Pure Worship
It was a wonderful sermon; dearer than ever. How I love to hear Jeff preach! But even the sermon paled in comparison to this morning's corporate worship. They had full choir of 30-50 people, and they taught us a new song "Glorious and Mighty."
We were supposed to sit throughout the choir's rendering of the song and then rise to sing it together. Well, by the time they were nearing the end, there were individuals all over the auditorium already standing, silent, hands raised in an attitude of utter worship. I think the rest of us had tears on our cheeks; I know I did.
I thought that all my passion had been slowly drained away by the last eighteen months. I thought I was too tired to ever feel much of anything again. I've never been so glad to be so wrong!
I don't know what it was, tune or words or the joy of the singers, or the testimony and baptism that we witnessed just before they began to sing... or all these things. Certainly there was the Holy Spirit. I know that I have seldom had a worship experience which so nearly approximated my imagination of Heaven. We threw our voices up, lifted our hands, and sang, as if we could never get enough of praising God.
Dear reader, it was lifeblood. It was joy and flame and air in our lungs and stars blazing and crowns flung down on the glassy sea and God's robes of splendor filling the temple. It was trembling and adoration. It was ecstasy. It was, in a word, worship. Pure worship.
The human soul has its longings. I often find myself agreeing with Piper that God is the Gospel, in the sense that the Gospel's greatest gift is the satisfaction of the soul's deepest need and desire: God Himself.
Magnus es, domine, et laudabilis valde: magna virtus tua, et sapientiae tuae non est numerus. et laudare te vult homo, aliqua portio creaturae tuae, et homo circumferens mortalitem suam, circumferens testimonium peccati sui et testimonium, quia superbis resistis: et tamen laudare te vult homo, aliqua portio creaturae tuae.tu excitas, ut laudare te delectet, quia fecisti nos ad te et inquietum est cor nostrum, donec requiescat in te.
"Great are you, O Lord, and greatly to be praised; great is you power, and your wisdom is infinite." And man desires to praise you, for he is a part of your creation; he bears his mortality about with him and carries the evidence of his sin and the proof that you resist the proud. Still man, only a small part of your creation, desires to praise you. You have spurred him on so that he should delight to praise you, for you have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."
Augustine, Confessions, Book I
We were supposed to sit throughout the choir's rendering of the song and then rise to sing it together. Well, by the time they were nearing the end, there were individuals all over the auditorium already standing, silent, hands raised in an attitude of utter worship. I think the rest of us had tears on our cheeks; I know I did.
I thought that all my passion had been slowly drained away by the last eighteen months. I thought I was too tired to ever feel much of anything again. I've never been so glad to be so wrong!
I don't know what it was, tune or words or the joy of the singers, or the testimony and baptism that we witnessed just before they began to sing... or all these things. Certainly there was the Holy Spirit. I know that I have seldom had a worship experience which so nearly approximated my imagination of Heaven. We threw our voices up, lifted our hands, and sang, as if we could never get enough of praising God.
Dear reader, it was lifeblood. It was joy and flame and air in our lungs and stars blazing and crowns flung down on the glassy sea and God's robes of splendor filling the temple. It was trembling and adoration. It was ecstasy. It was, in a word, worship. Pure worship.
The human soul has its longings. I often find myself agreeing with Piper that God is the Gospel, in the sense that the Gospel's greatest gift is the satisfaction of the soul's deepest need and desire: God Himself.
Magnus es, domine, et laudabilis valde: magna virtus tua, et sapientiae tuae non est numerus. et laudare te vult homo, aliqua portio creaturae tuae, et homo circumferens mortalitem suam, circumferens testimonium peccati sui et testimonium, quia superbis resistis: et tamen laudare te vult homo, aliqua portio creaturae tuae.tu excitas, ut laudare te delectet, quia fecisti nos ad te et inquietum est cor nostrum, donec requiescat in te.
"Great are you, O Lord, and greatly to be praised; great is you power, and your wisdom is infinite." And man desires to praise you, for he is a part of your creation; he bears his mortality about with him and carries the evidence of his sin and the proof that you resist the proud. Still man, only a small part of your creation, desires to praise you. You have spurred him on so that he should delight to praise you, for you have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."
Augustine, Confessions, Book I
posted by Praelucor at 9:10 PM
1 Comments:
Yes. Thank you. I have tears now.
Although we see but dimly now,
Our hearts are filled with love
For we have tasted and have seen
How good You are, O God.
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