Liturgy,
what is it, and is it connected to
worship? By
Jack
Kettler
In the study of
liturgies, you will come across such
terminology as “Low Church” and “High
Church.” The term “Low Church” is usually
referring to an open spontaneous service
along with no prescribed order for the
worship service, whereas “High Church”
would refer to Anglican worship that
emphasizes the clerical or priestly, and
ceremonial
components in worship along with using
prescribed prayers such as the Book of
Common Prayer.
Liturgy in Eastern
Churches confines itself to the sanctioned
worship service and partaking of the
Eucharist. The Divine Liturgy of Saint John
Chrysostom is the most celebrated liturgy
in the Byzantine Rite. The main liturgical
component of the Roman Church would
be the Mass, with the Eucharist and its
accompanying sacramental system.
In this study, we
will look at the idea of liturgy and how it
works out in the pattern of worship
in Presbyterian and Reformed Churches. Using
the definition of a “Low Church”
liturgy listed above, Presbyterian and
Reformed Churches do not fit into this
category. Reformed Church services are
anything but spontaneous. And they are
certainly
not lacking in a prescribed order for the
worship service. In this study, we
will look the idea of a “Biblical Church
Liturgy.”
Word Definitions:
Liturgy: An established or
customary pattern for a public religious
service. It may include prescribed
content for readings and prayers, and/or
designated times for hymns, responsive
readings, scripture readings, prayers, the
Lord’s Supper, and teaching, etc. *
Liturgy: is a set of
prescribed practices used in public worship.
Liturgies can be very detailed and
lengthy or very short. It
is a pattern
and custom used in church services.Some
are
detailed and some are not.Some
require
people to stand up and kneel at certain
times after recitations of
various scriptures or confessions of faith.Other liturgies are very simple where
people are more spontaneous within
a broader pattern of a service. **
A layman’s short definition: A Christian liturgy
is a pattern or structured order for worship
used by a local church
congregation or a denomination on an ongoing
basis. There is nothing inherently
wrong with the word liturgy. What every
believer should be concerned is, is the
liturgy biblical.
Liturgy is principally about
worship.
What exactly is worship?
Worship: The obligation to
respond to God’s character and actions by
giving Him honor, glory and
obedience; also used specifically of a
church’s public activity of glorifying
God together by means of instruction,
confession, prayer, singing, and
participation in the Lord’s Supper. *
Worship: The obligation of
God's creation to give to Him all honor,
praise, adoration, and glory due Him
because He is the holy and divine creator.
Worship is to be given to God only
(Exodus 20:3; Matthew 4:10). Jesus, being
God in flesh (John 1:1; Joh 1:14;
Colossians 2:9), was worshipped (Matthew
2:2; Mat 2:11; Mat 14:33; John
9:35-38; Hebrews 1:6). **
From Scripture, a pattern
that we see
that informs us of what constitutes
worship:
1.The reading of the
Word of God, and preaching of the Word of
God in worship:
“And they continued
stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and
fellowship, and in breaking of bread,
and in prayers.” (Acts 2:42)
“Till I come, give
attendance to reading, to exhortation, to
doctrine. Neglect not the gift that
is in thee, which was given thee by
prophecy, with the laying on of the hands
of the presbytery. Meditate upon these
things; give thyself wholly to them;
that thy profiting may appear to all.
Take heed unto
thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in
them: for in doing this thou shalt
both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”
(1 Timothy 4:13-16)
2.Prayer in worship:
“And said unto them, it
is written, my house shall be called the
house of prayer; but ye have made it a
den of thieves.” (Matthew 21:13)
“Praying always with
all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all
saints.” (Ephesians 6:18)
3.Tithes and offerings
in worship:
“Will a man rob God?
Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein
have we robbed thee? In tithes and
offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for
ye have robbed me, even this whole
nation.” (Malachi 3:8-9)
“Think not that I am
come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I
am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”
(Matthew 5:17)
Does fulfil mean to
cancel? In common parlance, “fulfilled”
simply means your order has been processed
and shipped. If the order cannot be
fulfilled, one solution is to cancel it.
“Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye
pay tithe of mint and anise and
cummin, and have omitted the weightier
matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and
faith: these ought ye to have done, and not
to leave the other undone.” (Matthew
23:23)
Jesus stated that
tithing is something that should not be
abandoned when He said: “and not to
leave the other undone.”
4.Singing in worship:
“Let the word of
Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom;
teaching and admonishing one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts to
the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16)
5.The observance of the
ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's
Supper in worship:
“Then they that
gladly received his word were baptized: and
the same day there were added unto
them about three thousand souls. And they
continued stedfastly in the apostles'
doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of
bread, and in prayers.” (Acts 2:41,
42)
“For I have received
of the Lord that which also I delivered unto
you, that the Lord Jesus the same
night in which he was betrayed took bread:
And when he had given thanks, he
brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my
body, which is broken for you: this
do in remembrance of me.
