Westminster Orthodox Presbyterian Church
Our Worship
The faith recovered by the
Reformers was understood by them to stand as a "three-legged stool," with the
three legs being theology, worship, and church government. To lose one of the
legs means all will ultimately fall.Some of the Reformers contented themselves with doing away with only the elements of worship expressly forbidden in the Bible, such as the adoration of statues and the worship of the Catholic wafer. Others sought to worship God completely on His terms. They understood the vital importance of worship and feared idolatry. Based on Israel's long struggle with idolatry portrayed in the Old Testament and the innovations they had seen in their own day, they did not trust themselves to invent ways of worshipping God. John Calvin called the human heart an "idol factory."
They once again turned to the Bible as their rule, as do we. We worship God with fixed elements of worship: the singing of psalms and hymns, prayer, the reading and exposition of God's Word, and the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper.
The elements of worship are restricted in their content by Scripture. The hymns we sing mirror the psalms in their focus on God: His person and His acts. Like the psalms they sing to God as well as about Him. Preaching is expository, working our way section by section through a book of the Bible - - explaining, proving, and applying God's Word.
Much of today's worship has become narcissistic and seeker-sensitive. It focuses on the needs of the worshiper. The Reformers insisted that worship was God-centered and focused. We come together to meet with Christ and we come in the authority of Christ's name. Christ is in the midst of His people by His Word and Spirit. God's Word and His sacraments are His means of communicating His benefits to us. Worship, then is not mainly what we do before God, but what God is doing to us and in us. God has entered into a covenant with His people, and in worship He reveals Himself to them, and they in turn respond in adoration to His grace. God calls us into His presence (Ex. 19:10-11) and He speaks His word to us. We then respond in praise and adoration to God's Word and work in us, and we eat and drink at His table as we receive His grace.
Under the Old Testament, the people of God met God in the tent of meeting. God tabernacled with His people at the tent of meeting. Later a permanent temple was constructed as the place where God was present with His people. Why was it called such? It was where the presence of God met with His people (Ex. 29:42ff). Jesus Christ is now the true tabernacle; the true temple. He fulfills that of which the tabernacle and temple in Israel were both the symbol and the anticipation. Christ is present in the assembly of His people. He is the high priest of a temple built without hands, the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 8:1-3), the church, the city of God. And we who trust in Christ are living stones being built into that living temple by Christ (1 Peter 2:5). We are also priests who offer up spiritual sacrifies acceptable to God through Jesus Christ in worship, being united to Him by faith.
This is a precious reality, but one that suprpases our understanding. Yet it is to be apprehended by God's people and it is the their priveledge and joy to do so. Christ is present with His people by His Word and Spirit as they meet to worship Him. He is the presence of God among His people. He is Immanuel, God with us. We gather around the crucified, risen, and ascended Lord of Glory. We come together in union with Christ and in His name (authority) to hear His revealed truth and to receive His grace. It is because believers are united to Christ that they are united to one another as members of His mystical body, the church.
But this gathering of God's people is universal in its extent. We meet both locally (1 Cor. 14:23) and with those enrolled in heaven (Heb. 12:23). Worship is the gathering of the church catholic (universal).
More Articles on Reformed Worship:
Reformed Worship - From the OPC Web Site
The Beauty of Reformed Worship - by G. VanDooren
Worship: Evangelical or Reformed? - by Robert Godfrey
Christ Himself in the Assemblies of His People - by John Murray
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