Psalm 20, 21; Amos 5:18-27; Jude 17-25; Matt. 22:15-22
We are instructed to pray, “thy kingdom come”, but Amos says, “Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord.” There is a tension in the day of the Lord in that all will not be saved but those who will be saved will be saved eternally into a more glorious future than we can possibly imagine. Amos speaks to a people who were quite religious and yet the Lord doesn’t appreciate their religious practices because they are empty of affection for Him, they are simply religion. We are not called to attend worship services, we are called to worship Him. If our hearts are not engaged in fulsome worship out of deep gratitude and love then we have not truly worshipped the One who alone is worthy of all worship. We should take our cues from the book of the Revelation with the many scenes of worship being poured out by the heavenly host.
"Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.” Sounds like worship-type language but is it? Of course it isn’t worship, it is simply flattery designed to get Jesus to slip up and make a mistake. The language is fine but the heart is wrong. They don’t truly believe what they are saying. There is always a danger of that in liturgical worship but I don’t think that is a good reason not to use a liturgy that calls for the congregation to ascribe honor and glory to the King. Our worship calls, however, for us to prepare ourselves to not only say those things but to also mean those things, that they be spoken not only with our lips but from the heart. When we confess we should feel the need to confess that we might be forgiven. We should confess our faith in the Creed with gusto. The opening acclamation should set the tone, “Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and blessed be His Kingdom, now and forever!” Give to God the things that are God’s and that includes our hearts and our worship.
The writer of Jude says that in the end the best antidote for worldliness, the safe haven for believers, is worship in Spirit and truth. His prescription is simple, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” Meditation on the conclusion of the epistle is a good place to start the worship for today, “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.
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