After the same manner
also he took the cup, when he had supped,
saying, this cup is the new testament
in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink
it, in remembrance of me. For as
often as ye eat this bread, and drink this
cup, ye do shew the Lord's death
till he come.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
6.Discipline in worship:
“For he that eateth
and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not
discerning the Lord's body. For this cause
many are weak and sickly among you,
and many sleep.” (1 Corinthians 11:29-30)
Church discipline is
another component of true worship. A church
that does not practice church
discipline, is in danger of allowing the
improper administration of the
sacraments or guarding against unbiblical
preaching.
The above Scriptures
establish a pattern of what happened during
a meeting of God’s people.
This Scriptural pattern
involves:
·The
reading of the Word of God, and preaching of
the Word of God
·Prayer
·Singing
·Tithes
and Offerings
·Biblical
administration of the Sacraments
of
Baptism and the Lord's Supper
·Discipline
Digging deeper, from Vine’s
Expository
Dictionary of New Testament Words:
“to make obeisance,
do reverence to” (from pros,
“towards,”
and kuneo,
“to kiss”), is the most
frequent word rendered “to worship.” It is
used of an act of homage or
reverence (a) to God, e.g., Matthew 4:10 ;
John 4:21-24 ; 1 Corinthians 14:25 ;
Revelation 4:10 ; 5:14 ; 7:11 ; 11:16 ;
19:10 (2nd part); 22:9; (b) to Christ,
e.g., Matthew 2:2,8,11 ; 8:2 ; 9:18 ; 14:33
; 15:25 ; 20:20 ; 28:9,17 ; John
9:38 ; Hebrews 1:6 , in a quotation from the
Sept. of Deuteronomy 32:43 ,
referring to Christ's Second Advent; (c) to
a man, Matthew 18:26 ; (d) to the
Dragon, by men, Revelation 13:4 ; (e) to the
Beast, his human instrument,
Revelation 13:4,8,12 ; 14:9,11 ; (f) the
image of the Beast, Revelation 13:15 ;
14:11 ; 16:2 ; (g) to demons, Revelation
9:20 ; (h) to idols, Acts 7:43 .
Note: As to Matthew
18:26, this is mentioned as follows, in the
“List of readings and renderings
preferred by the American Committee” (see RV
Classes of Passages, IV): “At the
word 'worship' in Matthew 2:2, etc., add the
marginal note 'The Greek word
denotes an act of reverence, whether paid to
man (see chap. Matthew 18:26) or
to God (see chap. Matthew 4:10)'.” The Note
to John 9:38 in the American
Standard Version in this connection is most
unsound; it implies that Christ was
a creature. J. N. Darby renders the verb “do
homage” [see the Revised Preface
to the Second Edition (1871) of his New
Translation].
A — 2: σέβω
(Strong's #4576 —
Verb — sebomai
— seb'-om-ahee)
“to revere,”
stressing the feeling of awe or devotion, is
used of “worship” (a) to God,
Matthew 15:9 ; Mark 7:7 ; Acts 16:14 ;
18:7,13 ; (b) to a goddess, Acts 19:27 .
See DEVOUT, No. 3.
akin to No. 2,
"to honor religiously," is used in Romans
1:25 .
A — 4: λατρεύω
(Strong's #3000 —
Verb — latreuo
— lat-ryoo'-o)
“to serve, to render
religious
service or homage,” is translated “to
worship” in Philippians 3:3 , “(who)
worship (by the Spirit of God),” RV, AV,
“(which) worship (God in the spirit);”
the RV renders it “to serve” (for AV, “to
worship”) in Acts 7:42 ; 24:14 ; AV
and RV, “(the) worshipers” in Hebrews 10:2 ,
present participle, lit., “(the
ones) worshiping.” See SERVE.
A — 5: εὐσεβέω
(Strong's #2151 —
Verb — eusebeo
— yoo-seb-eh'-o)
“to act piously
towards,” is translated “ye worship” in Acts
17:23 . See PIETY (to show).
Notes: (1) The
worship of God is nowhere defined in
Scripture. A consideration of the above
verbs shows that it is not confined to
praise; broadly it may be regarded as
the direct acknowledgement to God, of His
nature, attributes, ways and claims,
whether by the outgoing of the heart in
praise and thanksgiving or by deed done
in such acknowledgment. (2) In Acts 17:25
therapeuo, “to serve, do service to”
(so RV), is rendered “is worshiped.” See
CURE, HEAL.
denotes “an object of
worship” (akin to A, No. 3); Acts 17:23 (see
DEVOTION); in 2 Thessalonians 2:4
, “that is worshiped;” every object of
“worship,” whether the true God or pagan
idols, will come under the ban of the Man of
Sin.
