Worship is not a tap we turn on or off upon demand. An artesian well emits a fountain because of the positive pressure within the aquifer; if the aquifer is not recharged, the fountain will ultimately cease to flow. Worship requires preparation of heart and mind—not of the kind we may undertake before an exam. It takes being in the Lord’s presence, those moments of quiet with the Word of God throughout the week. Without this, why should we expect an outpouring of worship on the Lord’s Day? If I fill my mind with everything other than the Lord on Saturday evening, why should my state of soul be in a different place on Lord’s Day morning?
Although the Old Testament doesn’t give us a model of worship to follow, the principles it establishes are still relevant. We have considered verses from Deuteronomy twelve; we will now turn to the twenty-sixth chapter. “Thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place His name there. ... And thou shalt set it down before Jehovah thy God, and worship before Jehovah thy God. And thou shalt rejoice in all the good that Jehovah thy God hath given to thee” (Deut. 26:2, 10-11 JnD). We should not expect worship to flow from our hearts if our baskets are empty. We do not come to the remembrance of the Lord to have our baskets filled. Although God is no man’s debtor; He will not allow us to come away empty (1 Kings 10:13). The children of Israel were brought into a land of milk and honey (Deut. 26:9); it also had many springs of water (Deut. 8:7). God, in His grace, provided everything needed for bountiful harvests; nevertheless, we know that drought and famine punctuated Israel’s history. The lack of fruit on their part was not a result of poverty on God’s part—neither is it in our lives. Israel’s particular sin was idolatry. It can likewise be ours: “Children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). All outside God’s purposes and nature is an idol. If we fill our lives with these, we must expect a spiritual famine.
Another verse, this time from the book of Genesis, provides us with a related lesson. In chapter forty we find Joseph in prison. He was soon joined by Pharaoh’s butler and his baker. The story, I trust, is a familiar one. Both the butler and baker have dreams and Joseph is given to know their interpretation by God (Gen. 40:8). The butler’s dream is favorable: “Within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler” (v. 13). Joseph follows the interpretation with these words: “Think on me when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house” (v. 14). The request is a simple one: Think on me when it shall be well with thee. Or, as another translation gives it: “Bear a remembrance with thee of me when it goes well with thee” (v.14 JND) Is it not well with us? “God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:4-6). This is the day of Christ’s rejection; the princes of this world conspired to crucify the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8). The people’s vote was: “Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas” (Luke 23:18). The Lord Jesus is now gone “away out of the country” (Matt. 25:15). It is our present privilege to remember Him; to announce His death in a world which wanted nothing to do with Him (1 Cor. 11:26 JND). In this sense we bring Him out of this house. What is our response? What was the response of the chief butler? “Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him” (Gen. 40:23). Do we suppose he intended to forget him? I think not. No doubt he got busy going about his work and enjoying his liberty—he simply forgot poor Joseph in prison. At the last the Butler says: “I do remember my faults this day” (Gen. 41:9); but this is not what Joseph had asked of him. Thankfully, it brought him back to that place of remembrance—but what a route! It doesn’t take evil in one’s life to be spiritually poor. “Demas has forsaken me, having loved the present age” (2 Tim. 4:10 JND).