Chapter One: The Biblical Record of Old and New Testament Worship

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1 Chapter One: The Biblical Record of Old and New Testament Worship WORSHIP IN THE OLD TESTAMENT ERA Key Note: From the beginning Israel s worship is a response to Yahweh for the acts he has performed in its history. Israel s whole history is a life of coexistence with God, a partnership in a historical drama. The emphasis is on Yahweh as the initiator, but Israel responds. The people address Yahweh in a personal way. They offer praise, ask questions, complain about suffering, and converse with him about all the issues of life. This conversation of worship is recorded throughout the Scriptures, binding Jewish history together in celebration of their relationship with the Creator God. WORSHIP IN THE PATRIARCHAL PERIOD Key Note: The central figure of patriarchal worship is Abraham, who received Yahweh s promise of land and descendants. The book of Genesis records the history of Israel s ancestors from their nomadic beginnings. Abraham was called by Yahweh to leave his country and travel to a new land. A promise was given to Abraham that his name would be great and his family would become a mighty nation. These themes originate in Genesis and weave throughout the whole of Israel s history. The fulfillment of these promises became the impetus for the people s response of worship and thanksgiving. MOSAIC WORSHIP AND THE EXODUS Key Note: After the Exodus the worship of Israel became more formalized, characterized by Mosaic institutions and regulations. The commitment to the law of the covenant became the central feature of Israelite worship. Worship became more formalized in the book of Exodus. Yahweh s active intervention in Israel s history is characterized in the contest with Pharaoh. The deliverance from Egypt embodied the essence of Yahweh s relationship with his people. One of Israel s great festivals looks back to this experience of liberation. The remembrance of the Passover incorporates Jews of every generation as actual participants in the Mosaic exodus. Despite their murmurings through the desert wanderings, the Israelites learned to know Yahweh as he provided food for them and called them his own. The desert experience in later worship became symbolic of God s provision and care (Deuteronomy 8:1 20). The book of Exodus is pivotal in describing the central experience of the Hebrew people. This story records Page 2

2 the celebrations and ritual acts of Israel that arose in response to the liberation event that gave freedom to a nation. WORSHIP DURING THE DAVIDIC PERIOD Key Note: Under David s leadership, worship was established in Jerusalem. David organized the functions of the priesthood, placing special emphasis on the use of music in worship. The worship of this period focused primarily on that of King David during a politically stable period in Israel s life. David is credited primarily as the one who organized Israel as a worshiping community. While the biblical narratives do not spare David s sinful side, they show a man who is willing to confess and be forgiven for his sin. In later literature this then became the biblical example of a true worshiper of Yahweh. Perfection of ethical and moral character was thus not indispensable for faith. Rather, Yahweh desired an honest worshiper who could confess and praise him in sincerity and truth (Micah 6:6 8). David was also the composer of many songs and laments that were incorporated into the temple worship. From allusive indications, music guilds may have been established during this period (1 Chronicles. 25:6 8) and given a special role in the service. WORSHIP FROM SOLOMON TO THE EXILE Key Note: Although Solomon completed and dedicated the temple, the foreign influences and faulty civil policy that set in during his reign eventually led to the demise of the Israelite commonwealth. David s son and successor to the throne was Solomon. During his reign Solomon continued to focus on the worship of the temple, adding to the edifice ornamentation of such glory and splendor that all who visited Israel marveled at its beauty. Solomon emphasized beautifying the temple not only because he was dedicated to the worship of Yahweh and desired to show his gratitude, but because he had also begun to be influenced by surrounding foreign powers. Solomon often allowed civil policy to dictate ecclesiastical practices. He married foreign wives in order to establish alliances. These wives brought their alien gods into his courts (1 Kings 11:1 8). The foreign influences from within the country cumulatively resulted in disaster. The northern kingdom s destruction (722 B.C.) and the demise of the southern kingdom, including Jerusalem and the temple (587 B.C.), were viewed by the postexilic writers in light of the corrupt worship practice that had infiltrated the practices ordained by Yahweh. The essentials of worship had been lost. The Word of God, prayer, praise, confession, and forgiveness had become empty rituals that had lost the inner meaning and therefore impeded access to Yahweh. Page 3

