The Place Of Worship

by H. DYER, Broxburn | Category: Worship | Apr 1964

The subject of worship, that is the prostration of man's being before God and the rendering to Him of that homage and veneration that are His due, is one which should exercise the hearts of all true believers. A proper appreciation of what is due unto God from His children, apart altogether from any service which they may render toward their fellows, is essential, and puts the activities of life in a proper perspective; for apart from the worship and service of Him who is the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, the full expression of the spiritual faculties of believers cannot operate to the glory and praise of God.

This being so, the question, Where should I worship God? calls for an answer, and the appeal must be to the word of God, for o(1ly there can we find a satisfying answer. "To the law and to the testimony! if they speak not according to this word, surely there is no morning for them" (Isaiah 8.20). It is generally assumed that every church or ecclesiastical building is a place of worship and is therefore the house of God, and the words,

"Where'er we seek Thee, Thou art found, And every place is hallowed ground,"

are sometimes quoted as apparently giving support to this belief.

It is clear from the Old Testament Scriptures that in past ages God was worshipped with acceptance by men of faith, such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that worship was associated with an altar where sacrifices were offered unto God. This is borne out by Genesis 22, where we have one of the most precious foreshadowings of the cross of Calvary and of the offering up of God's own well-beloved Son. God said to Abraham, "Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of" (verse 2). Moreover, when the place of sacrifice came into view, Abraham said to the young men, "Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship, and come again to you" (verse 5). Here God indicated the place He had in view from the beginning as to where He should be worshipped, even Mount Moriah.

It was here in a later day that David erected an altar, even on the threshing floor which he purchased from Oman the Jebusite for fifty shekels of silver, and it was also on the self-same spot that Solomon built the Temple. "Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, which he made ready in the place that David had appointed, in the threshing-floor of Oman the Jebusite" (2 Chronicles 3. 1). Under the Old Covenant the Name and presence and worship of Jehovah the God of His people Israel were associated with a place in the land which He had covenanted to give unto them.

First it was in Shiloh, which He forsook because of sin and the wickedness of Eli and his sons, "He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which He placed among men" (Psalm 78.60). But Solomon built Him an house. It is said of the place of God's choice, "The LORD hath chosen Zion; He hath desired it for His habitation. This is My resting place for ever : here will I dwell ; for I have desired it" (Psalm 132. 18, 14). From the time that Israel had occupied the land, the stronghold of Zion had remained in the hands of the Jebusites, who regarded it as being impregnable until David took it and called it the city of David. Here was the place of acceptable worship and service, the divine centre for His people, for there was no other place on earth which God recognized. It was the place concerning which David sware, saying, "I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids ; until I find out a place for the LORD, a tabernacle for the Mighty One of Jacob ... We will go into His tabernacles ; we will worship at His footstool" (Psalm 132.2-7).

For about a year after Israel's deliverance from Egypt there was no high priest and no ministry of a priesthood instituted. But at Sinai (Exodus 19. 5, 6) they were promised that, on condition of obedience and complying with the terms of the covenant then to be made, they should be unto God "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation". This they proceeded to do in Exodus 24, when the covenant was sealed by the sprinkling of the blood upon the altar, the people and the book. There had been no collective service of God in Egypt, for there was no place in Egypt where service could be rendered to Him.

Only after the covenant had thus been ratified does God give them instructions concerning the Tabernacle, Sacrifices, and Priesthood of the house of Aaron. This service of a priesthood is surely most significant. Not until a dwelling-place for Jehovah in the midst of His people is raised, with access for acceptable worship in purity and holiness, is the appointment of the priesthood necessary and its service essential.

The declaration of the Lord to the woman at Sychar's well that "the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be His worshippers" (John 4.28), clearly indicates a change in the form of worship from the material to the spiritual. This is further emphasized in the words which follow : "God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (verse 24). The words of the Lord are further supplemented by Paul's declaration to the heathen worshippers on Mars Hill, in Acts 17.24,25, that "God ... dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is He served by men's hands, as though He needed anything". The great truth here propounded, so fundamental and vital to the worship and service of God in this dispensation of grace, has been set aside by the religious world of today. Ecclesiastical buildings, clerisy, organs, choirs, candles, images, altars, and much more besides, are but the relics and lifeless forms of a material order of things that belongs to the past, and have no place in the spiritual worship of this dispensation. Consequent upon the rejection of the Lord by the Jewish nation, He made the solemn pronouncement to them, "The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof". And He further said, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." Further confirmation of the fact that the old order was passing away is given in the solemn statement that when the Lord expired on the cross the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.

We would now invite the reader to consider carefully the words of Philippians 3.8. "We are the circumcision, who worship (serve) by the Spirit of God, and glory in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." Who are the "we" here referred to? They were saved and baptized believers in the church of God in Philippi, who were standing together in divine testimony, with those in other churches of God, all in the one community, called in 1 Corinthians 1. 9 "the Fellowship of His (God's) Son Jesus Christ our Lord." All such are designated in Galatians 6.16, "the Israel of God". They were God's new covenant people. All that pertained to Israel, the covenant, the priesthood, the worship and service of the sanctuary, now belonged to God's New Testament people, only on a higher plane of spiritual character, the unique privileges of God's gathered people in the present dispensation of grace.

The statement of Hebrews 9.8, "The Holy Spirit this signifying, that the way into the holy place hath not yet been made manifest, while as the first tabernacle is yet standing", shows that there were limitations imposed upon the worshipper in the past because of the imperfections of the sacrifices and of the priesthood, because the law made nothing perfect, being only imposed until a time of reformation. Those sacrifices which were offered year by year, continually, could not make perfect them that drew nigh. Else would they not have ceased to be offered because the worshippers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more conscience of sins? (Hebrews 10.1, 2). Chapters 8, 9 and 10 of Hebrews show that Christ after His resurrection, having made purification of sins, became a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, not man, and which is in heaven.

From the Hebrew epistle we further learn that Christ through the abiding efficacy of His blood has not only made purification of sins, but that He also through His own blood has entered heaven and has entered once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption (9. 12). And in the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, not man, He ministers as our High Priest in His priesthood in which He is a Priest for ever. It is here in the heavenly sanctuary into which we enter as a holy priesthood to worship God and to offer up spiritual sacrifices (1 Peter 2.5) when we meet on the first day of the week to keep the Lord's Remembrance in the breaking of the bread and the outpouring of the cup. As His death is brought thus afresh before us, our hearts should overflow in thanksgiving and praise to God. In our worship we approach God the Father, through the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. The divinely given way is indicated in the words, "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which He dedicated for us, a new and living way" (Hebrews 10.19,20).

"Now through Jesus' merit, gathered by the Spirit,

Here within the holy place, through Him we boldly come,

Hearts and voices blending, praise to Thee ascending,

Through our Great High Priest we worship Thee alone."

We believe that this is the highest and most important spiritual exercise that we can engage in, and therefore it is necessary that our spiritual condition should befit our entering the heavenly sanctuary.

"Within the Holiest of all,

Cleansed by His precious blood,

Before Thy throne Thy people fall

And worship Thee, 0 God."

H. DYER, Broxburn | Apr 1964
Worship