The Pattern of Sound Worship (4) – Abiding Principles from the Ceremonial Laws: Worshiping God (9)

The Pattern of Sound Worship (4)

Abiding Principles from the Ceremonial Laws: Worshiping God (9)

All worship is to be done in a decent and orderly manner.

The LORD called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD.…” Leviticus 1:1, 2

Nothing about worship in ancient Israel was left to chance. We’ve already seen the lengths God went to make sure that no pagan forms, nor any Hebrew innovations beyond what He prescribed, should be incorporated into His worship. Worship in ancient Israel was to be decent and orderly—the last of our four pairs of terms which define the pattern of sound worship revealed in the ceremonial laws of Scripture.

Worship was in every case to be “just so,” just the way God prescribed. Things were to be done in a certain way and following a certain order if God was to receive the worship of His people and they were to know His renewing grace. The holiness of God and sinfulness of His people make such an approach to worship absolutely essential. God alone knows what is appropriate for His holiness; and He understands the proper order in which things must be done if worship is to achieve its purpose.

We may not come to worship God in forms or by means which are designed primarily to gratify the tastes or interests of those who participate in worship. Decent and orderly worship begins in understanding Who God is, what worship is all about, and how we may worship Him in such a way as to achieve the purposes of worship which He intends.

Worship is thus to be objective and subjective, in Spirit and in truth, constructed as offering and dialog, and in all things decent and orderly. In order to worship God this way we must look to His Word, beginning in His Law and the ceremonial laws He provided for the people of Israel.

For a fuller study of the pattern of worship revealed in Scripture, order the book, The Highest Thing, by T. M. Moore, from our online store. These studies and brief essays will help you to see how the pattern of sound worship, which began in the Law of God, comes to complete expression in the rest of Scripture. Pastors, we’re getting ready to start the next season of The Pastors’ Fellowship. Write to me today at tmmoore@ailbe.org for information about how you join in these online discussions. Our theme for the coming series is “The Worldview of God’s Law.” There is no charge for participation, but you must reserve a place for these monthly gatherings. Subscribe to Crosfigell, the devotional newsletter of The Fellowship of Ailbe.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.