INDUCING WORSHIP
[p. 27] INDUCING WORSHIP
John 4: 23, 24; Exodus 12: 21 - 27; 2 Samuel 7:12,14; 2 Samuel 7:18-22; 1 Chronicles 29: 20, 22
My remarks will deal with what induces worship to God. In John 4 the Lord, in conversing with the woman at the well, introduced the Father, saying, “The Father seeks such as his worshippers”; referring to those who worship Him “in spirit and truth”. She had introduced the subject of worship and the Lord had seized the opportunity to say wonderful things which, ordinarily, we would hardly expect Him to say to such a one. But God was working in this woman and the Lord paid attention to her remarks and said things to her that we do not find Him saying to anyone else, remarks that we refer to constantly, and rightly so. These remarks are found in John’s gospel which unfolds to us the declaration of God, that He has needs, speaking reverently, and hence the Father seeks worshippers. The quality of those who worship is in mind, for He goes on to say, “God is a spirit, and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth”. There is no deviation from these remarks; they convey the divine standard as to worship.
I want to show, first of all, that ministry induces worship. God approaches men in a minister; that is, in Christ, and then in ministers. There are two words used, one implying servile or slavish ministry — the other official or dignified ministry. Normally, both are combined in every minister. Moses and Aaron represent the ministry in the Old Testament. God expended great care upon them to this end. Primarily, Moses possessed the light and thoughts of God, and Aaron was the speaker. In their first service they occasioned worship, as it says in Exodus 4: 31, “When they heard ... they bowed their heads and worshipped”. Thus the people met God.
[p. 28] So that, normally, God comes into contact with us through ministry. The verses in chapter 12 show the power of ministry as normally exercised. They are the words of Moses. Earlier in the chapter Jehovah speaks in a great general communication of His mind in regard to the passover, the great institution that was to exercise such an influence in Israel, and in which the Lord Himself took part, as we all know. But the verses I have read, beloved brethren, are Moses’ presentation of what Jehovah had spoken to him. And you will observe that there is a great abridgment of what Jehovah had spoken, and there were certain additions. But what I am endeavouring to say is that ministry is not only intended to refresh us, and instruct us, and edify us, but to induce worship. And so Moses epitomizes what Jehovah communicated to him, on the principle of brevity, for ordinarily we take in but little at a time. Brevity and pungency with affection behind what is said are important. And so you will find that the great minister Paul, we might say, constantly introduces the spirit of worship into his ministry. He is not so unduly occupied with the service in hand as to shut out the additional thoughts that would enter into it. The minister always keeps his mind free so that in his service there is the introduction of God, some recognition of God — how great God is. Thus the feelings of the minister are calculated to convey the greatness of God to those ministered to: “O depth of riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!”. How persons would be affected were they to hear the apostle Paul preach “the Son of God, Jesus Christ, he who has been preached by us among you (by me and Silvanus and Timotheus)”. And so, in various instances, we find his feelings coming out spontaneously as he dealt with the great features of the truth. You can understand that those to whom he ministered would become worshippers.
[p. 29] And that was the intent, for if a convert has not become a worshipper, of what moral value is he to God? The Thessalonians “turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God”. So that, characteristically, evangelisation has in mind to secure worshippers.
And so Moses, in a few words, conveys to the elders of Israel what Jehovah had said about the passover. And in doing so he introduced the use of the hyssop. You may ask Moses, Why did you bring in that idea? Well, it was his skill as a minister. Hyssop implies that if I am to be a worshipper I must be small. It grows out of the wall, “From the cedar tree that is on Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall” was a moral conception in the mind of Solomon. And Moses also introduced the thought of the bason. Why did he use that word? It is not in the general instruction he received. The bason was for the blood. It is referred to again in chapter 24 in relation to the service of God. Think of the precious blood of Christ, beloved brethren! If the blood is to be preserved in a bason, a vessel, it is to be kept in all its preciousness! It is that we may have a true estimate of it and of the “cup of blessing which we bless”. The idea, thus, is carried forward into the Lord’s supper; there is a vessel; there is that in which it is conserved and presented to us, out of which we drink. We speak of the blood much, but what about the preciousness of it? “Ye have been redeemed, not by corruptible things, as silver or gold ... but by precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, the blood of Christ”, 1 Peter 1: 18. Think of what that life was to God! Was it mere human addition that Moses introduced? No, beloved brethren, it was a spiritual addition, a spiritual touch in ministry that the Holy Spirit promoted in the minister so as to affect the hearts of the hearers. And so, if I am small the blood is great. Well now, as I said, Moses spread out [p. 30] briefly the gist of what Jehovah said to him, and though in brevity, not one iota of Jehovah’s thoughts is to be omitted. One marvels, as the Holy Spirit opens up the Scriptures, that not one iota of the whole Bible is to be omitted. Scripture is divinely inspired, and the Holy Spirit helps the ministers to bring in touches from the Scriptures to affect the hearers that they may worship. And so here, the great minister presented the death of Jesus and the wonderful way that Jehovah’s care had provided for His people that their houses should be kept intact. Who is there who is a parent who is not concerned about the intactness of his house? God cares for the households of His people, not only that the firstborn is saved, but that the household is to be preserved. That precious blood, as it were, is put upon the lintel and door-posts with the hyssop by parents that fear God. And the presentation of it induces worship: the people “bowed their heads and worshipped”.