3 WORSHIP DURING THE EXILE AND RESTORATION Key Note: The return of Israel after the Exile brought renewed interest in worship; the temple was rebuilt and sacrifices were reinstated. The synagogue, originated during the Exile, now became the focal point of a non-sacrificial worship. The nature of worship in the exilic period is much debated. One theory postulates that the absence of the temple and the deportation to a new land forced the faithful to restructure worship to accommodate the new situation. The Psalms speak to the discouragement of those in exile and their longing for the land of Zion (Psalm 137:1 6). Synagogue worship had a distinctive pattern. Wisdom and the study of the Torah became the goal and focus of the synagogue. A crisis existed in the faith of the Jews, who had been without a temple for the greater part of a century. A new form was needed to adapt to the new circumstances. The synagogue became the ekklēsia, that is, the assembly or congregation. The worship in the synagogue stressed reading and exposition of the Torah, prayer, and recitation of psalms. WORSHIP DURING THE INTERTESTAMENTAL PERIOD Key Note: Prior to the first Christian century, Judaism began to develop traditional interpretations of the Law that would eventually be written down to regulate Jewish life and worship. Judaism was influenced by Greek culture, resulting in the rise of a class of scribes and segments of the Jewish community which were more thoroughly Hellenized. The groupings formed during this period set the stage for the various sectarian movements within Judaism of the early Christian era. For the Israelite, the giving of the Law was a cause for joyous celebration. The Torah was seen as a source of joy and life. The Law was Yahweh s way of expressing his love for his people. The boundaries and limits provided by the Law were a gift from God to prevent destruction and harm from coming to the lives of the Israelites. The importance of Torah interpretation was highly valued throughout Israel s history. The later midrashim, or commentaries and lengthy rabbinic debates over legal situations, illustrate the centrality of the Law. God s commands were examined and applied to life in a dynamic process of discovery. The Torah fenced the life of a Jew, but it was not seen as a static, rigidly set boundary. Rather, the Jew viewed the Torah as a living Word, the pulse and heartbeat of life. The idea of dancing with the Law embodies the celebration and the joyous guidance that adherence to the Torah could bring. It was a gift from Yahweh, a gift of love. The reading and exposition of the Torah became an increasingly important focus for worship. Nehemiah 9 illustrates the ceremony of covenant renewal that wed the remnant to Yahweh through his Word. In time, Page 4

4 though, legalism developed. The rituals of worship tended to become empty forms that robbed the Torah of its beauty and grace (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:6). WORSHIP IN THE NEW TESTAMENT ERA Key Note: Christian worship originated in a Jewish setting. Although the early church developed its own worship forms, they reflect the worship of Judaism, especially that of the synagogue. Thus the lines between Jewish worship and Christian worship are not clearly distinguishable until late into the second century A.D. Early Christians continued to worship in the temple and in the synagogue. Gradually, however, they separated from the Jewish institutions of worship into their own assemblies. As to form, Christian worship involved prayer and praise but centered on the teaching of Scripture and the Lord s Supper. Christ was proclaimed in the Word and celebrated at the table. WORSHIP IN THE GOSPELS Key Note: The Gospels record Jesus involvement with both the temple and the synagogue and his example of individual piety. The Gospels presuppose the forms of worship native to Palestinian Judaism in the early first century A.D. The temple still occupied an important place in primitive New Testament worship. The Gospels also give evidence of individual as well as public piety. One may refer again to saintly figures such as Anna and Simeon, whose lives were devoted to prayer and praise and expectation. John the Baptist continues an earlier stream; he is the dedicated prophet of the desert, pursuing a life of asceticism. The Lord himself, for all the contrast he draws between himself and John (Matthew 11:16 19), both commands and also practices an assiduous life of prayer. He wants no outward show (Matthew 6:1 5), but his disciples are told to engage in secret almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. WORSHIP IN ACTS AND THE EPISTLES Key Note: The book of Acts and the Epistles reflect continuing involvement of Christians with the institutions of Jewish worship. With the Gentile mission and increasing separation from the temple and synagogues, the churches had to develop their own forms of common worship. Even Jewish Christians came under increasing pressure as persistent evangelism aroused the hostility of the ecclesiastical authorities. What form of worship was pursued in the Christian assemblies? The New Testament gives little detailed information. From the first chapters of Acts it may be gathered that prayer and the breaking of bread were primary. The only other detailed sources are in Acts 20 and 1 Page 5

