Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 3-124 Sunday 06 Jul 2003

Psalms on Sundays Reading: Psalm 15 – THE CHALLENGE OF WORSHIP

‘Seven whole days, not one in seven, I will praise you’.(G Herbert) Is that how you understand worship?

Personally, I cringe when I hear someone say, ‘We’re going to have a time of worship’: what they really mean is, ‘We’re going to sing some hymns and songs and say a prayer’. That seems to me to be a very limited understanding of worship.

Psalm 15 is an ‘entrance liturgy’ (See Ps 24; Isa 33:14-16). When worshippers arrived at the Temple they were met by the gatekeeper to whom they addressed a question (v 1). In essence they asked, ‘Who is worthy to come and worship God? What qualities are required of the true worshipper?’. The gatekeeper’s answer (vs2-5a) lists ten qualities! five positive (vs 2,4) and five negative (vs 3,5a).

These are moral qualities that ought to characterise the way we live, day by day. They make clear that the person who comes into God’s presence should live a life characterised by both active goodness and the absence of evil. The point of the ‘liturgy’ is a sad reminder that what is done in the sanctuary is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to worship. True worship is giving God his ‘worth’, his due. This means offering our lives to him every day in deed and word, not just offering the words we sing and say in the sanctuary.

The response of the worshippers (v 5b) acknowledges the appropriate nature of these conditions for entry into God’s presence. If taken in an absolute way they would debar anyone from entering the sanctuary, because no one lives an utterly blameless and righteous life. However the point is that commitment to God means commitment to this kind of life, day by day. Worship in the sanctuary that is not based on such a commitment is sham worship.

Note the emphasis on the use of speech in verses 2-4. Speech has great power to do either good or harm. Reflection how you have used speech in the past week.

– Ernest Lucas

Copyright Scripture Union, 2003, Encounter with God

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