1 Corinthians 12:12  "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body."

 
Worship6

          Rochford Community Church Resources            Back to Worship Contents Page

 

Worship Seminars

   

     

Part 6 : Approaching Corporate Worshiping using the Old Testament examples


Contents

1. Introduction

2. Things we can do in general when we gather before God

3. How we can do it vocally

4. How we can do it bodily

5. Conclusion

 

Each of these pages about prayer form part of a series of Worship Seminars. To that end we hope that they will be used to stimulate worship and not merely provide information.

 

1. Introduction  

      

The purpose of this page is simply to observe some of the ways of coming before God that are shown in the Old Testament. By doing this we may come to realise that there are many more ways to express ourselves before the Lord than perhaps we usually do.

 

In coming to God we can come:

  •  Spontaneously
    •  carefree response to a rising within
    •  as we praise or thank, the Holy Spirit brings an inner witness of the truth of what we are saying or singing and this releases within us this sense of bowing before the Lord and acknowledging His greatness, i.e. worship

       

  •  Purposefully, an act of will
    •  a decision to worship even when no one else is worshipping!
    •  because we are not always the bright Spirit-filled people we might wish to be, we sometimes have to create the ‘formwork' of worship and let the Lord fill it with the real thing.
    •  it is therefore, an act of the will to put ourselves in this place.

        

        

2. Things we can do in general when we gather before God

      

i) Exalting

     

Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy. (Psa 99:5)

  •  Worship = to bow down before and lift up
  •  Worship is the ultimate expression of our love for God - lifting Him up
  •  Worship is not merely singing (which can just be a pleasurable self-centred thing) but a true lifting of heart and spirit in a sense of glorifying or lifting God, accompanied by this sense of wanting to bow before Him.

         

ii) Praising

  

Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. (Psa 104:1)

  •  Praise = to applaud someone for a quality they have, to exalt them
  •  We praise someone usually for a character they have or something they have

  achieved.

  •  As we praise, the Holy Spirit affirms the truth of what we are saying or singing and that witnesses in our heart and lifts a sense of the greatness of God (and our smallness perhaps) and we truly start to worship - bow before, and exalt Him.
  •  Praise can therefore be used to lead us into real worship.

          

iii) Thanking

  

I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power   (Dan 2:23)

    

  •   Thank = show appreciation for something given or done
  •   We usually thank someone when we are aware that they have given us
  something
  •   Thus thanks in respect of God is in respect of all that He has given us.
  • Similarly, as we thank, the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Truth) testifies within us to the truth of what we are saying or singing and this releases a sense of exalting or lifting God and this is worship.
  • Thanks can therefore be used to lead us into real worship.

   

    

NB. We could also include ‘Asking' in terms of things we can do when we gather, but that is different from the things we've included here which are all ‘toward God', i.e. included in our thinking about the process of worshipping.

      

             

3. How we can do it vocally 

 
i) Singing

Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things (Psa 98:1)

  •  Singing may be an expression of praise or thanks leading to worship.
  •  Singing can be a good vehicle to release our spirits as we declare truth.
  •  The emphasis should be on leading into worship, not being an end in itself.

    

ii) Shouting

Shout to God with cries of joy    (Psa 47:1)

    

  •  Shout = a forceful expression of praise or worship.
  •  Shouting requires an effort and bypasses our 'respectable' facades, and somehow releases both something in our spirit and in the spiritual realm.
 
iii) Crying Out

Then they cried out to the LORD. The priests blew their trumpets and the men of Judah raised the battle cry    (2 Chron 13:14 ,15)

   

  •  Cry out = a forceful request or a forceful declaration
  •  Similarly crying out requires an effort and bypasses our 'respectable' facades, and somehow releases both something in our spirit and in the spiritual realm.
  • In the worship context, crying out is a strong recognition of the need of God which the Holy Spirit sometimes uses to release a sense of the greatness or awesomeness of the Lord's presence.

   

iv) Calling On

But I call to God, and the LORD saves me   (Psa 55:16)

  

  •  Call = to appeal loudly
  •  Calling out to God is a similar recognition of need, and the Holy Spirit can take it and release again the sense of the Lord's greatness and power which produces worship.

   

NB. This time we have included vocal expressions that may appear requests, but in this context they are expressions that involve lifting up the Lord by the very nature of them, and therefore, we believe, can come into our considerations of worship.

     

          

4. How we can do it Bodily 

   

i) Sitting
  •  Never used of worship, praise or thanksgiving in Scripture.
  •  Possibly this is because it is a passive act.
  •  The desire to be an active participator in worship will get us off our seats, the only exception being those confined to wheelchairs!

   

ii) Standing

All the men of Judah , with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD  (2 Chron 20:13)

    

  •  Standing = a passive presenting of self before the Lord, waiting on the Lord.
  •  Standing, on its own, is a preliminary act to a more expressive act of worship.
  •  The fact is that in every other area of life we use all of our body to express ourselves (hence 'body language'). Simply standing is non-expressive. Worship is released within expression.

   

iii) Bowing Down

    

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker   (Psa 95:6)

       

  •  We bow as an active expression of worship, acknowledgement of superiority.
  •  Kneeling is a good expression of submission, but for those of us who are getting older, may be of limited duration!

      

iv) Clapping

   

Clap your hands , all you nations   (Psa 47:1)

      

  •  To clap = to applaud, give praise to, to extol
  •  This is not clapping along with the music but a specific expression of appreciation.
  •  Somehow the active expression of a 'clap offering' breaks us out of the rigidity of what we so often do, and it is the natural response of appreciation in our society anyway.

      

v) Falling Down

    

Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell face down  (Num 22:31)

    

  •  Falling prostrate = an act of humble submission
  •   Lying face down can be a very real expression of submission in worship.
  •  Although there may be rare occasions when the Holy Spirit comes upon someone and they may fall before the Lord, this is usually an act of will, an act of submission when the holy sense of the presence of the lord is very real.      

           

vi) Lifting Hands

  

Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD (Psa 134:2)

     

  •  Lifting hands maybe a sign of:
    •  awareness of holiness – almost a shielding from God's glory,
    •  presenting clean hands – declaring righteousness,
    •  reaching up – recognizing the need to draw near,
    •  testifying – affirming our position, agreeing the truth being sung.
     
  •  Lifting holy hands is a very simple thing to do - even if it appears difficult if you've never done it - and once the fear barrier is broken, the active use of arms and hands is a most natural thing to do.
         

    

5. Conclusion

      

  From what we've noted above, we have said that we can EXPRESS worship:

  •  using
    •  praise
    •  thanksgiving

    •     

  •  using our tongues to
    •  sing
    •  shout
    •  cry out
    •  call on

    •      

  •  using our bodies to
    • bow down
    • clap
    • fall down prostrate
    • lift up hands

    In such ways we can add variety and, hopefully, meaning to our act of worship.

NB. As we consider the possibilities of things we can do as congregations, we need to conclude with the following exhortations for youthful, exuberant, worship leaders:

  •  Always respect your congregation
    •  never MAKE them do something
    •  always give them the choice to do or not!

    •   

  • Be aware of their physical limitations
    •  not everyone is as fit and healthy
    •  worship should not be exhausting
    •  worship should not be an endurance test!

  

Having said these things, be blessed and ask God to give you wisdom to lead the people out into more meaningful and more fulfilling times of genuine worship.

 

 

If you want to ask anything further about these things, contact Tony Thomas:

                                               tony.thomas@rochfordcc.co.uk