5 Corinthians 11 and 14. Acts 20:7 records a meeting on the first day of the week at which the disciples broke bread and Paul preached; the meeting seems to have been in the evening. First Corinthians 11 also speaks of a common meal, which is plainly the Lord s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23 34), though probably in combination with an ordinary supper. 1 Corinthians 14 mentions a gathering at which members might contribute a psalm, a doctrine, a tongue, a revelation, or an interpretation, though with an emphasis on edifying and order. ELEMENTS OF NEW TESTAMENT WORSHIP Key Note: Though the New Testament does not give any detailed information on the structure of the first Christian services, it leaves little room for doubt concerning the basic elements of primitive worship: prayer, praise, confession of sin, confession of faith, Scripture reading and preaching, the Lord s Supper, and the collection. Early descriptions of Christian worship, such as that in Justin s Apology, reveal a close similarity to the practice of the synagogue. Even without the synagogue model, however, the fundamental elements would surely have found a place, and distinctive Christian features would have their own origin. Prayer Prayer, in the more specific sense of petition, is a constituent element of worship. The first duty of the church between the Ascension and the outpouring of the Spirit was to wait in prayerful expectancy. One cannot say exactly how the church prayed. Perhaps a leader prayed for the whole, perhaps individuals prayed in course, perhaps there was recitation of a form or forms of prayer. Whatever the forms, however, the essential element of prayer belongs to worship from the very outset, and a genuine Christian service without it is almost unthinkable. Praise Closely related to prayer is praise, the confession of God s nature and works. Indeed, prayer in the form of thanksgiving is itself praise. Almost all the prayers recorded in the New Testament contain an element of doxology. They recall God s acts and thus sound a note of assurance and triumph. Confession of Sin The confession of sin is at the heart of worship, for as the worthiness of God is exalted, the unworthiness of humanity demands acknowledgment. The prayers and psalms of the Old Testament are full of the recognition of guilt, which obviously goes hand in hand with a plea for forgiveness and restitution, and with praise and thanks for the divine mercy and pardon. In the New Testament the gospel is by its very nature a divine word to sinners. In the Page 6

6 church s worship, the great occasion for the confession of sin is at baptism, when the old life of sin is renounced and the new life of faith and obedience is begun. Confession of Faith (Baptism) In the Old Testament the confession of faith, The Lord our God is one Lord, was not adopted by the early church. The main reason was the added distinctive Christian confession Jesus is Lord. The faith of the primitive church is faith in Jesus as Savior and God. Peter makes this primary affirmation in Matthew 16:16. It is seen again in Thomas s confession (John 20:28). John s gospel was written with a view to the lordship of Jesus (John 20:31). The work of the Spirit is to induce in Christians the affirmation that Jesus is Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3). All tongues will finally confess this (Philemon 2:11). On this belief rests the full confession of the triune God (Matthew 28:19). This confession is specifically made in the church at baptism, which is done in the name of Jesus (Acts 2:38). Reading of Scripture The reading of God s written Word, first in the Old Testament and then increasingly in the New Testament, was a constituent part of worship from the very first, as it patently was in both temple and synagogue, and then again in the church of the second century. Here, too, Paul s epistles are publicly read (1 Thessalonians 5:27) which might have formed the beginning of the later New Testament readings. Preaching Preaching combined several aspects of worship : declaration of God s work, confession of faith, underlying prayer, and the climax of praise. Early preaching was particularly related to the Old Testament on the one side and to the life and work of Christ (later the New Testament) on the other. While not restricted to formal exposition, it had a strong expository content, judging from the sermons in Acts. Among Gentile Christians in particular, a good deal of information would have to be passed on in preaching, for the same level of biblical knowledge could not always be assumed as among Jewish Christians or the early god fearers. The Lord s Supper Both biblical and patristic evidence support the view that the Lord s Supper was from the very first a constitutive part of weekly worship. Certainly in Justin s time there is no disjunction between ministry of word and ministry of sacrament. The one gathering embraces not only prayer, praise, reading, and preaching, but also the holy meal, which was probably accompanied by blessings after the manner of the Passover. The Lord s Supper took the place, not only of the Page 7

7 Passover, but also of the temple offerings. This is why sacrificial language soon came to be used in respect to the Lord s Supper (cf. Malachi 1:11). The Collection The reference to a weekly allocation in 1 Corinthians 16, the liturgical significance ascribed to alms in Philippians 4:18 and mention of an offering in patristic writings have lead to the view that a collection formed a basic element in Christian worship. Page 8