Grace Presbyterian Church, Montclair, New Jersey

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Pastor's Pulse

by Paul Leggett, Pastor

Acknowledging God’s Glory in Worship

March 2007

“So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.” – Psalm 63:2

Recently our Director of Music, Donald Du Laney, and I attended a conference on worship held at Calvin College and Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  A key emphasis of the conference this year was the glory of God.  This is a central Biblical theme in understanding the nature of worship.  Moses goes up on Mount Sinai to encounter the glory of God (Exodus 34:15-16).  On the Mount of Transfiguration Peter, James and John see Jesus with Moses and Elijah in glory (Luke 9:28-32).  The psalmist calls God the “King of glory” (Psalm 24:7-10).  The glory of God shines in the face of Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 4:17;).  We will one day share in this glory (Colossians 3:4; I Peter 5:1). What, really, is the glory of God?

The root words that lie behind the Biblical term for glory refer to worth, value, importance and respect.  In a sense God’s glory is God’s honor.  To experience the glory of God is to be in the presence of God. To be in Christ is to experience God’s glory because the presence of God rests on Jesus (John 1:14).  There is a comfort in the presence of God but there also needs to be the respect and honor due to God.  In the words of the psalmist, to declare God’s glory among the nations (Ps. 96:3) is to say that God is to be praised and revered (Psalm 96:4).  This is the meaning of worship.

When we gather in the sanctuary for worship we are acknowledging God’s glory.  This is not to be done lightly.  We are coming to give the respect and honor which God alone is due.  This should not be done in a way that is excessively solemn either.  Worship is to be joyful (Psalm 95:1-2).  The pattern of the oldest form of worship we have is designed to help us focus on the glory of God in a very direct way.  That is why our Call to Worship is from God’s Word.  We respond to that Word in singing (Psalm 100:2).  We pray then to invoke God’s presence among us (hence, the ‘invocation”).  Coming into God’s presence we need to acknowledge our sin.  Therefore we have a confession of sin.  Following our confession we are assured of our forgiveness (I John 1:9).  This leads us into peace where we can joyfully (and it should be joyfully) greet each other in Christ’s name.  In this expression of peace with each other we can share concerns and ministries of the congregation.  God’s presence with us, his glory, is the basis of our communion with each other.

Our Reformed forbears emphasized the idea that God is most present with us in his Word.  Jesus is the Word made flesh.  Therefore we read at least two Scripture passages, one from the Old Testament, the other from the New.  Then the Word is proclaimed.  It is preached.  Our oldest confessions remind us that the Word of God comes to us in three forms.  Ultimately the Word is Christ (John 1:1).  The Word in a secondary sense in Scripture.  Finally, the preaching of the Word of God is also God’s Word (Philippians1:14).  The response to the proclaiming of the Word is logically then the response of faith in the words of one of the confessions of faith.  Other responses to the Word include intercessory prayer (“prayers of the people”), the giving of ourselves and our earthly resources (the offering) and praise with singing.  The response may also include the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  Finally in receiving the benediction we are sent out into the world both to declare and live out the glory of God.  We do this because having been in the presence of God in community worship we know that God is present with us also as individuals.  We can then, in joy and in confidence, “tell of his salvation from day to day” (Psalm 96:2).