
the middle of it all, a group of university
students gather to participate in a prayer
meeting, a time of joy-filled singing and
praying. When they begin their time of
worship, they are in a building near campus,
but they don't remain there very long.
The very act of worship
transforms time and space, making them
sacred. Through worship we are lifted out of
the ordinary, the common, the daily flow of
events and places and enter the presence of
God. We cross over the threshold of the
temple of God and stand in the presence of
the angels and saints surrounding the throne
crying by day and by night to the Lord:
"Holy, you are holy." We, who know God the
Father, are redeemed by his Son and are
filled with the Holy Spirit, have access to
heaven now. It won't just happen when we
die, but happens every time we enter the
throne room of God by setting apart time and
space to pray.
Scripture teaches us
that the various ways we pray, both
individually and corporately, are meant to
help us live in the heavenly reality now.
They remind us, that the most fundamental
event now taking place is not what we see
and hear on the street, on the television,
or on our favorite website; no, it is taking
place in a dimension parallel to this.
Christian worship is built on that reality,
a reality expressed in the Letter to the
Hebrews, chapter 12:
You have come
to Mount Zion,
to the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem,
with myriads of angels round the
throne!
-
Hebrews 12:22
Worship and
worthship
What is worship? The word
"worship" comes from the Old English word
"weorthscipe". Thus, to worship means to
acknowledge the value or worth of something.
When we worship God we are saying something
about his worth.
What can or should we
say about God's worth? Some songs we sing
help us here: "Lord you are more precious
than silver…" which compares the worth of
God with things normally held in high
esteem. The song with the words "You alone
are holy, you alone O Lord; you alone are
worthy, Lamb of God," speaks of God's worth
without comparison. It simply says God alone
is worthy of divine worship. The song with
the words "My King and my all, My Lord
and my all, My God and my all, My
life, my all, my God," expresses that we
know God deserves all of our life.
In the Book of
Revelation, John describes his vision of the
throne room of God where, day and night,
they never cease to sing, “Holy, holy, holy,
is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and
is to come!” (Revelations 4:8). God, the
Most High, is ceaselessly being worshipped,
ceaselessly being honored as worthy. The
angels and the saints are before his throne
saying: “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power, for
you have created all things, and by your
will they existed and were created”
(Revelations 4:11).
In those verses from
Revelations we see God is worthy of worship
because of what he has done. He created all
things. He is the ultimate source of all
that is. It is amazing that he who did not
need us, created us. He created beings like
himself who can love, reason, and appreciate
truth and beauty. And then, when we rejected
what is good and true and beautiful, he made
a way for us to be more than we ever were, a
way for us to be united to him and to share
in his divinity.
But God is worthy of
worship not just because of what he has
done, but because of who he is. Even if he
had not created nor redeemed us, he would be
worthy of worship. He is all good, all
loving, all just, all beautiful. He is
almighty, all knowing, infinite, and
eternal. Another way of saying this is: God
is holy.
Saying God is holy
doesn't just mean that he is righteous and
good. That God is holy means he is set apart
from all other things. He is wholly other.
There is none who compares with him. He is
above time and space. They do not confine or
limit him. He is above all power and all
wisdom. Yes, the Lord is worthy.
That the Lord is worthy
of worship because of what he has done and
who he is can be seen in many of the psalms
– the original
scriptural songs of worship to the
Lord.
In Psalm 145 David
praises God because of who he is and for
what he has done:
I will extol
you, my God and King,
and bless your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will bless you,
and praise your name for ever and
ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be
praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall laud your works to
another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your
majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will
meditate.
Men shall proclaim the might of your
terrible acts,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of your
abundant goodness,
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
David goes on for 40
lines, noting that God is worthy because of
who he is: because he is great, because he is
majestic and powerful, because he has dominion
over all, because he is good and just,
gracious and merciful, slow to anger and
abounding in steadfast love, because he is
compassionate, faithful and kind.
He says God is worthy
because of what he has done: his wondrous
works, his awesome acts, his mighty deeds,
for upholding the falling, giving us food,
being near to us, fulfilling our desires,
hearing our cry and saving us. Like David we
should say: "Great is the Lord, and greatly
to be praised," and when we participate in a
time of worship we, like David can express
why he is worthy as we enter into the courts
of the Lord:
Holy, O holy,
Lord God Almighty
Worthy O worthy glorious Prince of
Peace
We bring our lives to you, a sacrifice to
you
We stand in awe before your holy name.
All glory and honor and praise
Be to the Ancient of Days.
We praise you we worship you
Our Lord and our King on high.
