A beautiful thought comes to mind: There are no rules, only that we worship God with our whole heart, and sing praises fully with our hearts and mouths, and worship Him in Spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)
And there it is. But, that last part...what does it mean to worship in Spirit and in Truth?
In John chapter 4, when Jesus meets the Samaritan woman, He says to her, " But the hour cometh, and indeed is now here, when the true worshipers will worship in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.
Since God is spirit, He produces worship in us, and this includes evidence of the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22.(Love, joy, patience, peace, goodness, self-control, etc.)
The song we opened today's Praise set with is "Holy, Holy, Holy," originally written by Reginald Heber, an Anglican bishop.This Methodist hymn is based off of Revelation 4:1-11 and describes the images revealed to John: a throne of jasper and sardine stone surrounded by a rainbow, elders, and beasts (giant angels). All sang and worshiped the Lord:
1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven:
and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet
talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew
thee things which must be hereafter.
2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was
set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine
stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in
sight like unto an emerald.
4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and
upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed
in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and
voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the
throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto
crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the
throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like
a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the
fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and
they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and
night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was,
and is, and is to come.
9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him
that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on
the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and
cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and
power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure
they are and were created.
Originally called "Holy, holy, Holy. Lord God Almighty," the song invites us to join in the endless song.
Right after we opened the service with this song, our pastor thanked God in prayer and acknowledged that we were all joining in the angelic chorus to praise Him.
At Christmas time we sing the Christmas carol, Angels We Have Heard on High. In it,. the bridge "Glor-or-or-or-or-or-or-or-or-or-or-or-or-or-or-ia" is purposely written and sung as 16 notes, to somehow emulate the endless worship that goes on in heaven. Isn't that amazing?
When you sing in worship, do you feel like you're joining in an angelic chorus of eternal worship? Do worship hymns, especially like the one above, give you that feeling most of all?
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy,_Holy,_Holy!_Lord_God_Almighty
https://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/what-does-it-mean-to-worship-in-spirit-and-truth/
Comments
Post a Comment