Next I would speak of sonship. God addresses Himself to men in a Man. The reflection of God’s love in the minister affects men. Hence Luke presents to us the kind of Man Jesus was. Think of how He ministered in Luke 4! His demeanour as minister affected His hearers; they wondered at His words. But my thought is sonship; that is, it is not now Christ as a minister, but Christ as Son. And so David had in his mind to build a house for Jehovah and he spoke of it to Nathan. At first Nathan encouraged him to proceed but Jehovah spoke to him that night telling him to say certain things to David, which brought in the great fact of sonship. Solomon was not yet born, but light as to the great fact of sonship is introduced and what developed is that David went in and sat before Jehovah. Why did he do that? Well, he was affected by what Jehovah had said through Nathan. Would that some here would be affected tonight by the thought [p. 31] of the house, and that it belongs to the sons! The Lord Jesus said, “The bondman abides not in the house forever, the son abides for ever. If therefore the Son shall set you free, ye shall be really free”. We are to be free to come in, certainly, and free to stay in. David went in, we are told, after hearing the words of Nathan. You may be sure they were said in ministerial power! Nathan was a real minister! He stimulated David to move towards God — and he went in and sat before Jehovah, and he tarried there. Read it at your leisure. You will be impressed by the appellations by which he addresses the Deity. The nearer we get to God, dear brethren, the greater He becomes to us, and the more worship is induced in our hearts, so that we have liberty to address Him with titles that are proper to Him.
And now I want to show how headship in Christ induces worship. That is what David represents in the closing section of 1 Chronicles. Solomon sat on the throne before David died, but immediately before that, according to the narrative in 1 Kings, David was advanced in years and obtained no warmth. But in 1 Chronicles he is seen as before God, as it were, in supernatural power. And it is only in that power that we can be before God — out of weakness we are made strong. But from Chapter 23 to the end of 1 Chronicles we are told of David’s disposition of what there was in his day; and that is going on at the present time, beloved brethren. The Lord Jesus is making disposition of what He has. All are not available, but those who are available He makes disposition of, and that is headship. As I understand headship, as presented in David here, it is to get the most out of what there is. It is the very converse of one-man ministry. One-man ministry dominates christendom, whereas headship is to dispose of what there is so as to get the very most out of it. Hence, the Levites are mentioned first in chapter 23. There [p. 32] are some thirty-eight thousand of them, and David divided them into twenty-four courses. There were the Levites, the priests, the singers, the doorkeepers, and then the military. However they are viewed, as you look at these chapters, you find that David disposes of them so as to get the very best results. And then, in the verse I read, he said to all the congregation, “Bless now Jehovah your God. And all the congregation blessed Jehovah the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and did homage to Jehovah and the king”.
Is it possible that some here have had no thought about taking part in the service of God? It is the first thing that you should think of, that you should take part. You may be a sister, but that does not mean that you should not take part, for the body requires that all should be in the matter, “All the congregation blessed Jehovah”. All should worship. Headship is to the end that everyone should take part, that everyone should function, that everyone should add to what is there.
In chapter 23 David reduced the age of the Levites by his last words to “from twenty years old and upward”, as if to say, This is my dying word to you — reduce the age of the Levites. What does he mean? It is to increase the number! The Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward in Numbers 4, and in Numbers 8 the age is brought down to twenty-five, but the last words of David, in 1 Chronicles 23, bring the age down to twenty. It means that they were so perfectly delightful to God that He says, I wish to increase their number. Is there a young person here in doubt? The Lord has need of you. He wants to make the most of you; that is the principle of headship. He knows you well; He knows your antecedents; He knows you thoroughly; He says, I want you!
[p. 33] There is also the thought of refinement — two hundred and eighty-eight refined and cultured persons who are singers, family singers. There is the number; divide it by twenty-four! There is the teacher with the scholar, the small as well as the great. Let there be no discrimination! Bring all in! There are twelve in each course; no guess-work. The Lord knows them that are His! All are known, but how much more those who are available! He knows them, as Jehovah said about Aaron the Levite: “I know that he can speak well”. So that headship, I believe, is the last great feature. The Lord is, working to get the greatest results from what is available. He is bringing in the young. “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou established praise”. And so David says to all the congregation, “Bless now Jehovah your God”. The Lord would speak to you on the principle of headship; He would put in His claim, “And all the congregation blessed Jehovah the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and did homage”.
And then it says, in verse 21, “And they sacrificed sacrifices to Jehovah, and offered up burnt-offerings to Jehovah, on the morrow after that day”. That is, not only was that day under the influence of David and his headship, but the morrow. That is, the principle of continuance is brought in. The people rejoiced together and they made Solomon king the second time. Christ, as Son increases in our estimation and appreciation under such circumstances.
Well, that is what I had in mind — that worship is induced by ministry, first of all; and then our apprehension of God’s thoughts as to sonship lead us to worship; and, finally, as under the headship of Christ, the whole system is disposed in order that there may be the greatest possible response in worship to God. May the Lord bless the word!