Worship as Service

Our first three studies this week have focused on 2 Samuel 22, where we find David’s psalm of praise for all of God’s deliverances in his life. This prayer, which also appears in a slightly different form in Psalm 18, shows us David ascribing worth, excellence, majesty, and honor to God. In order words, David is worshiping God. The practice of worship is at the heart of the Christian faith and the life of the church. But we live in a time of great controversy over worship, especially regarding its form and content. Amid all the debate, it is easy to lose sight of the essential truths that ought to guide our understanding of this crucial practice. Therefore, in an effort to refocus our thinking, we will take a few days to consider what it means to worship God. Of course, we could spend many weeks studying the subject of worship and merely scratch the surface, but such a study is beyond the scope of this magazine. Instead, we will touch on some basic principles. For guidance, we will draw from Dr. R.C. Sproul’s teaching in his audio series Worship and Into the Sanctuary.

When we see the word worship in English versions of the Old Testament, it is usually a translation of one particular word from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures—latria. This word shows up very early in the Old Testament. Its original meaning had to do with service people rendered to receive some compensation or reward. In the Old Testament, it is used almost exclusively with regard to Israel’s cultic practices—the activities that took place in the tabernacle and the temple. In these uses, it referred to religious practices conducted in service to God. However, it did not apply exclusively to service to the one true God. The New Testament teaches us that human beings have a natural inclination toward religion, but not toward the worship of God; they prefer any other deity. For this reason, latria is one of the root words in idolatry—worship of idols.

When it appears in the Old Testament, latria has three basic references: the offering of sacrifice to God, the offering of praise to God, and the offering of prayer to God. Sacrifice, of course, was integral to Old Testament worship, and even praise and prayer were forms of sacrifice. Therefore, we will look closer at the the concept of sacrifice in tomorrow’s study.