Worship and Reason

God and Reason (21)

“Gather My saints together to Me,
Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
Let the heavens declare His righteousness,
For God Himself is Judge. Psalm 50.5

True worship?
Worship—and here I have in mind primarily corporate worship—is the quintessential training ground for sound reason. Nothing else contributes as much to shaping our reasoning powers into the mold of the mind of Christ as gathering with the people of God to declare and dramatize His worthiness. Individual worship contributes to sound reasoning as well, but it is in corporate worship, with its orderly and reasonable combination of elements and its continuous awareness of the nearness of God, among a company of worship-minded saints, that our reasoning powers receive the weekly exercise, tuning, and refocusing they require.

But what do we mean by “worship”?

For many Christians today, I suspect, the answer to that question would be something like “What we do together on Sunday morning.” Yes, but why do we gather to worship and what are we doing when we are worshiping?

Following a recent service of worship in a church we attended, one of the pastors greeted us on our way out and glowingly opined, “Wasn’t that fun?” Neither Susie nor I affirmed the question. But I wondered, was the service meant to be fun? And was it meant to be fun so that we as worshipers would have a good time? Is worship primarily about pleasing those who come to worship? So that they’ll come back again?

Much of what happens in worship does seem to be aimed at the worshipers. What and how we sing. How our singing is accompanied. How we dress. The design of our worship centers. Availability of refreshments. The levels of happy feeling and good humor toward which the service rives. And so forth. Worship in many churches today aims at eliciting a certain sentiment, or feeling, in the worshipers, and that sentiment is primarily one that lights up in the good range of our affections, rather than the bad—happy, fun feelings rather than those of conviction, repentance, sorrow, and remorse. Feelings of the moment rather than feelings that lead to hope.

Services of worship that aim at good feelings as their overall goal—“fun”—will be more likely to dull our reasoning powers than sharpen them. The goal of such services is not so much that we should think as that we should feel. Not strengthen the mind of Christ but experience good feelings with other happy folks.

Sentiment-driven worship makes worshipers the focus of the activity, not the God Who calls His people to worship.

Elements of worship
Psalm 50 helps us think about the kind of worship God desires and that can exert transforming power on our reason. A few observations are in order.

First, everything in worship should focus on God, the Mighty One, the LORD, the sovereign ruler of the vast cosmos, the Perfection of Zion, He Who comes with devouring fire and raging tempests of holiness to judge, cleanse, purify, and renew His people (vv. 1-4). It would seem that fear, rather than fun should be our first response to being called to worship this God.

Second, worship occurs with a framework of covenant promises and obligations (v. 5). All the promises of God made anywhere in Scripture are “Yes” and “Amen” in our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 1.20), so all our worship should be designed to connect us with Jesus and draw us into the tractor beam of His Presence and enjoyment of His precious and very great promises. And that entails, on our part, obligations of obeisance and obedience, gratitude and glory, honor and humility, adoration and confession, hearing and repenting, renewal, hope, and resolve. “All that the LORD has spoken, we will do!” (vv. 14, 15)

Third, true worship is primarily a matter of inward disposition more than outward expression (vv. 8-15). Worship should exercise us in gratitude to the LORD, dependence on Him, and renewed commitment. The goal is the glory of God, not “fun” or happiness (v. 15).

Fourth, true worship should so affect our lifestyle that we come away transformed, if only a bit more, into the likeness of Jesus. Those who leave their obligations behind at church or whose lives don’t match up to God’s expectations can expect His displeasure with their lives and their worship (vv. 16-21).

Finally, true worship rises in praise, invokes the glory and Presence of the LORD, exposes our deficiencies, redirects our paths, and leads us into a deeper experience of our great salvation (v. 23). Where the glory of God is present in worship, the evidence is people who are being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3.12-18). 

Worship and reason
In its foundation, focus, flow, and fruit, true worship enhances our understanding of God and of ourselves in His light. And therefore, worship can strengthen our powers of reasoning, but only when we enter worship seeking to meet the Lord, lavish Him with praise and thanksgiving, humble ourselves before His Word, and embrace whatever course corrections He prescribes. 

Throughout, in true worship we learn to think more like Jesus—like God Himself—because we will have seen Jesus, heard Jesus, experienced the Presence of Jesus, and therefore want nothing more than to be more like Him. True worship may subject us to rebuke (v. 8), demand sacrifice and life change (vv. 14, 23), and accomplish a refocusing of our lives and deeper entrance to the salvation of the living God (vv. 22, 23).

True worship offers the Kingdom privilege of joy, not the knock-off of mere fun. To worship this way is to have our reason enriched so that it becomes more like the mind of Christ. 

For reflection or discussion
1. How would you describe your primary purpose for going to worship at your church? In what ways does worship in your church engage your reason?

2. Which aspects of corporate worship tend most to focus you on Jesus, exalted in glory? How do they do that?

3. How should you prepare for worship so that you participate in it with the mind of Christ?

Next steps—Transformation: During your next service of worship, think carefully about everything you do. Try to discern how each aspect of your worship experience helps to draw you closer to Jesus and His glory.

T. M. Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

For more guidance in true worship, order a copy of our book The Highest Thing, either in book form or as a free PDF download..

This week: Our Read Moore podcast begins readings from the book, Patrick: A Devotional History. In our Crosfigell teaching letter, we are studying examples of the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. And in the daily Scriptorium column we are working our way through the Gospel of Matthew. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you. 

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