“will-worship” (ethelo,
“to will,” threskeia, “worship”), occurs
in Colossians 2:23, voluntarily
adopted “worship,” whether unbidden or
forbidden, not that which is imposed by
others, but which one affects.
for which see
RELIGION , is translated "worshiping" in
Colossians 2:18 .
Note: In Luke 14:10,
AV, doxa,
“glory” (RV), is translated
“worship.” (1)
The Regulative Principle of
Worship
(RPW) provides the structure and content
of Worship in Presbyterian and
Reformed Churches:
We can only approach
God on his own terms, not only for
salvation, but also in worship. The
Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW) is the
doctrine that everything of
religious significance in worship must be
prescribed in Holy Scripture, either
explicitly or by good and necessary
consequence, such that “whatever is beside
the Word of God is against the Word of God.
Put another way, “in God’s worship
there must be nothing offered up to God but
what he hath commanded, whatsoever
we meddle within the worship of God, it must
be what we have a warrant for out
of the Word of God.” Ultimately, the
Regulative Principle of Worship is nothing
more than the specific application of Sola
Scriptura, that Scripture alone is the
sufficient rule of faith and life,
to worship.
What is the Scriptural basis
for the
Regulative Principle?
The regulative
principle in early covenant history is
closely tied to the example of the
Levitical priesthood as is primarily seen in
the book of Leviticus and other
portions of Scripture, along with God's
punishment for its violation.
Consider the following
examples:
Strange Fire or worship
condemned:
“And Nadab and Abihu,
the sons of Aaron, took either of them his
censer, and put fire therein, and
put incense thereon, and offered strange
fire before the LORD, which he
commanded them not. And there went out fire
from the LORD, and devoured them,
and they died before the Lord.” (Leviticus
10:1-2)
Uzzah's error punished:
“And they set the ark
of God upon a new cart, and brought it out
of the house of Abinadab that was in
Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of
Abinadab, drave the new cart. And they
brought it out of the house of Abinadab
which was at Gibeah, accompanying the
ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark. .
. . And when they came to Nachon's
threshing floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to
the ark of God, and took hold of
it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of
the LORD was kindled against Uzzah;
and God smote him there for his error; and
there he died by the ark of God.” (2
Samuel 6:3-7)
Man-made worship condemned:
“And they have built
the high places of Tophet, which is in the
valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn
their sons and their daughters in the fire;
which I commanded them not, neither
came it into my heart.” (Jeremiah 7:31) See
also, Jeremiah 19:5.
“And it shall be unto
you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it,
and remember all the commandments
of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek
not after your own heart and your
own eyes, after which ye use to go a
whoring: that ye may remember, and do all
my commandments, and be holy unto your God.”
(Numbers 15:39-40)
What about the New Testament,
are there
examples of these same types of warnings
and judgements?
In the book of Acts, we see
death for
deception in charitable giving:
“But a certain man
named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold
a possession, and kept back part of
the price, his wife also being privy to it,
and brought a certain part, and
laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter
said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled
thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to
keep back part of the price of the
land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine
own? And after it was sold, was it
not in thine own power? Why hast thou
conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou
hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And
Ananias hearing these words fell
down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear
came on all them that heard these
things. And the young men arose, wound him
up, and carried him out, and buried
him. And it was about the space of three
hours after, when his wife, not
knowing what was done, came in. And Peter
answered unto her, Tell me whether ye
sold the land for so much? And she said,
yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto
her, How is it that ye have agreed together
to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold,
the feet of them which have buried thy
husband are at the door, and shall carry
thee out. Then fell she down straightway at
his feet, and yielded up the ghost:
and the young men came in, and found her
dead, and, carrying her forth, buried
her by her husband. And great fear came upon
all the church, and upon as many as
heard these things.” (Acts 5:1-11)
Damnation for unworthy
participation in
the Lord’s Supper:
“For he that eateth
and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not
discerning the Lord's body. For this cause
many are weak and sickly among you,
and many sleep.” (1 Corinthians 11:29-30)
These warnings are
serious and are why many historic Christian
fellowships practice some form of
guarded or closed communion. An open
communion may be complicit allowing people
to sin publically by making a false
profession of faith when partaking of the
Lord’s Supper. Partaking of the Lord’s
Supper or communion is a public act of
faith. The Church should guard against
profane acts of worship.
