Sunday, July 5, 2009

"Not by singing about doing it, but by doing it"

Today Challies quotes D.A. Carson on worship. An excerpt from the excerpt:
.... Although there are things that can be done to enhance corporate worship, there is a profound sense in which excellent worship cannot be attained merely by pursuing excellent worship. In the same way that, according to Jesus, you cannot find yourself until you lose yourself, so also you cannot find excellent corporate worship until you stop trying to find excellent corporate worship and pursue God himself. ....

This point is acknowledged in a praise chorus like “Let’s forget about ourselves, and magnify the Lord, and worship him.” The trouble is that after you have sung this repetitious chorus three of four times, you are no farther ahead. The way you forget about yourself is by focusing on God—not by singing about doing it, but by doing it. There are far too [few] choruses and services and sermons that expand our vision of God—his attributes, his works, his character, his words. Some think that corporate worship is good because it is lively where it had been dull. But it may also be shallow where it is lively, leaving people dissatisfied and restless in a few months’ time. .... If you wish to deepen the worship of the people of God, above all deepen their grasp of his ineffable majesty in his person and in all his works. [more]
Worshiping Worship :: worship :: A Reformed, Christian Blog

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