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Stunting Worship

Mar 18th, 2010
by Michael Krahn.

R.C. Sproul recently wrote a post called Stunting Worship . In it he points out some of the elements of Old Testament worship and concludes with the statement “Perhaps we have stunted worship by excluding elements that God once included and deemed important.”:

Sight
The visual impact of the furnishings and the buildings of both the Old Testament tabernacle and temple was awesome. The eyes were dazzled with a sense of the splendor of God.

Sound
The choral compositions of the Psalms were moving to the Spirit. They were accompanied by the full harmony and rhythm supplied by the harp, the lyre, the flute, and trumpets.

Touch
The element of touch is missing in most Protestant worship. Charismatic groups emphasize the laying on of hands, which meets a strong human need for a holy touch.

Taste
Taste was central to the Old Testament feasts as well as the New Testament celebration of the Lord’s Supper. The injunction to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8) is rooted in the worship experience. The people of God “tasted the heavenly gift” (Heb. 6:4).

Smell
The fragrance of burning incense gave a peculiar sense of a special aroma associated with the sweetness of God. One of the first gifts laid at the foot of the manger of Jesus was that of frankincense. Most Protestants reject incense without giving any substantive reason for its rejection.

Oddly though he does not suggest we include incense in our worship services. Instead he suggests, “Reflect on ways you might involve your physical senses in worshiping God in your private devotions.”

Why only in private devotions? Why not in corporate worship? Is this another one of those things we refuse to do for fear of being “too Catholic”?

Posted in: Bible, Worship.

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  • http://davidpeck.wordpress.com davidpeck

    Very good point. I’d love to see more multi-sense corporate worship. I personally love incense and use it in my personal prayer. We used incense as part of a youth worship service we did last summer. It was really well received and helped to set the scene that we were in a holy place.

    Maybe I’ll just sneak some incense into service the next time I lead worship.

  • http://www.michaelkrahn.com/blog Michael Krahn

    Here is a comment that came via Facebook:

    We “Gentile” Christians are not Jews. We are to worship God in spirit and in truth. The same rules do not apply. The old covenant “is waxed old”. The interesting thing is that corporate worship is never found among new testament believers. (That I can find) In modern times we want to bring to life the old dead system that was part of that religion, but it’s futile. It’s long gone and dead.

    Joh4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
    Joh4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
    Joh4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth…. See More

    Ac17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
    Ac17:25 NEITHER IS WORSHIPPED WITH MEN”S HANDS, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;