God is very specific:
Unauthorized or
man-made worship is condemned and even
punishable by death. While it is
admitted that it is out of the norm for God
to execute sinners today like the
examples above, nevertheless God still
brings about spiritual judgments for
violation of the Regulative Principle as
evidenced by Paul's warning to the
Corinthian Church by participating in the
Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner.
A Scriptural liturgy:
The next a citation is
an example of a liturgy that takes serious
the commands and warnings on what
God requires in corporate worship.
John Calvin’s liturgy:
The Order of Public Worship
in Calvin’s
Congregation at Strassburg was as follows:
Invocation and Call
to Worship
The Confession of Sin
(Prayer) and a Brief Absolution (which would
oftentimes include the 10
commandments).
Reading of the Old
Testament / New Testament
Psalm Sung
Pastoral Prayer /
Prayer of Illumination
The Word of God
Preached (The Sermon)
Prayer of Intercession
and Application ending with the Lord’s
Prayer (a prayer for the people by the
minister).
Psalm Sung
Benediction
Calvin’s Alternate Order of
Worship for
Communion:
Call to worship
Confession of Sin /
Absolution
The Ten Commandments
(sung) (In Calvin’s preparation of a
metrical tune)
Psalm (sung)
The Word Read from
the OT or NT
Prayer for
Illumination
Preaching of the Word
Sermon
Prayer of
Intercession
Apostle’s Creed
(sung) (In Calvin’s preparation of a
metrical tune)
The Lord’s Supper
Prayer of
Thanksgiving
Psalm (sung) or Song
of Simeon (sung)
Blessing (2)
Westminster Confession of
Faith’s 21:1 directory
for public worship:
“The acceptable way
of worshipping the true God is instituted by
himself, and so limited to his own
revealed will, that he may not be worshipped
according to the imaginations and
devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan,
under any visible representations
or any other way not prescribed in the Holy
Scripture (Exodus 20:4-6; Deuteronomy
4:15-20; 12:32; Mat 4:9-10; 15:9; Acts
17:25; Col 2:23).”
DIRECTORY for the Publick
Worship of
God:
The Preface.
Of the Assembling of
the Congregation.
Of Publick Reading of
the Holy Scriptures.
Of Publick Prayer
before the Sermon.
Of Preaching of the
Word.
Of Prayer after
Sermon.
Of the Sacrament of
Baptism.
Of the Sacrament of
the Lord's Supper.
Of the Sanctification
of the Lord's Day.
Of the Solemnization
of Marriage.
Of the Visitation of
the Sick.
Of the Burial of the
Dead.
Of Publick Solemn
Fasting.
Of the Observation of
Days of Publick Thanksgiving.
Of Singing of Psalms.
An Appendix touching
Days and Places of Publick Worship.
In closing:
A Modern day Presbyterian
Order for a Worship
Service:
Call to worship
Response to the call
- Psalm
Prayer of invocation
and Lord’s Prayer
Scripture reading
Psalm of response
Prayer of
intercession
Tithes and offerings
Preaching of God’s
Word
Psalm of response
Benediction
This order of public
worship is taken from the Westminster, CO
Reformed Presbyterian Church of North
America (RPCNA).
The goal of this
study is to help us magnify the Lord God for
his marvelous grace that made us
children of God through no merit of our own.
It is my prayer that this goal has
been attained.
“But God commendeth
his love toward us, in that, while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
(Romans 5:8)
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a
workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
Notes:
1.W. E. Vine, An
Expository Dictionary of New Testament
Words, (Iowa Falls, Iowa, Riverside
Book and Bible House), pp. 1247-1248.
2.Philip Schaff, Schaff’s,
History of the Christian Church,
Volume VIII: Modern Christianity, The Swiss
Reformation 87: The
Liturgy of Calvin, (AP&A
Publishers, Eight Volumes in 3), pp.
176-178.
“To God only wise, be glory through Jesus
Christ forever. Amen.” (Romans 16:27)
and “heirs according to the promise.”
(Galatians 3:28, 29)
Mr. Kettler has
previously published articles in the Chalcedon
Report and Contra
Mundum. He and his wife Marea attend
the Westminster, CO, RPCNA Church. Mr.
Kettler is the author of the book defending
the Reformed Faith against attacks,
titled: The Religion That Started in
a Hat. Available at:
www.TheReligionThatStartedInAHat.com
For more study:
*
For
a great source of theological definitions go
to Rebecca writes at Rebecca
Writes:
http://www.rebecca-writes.com/theological-terms-in-ao/
** CARM theological
dictionary
https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/ctd.html
The
Scriptural Regulative Principle of Worship
by G. I. Williamson
http://www.westminsterconfession.org/worship/the-scriptural-regulative-principle-of-worship.php