An Attitude Of Mind And Body

by R.L. Sands, Birkenhead | Category: Worship | Jan 1964

"Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." These words spoken by the LORD to Moses as he approached the burning bush come readily to mind as we commence our study of "Worship". The Scriptures clearly teach that worship involves a recognition by man of his Almighty and Righteous Creator. The psalmist expresses the essential requirements of worship in the words, "Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker: for He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand" (Psalm 95.6, 7). The creature, contemplating God who dwells in light unapproachable and yet is full of grace and mercy towards him, is moved with reverence and awe from which comes the attitude of mind appropriate to worship. God expects worship from His creatures and forbids them to worship any other.

The servant of Abraham was sent on a remarkable mission when he went to find a bride for his master's son. He had some misgivings, "Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me", but he had, no doubt, learned from his long service with Abraham that the God of heaven watched over Abraham's life and had promised him abundant blessings. He therefore placed himself in God's hands and asked that He would guide him to the right damsel. We cannot read his thoughts as he stood alone in that strange land, but he must have thought of the requests he had made of God and wondered how soon the right damsel would come. When Rebekah came and not only responded to his request for a drink, but also fulfilled all he had asked of God and then revealed her identity, he no longer wondered whether "the LORD had made his journey prosperous", but he bowed his head and worshipped the LORD. The words he then used, "Blessed be the LORD the God of Abraham ... " show us that it was the thoughts which were running through his mind of the greatness and goodness of God that caused him to worship. Later when he heard Laban say that Rebekah could go with him he bowed himself to the earth and to the LORD.

No doubt as he stood in the field or in Laban's house he could have worshipped God without any outward indication that he did so, but in fact he bowed his head and then himself before God. Probably he had seen Abraham bowing his head as he worshipped, but it may well have been a divinely-given instinct to those whose attitude of mind was appropriate to worship that caused him to bow his head. Holding oneself upright with the head erect appears to indicate self-confidence and assurance of one's own ability, and such an attitude is completely foreign to the thought of worship. Equally so is a careless or indifferent attitude, for this suggests lack of recognition of the worth of Him in whose presence one may be.

Thus we find that a reverent attitude of body such as bowed head or knees is frequently associated with worship in the Old Testament. In speaking words of encouragement to Elijah, God spoke of seven thousand "which have not bowed unto Baal", obviously referring to those who had not worshipped this false god.

True worship, however, involves more than a reverent bodily attitude. >From the account in John 4 of the Lord's conversation with the woman at the well we learn that God requires worshippers, who have some knowledge of Him, to worship in spirit and in truth. Bodily attitude may sometimes be deceptive. The Lord knew that the Pharisees loved to be seen in an attitude of worship and prayer in public, but he said of them, "This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men." In their thoughts they were far away from God, and no amount of bodily prostration and prayer could make their worship acceptable to God. Naaman the Syrian also adopted an attitude of body which was not in harmony with his attitude of mind when he entered the house of Rimmon, after his miraculous cure through the agency of God's prophet Elisha. Whatever we may think of his decision to continue attending the house of Rimmon, it is clear that he now recognized that there was only one true God and he had no desire to worship any other, so he asked to be excused when he bowed himself in the house of Rimmon. Outwardly he still worshipped with the Syrian king, but in his mind he was no longer associated with him.

We do not wish to over-emphasize the importance of bodily posture, but we believe that our worship may lose much of the beauty of holiness if we adopt a haughty, careless or indifferent attitude of body while engaged in it. Sometimes the simple gesture of closing one's eyes when engaged in worship is ignored. We suggest that when entering a meeting where others are engaged in worship, the least expected of us is to do so in solemnity. Ideally, a proper attitude of body which may be seen of men should accompany a proper attitude of mind which can be seen by God only. Reverence in worship will have its effect on those who do not know God.

Let us seek then as we worship to be conscious of the great privilege granted to us, to show by our bodily attitude to those around us that we appreciate this privilege, and to have our minds so tuned that God may be able to accept us as those who worship in spirit and truth. We close with an exhortation from "The Preacher", "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God; ... Be not rash with thy mouth ... for God is in heaven ... let thy words be few" (Ecclesiastes 5. 1, 2).

R.L. Sands, Birkenhead | Jan 1964
Worship