Thoughts
On Worship Taught By Three Women – by Mike J. Farag
Introduction:
WORSHIP. I wonder what crosses your mind when you
hear this word – worship. The imagery
associated with this word in the mind of man has changed from age to age. For example, Moses did not know what worship
was going to look like as soon as the Lord delivered His people from
“And Moses said (to
Pharaoh), thou must give also sacrifices and burnt-offerings into our hands,
that we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God. Our cattle also must go with us:
there shall not a hoof be left behind; for we must take thereof to serve
Jehovah our God; and we do not know with what we must serve Jehovah,
until we come there.” Exodus 10:24-26
After the Lord delivered the
Jews out of
“And Jehovah called
to Moses and spoke to him out of the tent of meeting, saying, Speak unto the
children of
“A perfect one, he
doth bring near, unto the opening of the tent of meeting he doth bring it near,
at his (the person’s) pleasure, before Jehovah (Youngs
translation)”
In a way, the Lord was
saying, if anyone would like to come and offer me something, this is how he/she
should do it and this is how I want it.
Some of the sacrifices were not for atonement of sins. On the contrary, it was a voluntary act of a
heart responding to the many blessings of Jehovah in his/her life - bringing an
offering (a korban or a gift Lev. 2); something that is “of a sweet
savour unto the Lord (Lev. 2).”
After
the Lord clearly showed Moses what he ought to worship Him with in the
wilderness, the similes and ideas of worship in people’s minds were no longer
“we do not know with what to worship (Ex 10:24-26)” On the
contrary, they now have a meticulous structure of worship/service. Now, if the people hear the word
worship/service, it is no longer a state of “I don’t know” the word ‘worship’
would bring to their minds thoughts such as going to the Tent of Meeting with
something in your hand to give to the Lord.
For you could not come to Him empty handed (Deut.
Today, when you hear the word
“worship,” what imagery and ideas are associated with this word in your mind?
Some of the connotations that
this word bring to your imagination could be:
v
Sunday morning breaking
of bread meeting
v
Brothers who have been
given the public priesthood of offering sacrifices of praise audibly
v
The preparation and
readiness of those who are offering
v
The promise of the Lord
that He will be in our midst as we are gathered unto His name to remember Him
v
And a lot more…
Regardless of what your
thoughts of worship may be, I invite you to come with me to learn some
important lessons on worship from the following three women:
The Samaritan woman: principles of worship.
The sinful woman: the conduct, pattern and quality of worship.
The Shulamite: His heart’s desire toward us to come and
worship Him.
Lessons on worship from the woman at the well: John 4
Scene One: The
Lord and the Samaritan woman
What I find marvelous is that
when the Lord Jehovah in the New Testament first spoke on the subject of
worship, He did not look for a Moses as He had before. He did not come in thunder and great clouds
as He did (Heb
The woman brought up the
issue of worship in her conversation with the Lord. The Lord Jehovah in His amazing grace responded and cooperated by
engaging in a conversation with a woman like herself on a subject so divine as
worship.
Why
oh Lord would You continue in this subject with one who is totally unfit for
the topic, does not belong, and will have no role in worship anyway? She might not even qualify to understand all
these “DEEP” thoughts you said about “worship!”
I
reserve certain advanced topics to talk about with those that I think can
handle them and may be worth it.
I
wouldn’t talk about how to design a meticulous structure with a blind man. I wouldn’t talk about astrophysics with a
culinary student. I just shouldn’t.
I
shouldn’t talk about nanotechnology with a homeless bum. I just shouldn’t even if they bring up in
their hasty conversations anything alluding to it. I just wouldn’t.
This
woman should be the last one to talk about worship. I think there are bigger, more important issues at stake here that she needs to consider about her
life before she opens her mouth on the subject of worship.
Maybe
the Lord should not have gone along with her in this subject. He could have wisely changed subjects. But He did not.
Oh
Lord what has just happened at the well?
You did not save the right thoughts for the right people. You threw away gems to someone who would not
appreciate them nor has hands to catch them.
Lord,
“WORSHIP” is a very sublime subject. It
takes those that are learned to even dare exchange thoughts on it.
Why
tell it to a woman when only men are going to get up and give worship?
Why
tell it to such a sinner when only those that are holy and fit are qualified to
give worship?
Why
tell it to a woman who had nothing to give in worship? For she was thirsty, lonely, and found
wanting both morally and psychologically.
Why
O Lord, when you ever talked about “worship” in your documented life, you gave
that honor to a woman? A woman that
even if she grasps the depth of “worship” she still will remain inept and
helpless to do anything with what she has learned about worship from you!
She has no leading role in the
worship meeting, she has no right to speak, and for what she is, it seems like
she would have nothing to offer.
Even the disciples marveled; they would have been more
astonished if they found out the revelations that the Lord was bestowing upon
her and what was the theme of their conversation.
The Almighty revealed some
truth about worship that could have remained concealed if it wasn’t for His
grace in revealing it. Grace not only
to reveal truth, but also grace to reveal truth to such a vessel as herself.
“The woman says to
him, Sir, I see that thou art a prophet.
