For centuries the notion of worship was, by and large, prescribed by a strict liturgy. This form of worship was predominant in the so-called established churches with which most people of the time identified. The elements of such worship included: the confession of sins, prayers, reading of Psalms, Scripture readings, a sermon, the collection of alms, a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostle’s creed, the Lord’s words when instituting the Last Supper, the Breaking of the Bread, and its distribution. I do not wish to imply that all these elements were necessarily present, nor, for that matter, that I have given every aspect of such a service. Nevertheless, this list is intended to give a general idea as to the nature of liturgical worship. In those institutions where such a regulated principle of worship was not followed, patterns of worship were, nevertheless, established which included many elements of the above. In the modern world, even among evangelicals, where a form of worship far more liberal has been adopted, worship continues to be associated with ceremonies and activities conducted on behalf of others—listening to music or hearing a moving sermon. These may produce a response from our hearts, but they are not worship in themselves. The congregation remains, by and large, a participant in a performance orchestrated by others. A testimony from God addressed to man is not worship.
Worship cannot be prescribed; it goes against the very nature of worship. So, what is worship? The word derives from worth (worthy, honorable) and -ship. The latter is appended to a noun to form a new word denoting a state of being. W. W. Fereday wrote: Prayer is a blessed exercise for all who realize their weakness and need; thanksgiving is comely for those who have received great things from God; but worship is a higher sentiment than any of these, because it contemplates not His works only, but God Himself—His perfections and glories. Our English word is simply a contraction of the Anglo-Saxon “worth-ship”, which means ascribing honour to one who is worthy.i Another has written: It is the honour and adoration which are rendered to God, by reason of what He is in Himself, and what He is for those who render it.ii
Worship, therefore, should be the natural response of the true child of God. It flows from the heart, as led by the Spirit of God, consequent upon the work of Christ and the revelation that God has made of Himself—His glory, His love in sending His Son, and all the blessings associated with it. Worship is thankfulness and a heart overflowing with the goodness of God, but it is even more than this. Worship does not occupy us with ourselves but with God the Father, as revealed in the Son, the knowledge of whom is made good to us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. As human creatures, our focus all too naturally falls back to that which centers upon us—our former state and our present blessings. We may come to an assembly meeting with the desire to worship, but we must confess we often fall short of it.
It should be made clear that this article is not intended to be a blueprint whereby we judge others. I hope to address some common misconceptions regarding worship, but more importantly, it is my desire to provoke personal exercise as to the state of our own relationship with the Father and the Son. At one time Satan held many Christians in fear with no true apprehension as to their relationship with the Godhead—and that remains true within certain ecclesiastical systems today. However, in the modern church the reverse seems to be true—there is such an irreverent familiarity that the relationship has no depth at all; it is I, and not God, who is the center of Laodicean Christianity (Rev. 3:14-22).