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and ye say that in
THE LORD
REVEALED THE FOLLOWING TRUTH ABOUT WORSHIP:
1) You can worship
anywhere. We don’t need
Just an observation: The Lord said that worshipping the Father is
neither on this mountain nor in
Throughout my cherished fellowship with all types of the
Brethren, I’ve come across about seven different names for the Brethren
assemblies. I’ve noticed that few of
them were identical. However, they did
not welcome one another comfortably ONLY because of the title differences. I realize that having certain names help us,
the believers, to sort of comprehend the set of beliefs, practices,
conventions, stereotypes of that particular assembly. It helps us to better understand the particular body of
believers. But if two assemblies have
different names, yet are identical in their practices and beliefs, then the
fact that they are not comfortable with worshipping/serving with one another
only because they have different titles is, I boldly say, a matter which both
will give an account of in the day of the Lord Jesus, this same Jesus who spoke
to the Samaritan woman.
2) You must worship The Father. The Samaritan woman was erroneously
persuaded that her worship was more right than that of the Jews for the
following reason: “Our fathers
worshipped in this mountain…” It was her
connection to ‘our fathers’ that made her and the rest of the Samaritans
decide to go against the flow and suffer ridicule from the rest of the nation
of Israel by worshipping where ‘our fathers’ worshipped. Although they were wrong, they honored ‘our
fathers’ deeds and continued to prolong ‘our fathers’ tradition and
legacy. They had done all of this for ‘our
fathers.’ The Samaritans had erred because they regarded their earthly
fathers as their justification for how to worship.
In
response to her rationale behind where the Samaritans worshipped (namely, our
fathers), our Lord introduces ‘The Father” to reveal to her something about
worship. He says, “Woman, believe me, [the] hour is coming
when ye shall neither in this mountain nor in
3) You must worship
someone you know. The knowledge of the Divine being will
produce worship in you. Worship without
knowledge of Him you worship is not worship.
Christ as a Jew said, “We
worship what we know.” Christ’s worship as a Jew was one that He could
testify of as ‘we worship what we know.’ Those that worshipped in the Old Testament, the Lord
was hidden from them. They couldn’t
come close to the mountain, they couldn’t see Him, and they couldn’t be in a
personal relationship with Him INDIVIDUALLY.
But now we can enter boldly into the throne of grace and claim Him as
our Abba Father, just as our Christ addressed the Father in prayer (Gal 4:6 and
Mark
4) NOW is the hour to
worship the Father. You need not ascend to the house of the Lord
only in the appointed dates and feasts.
The Father is ready to receive true worship at any time- not later, but now. Now He is waiting for your worship; now
He is listening. Now He is seeking
those true worshipers. Now, don’t
linger. “NOW,” the Christ said; Don’t
make the Father wait.
5) The Father SEEKS such
worshipers. God is not a mystery or a hidden treasure to be traced. For the Creator and the creature to meet one
another is not a pursuit of only the infirm and needy creature but is also the
pursuit of the Father – the
Worshipped. Your God is in search of
you, O true worshiper. He is seeking
you. Do you see Him? He desires your worship as much as you long
to give Him true worship.
6) You must worship Him in
Spirit and Truth. John 4:24 “God [is] a Spirit, and those
worshipping Him, in spirit and truth it doth behove to worship (Youngs’ translation).” The way in which to worship such a Father is in Spirit
and Truth. Christ pointed this out
twice (vs 23,24.) It is far
more sublime to the available notions of worship at that time- e.g. an animal,
a sacrifice, and materiality - (physical rather than metaphysical). You, the worshiper need not only a
sacrifice, but also must worship in spirit and truth[1]. David said, “Behold, thou desirest (is pleased with) truth in the inward
parts (Psalm 51:6).” This is the place where the Father desires for the
truth to be – the inward parts of our
hearts. It is far more than just a
picture of Matt 18:20 hanging on our walls.
The price of the truth was our Lord coming into the world. Our Lord said to Pilate, “To this end was I born, and for this cause
came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one
that is of the truth heareth my voice (Jn 18:37).” This verse
links both the spirit and the truth.
The truth engenders a concomitant capacity to hear the voice of
God. When we come to worship the Father
in the truth, the truth will enable our spiritual senses to hear His voice
leading the priests in His meeting. Yes
we can have a spirit lead worship meeting if only we have the truth.
7) God is Spirit. In the Old
Testament, we read many times about ‘the spirit of the Lord’ or ‘the spirit of
God’ but not that God is Spirit. I
don’t think that the “spirit of God” and “God is spirit” are the same
statement. At least, one cannot fully conclude
and understand the latter thought from the first.
Regardless
of our awareness of this revelation that God is Spirit, and regardless of our
understanding of its implications, it is pointed out that Christ handed this
revelation for the first time to this woman.
Oh Lord, I do not know what you have done here. I envy this woman.
Therefore,
worship is for anyone regardless of their mental capacities, regardless of
their education, knowledge of the scripture, and regardless of their state of physical
and non-physical needs.
By
virtue of this account in John 4, worship then is not only for men and women,
but let me say, women and men. I wonder
how would this change our perception of the “worship meeting” on Sunday
morning, given our perception of the role of women in the worship meeting! I wonder how would this change the worship
of each woman in the assembly as she is reminded of the Lord’s private and
innovative conversation on worship NOT with a man who will be up front,
forerunner, a leader or a public worshiper, but rather, to a woman who -if she
becomes a believer - would end up being in silence yet worship-full (or at
least should be). May this fact
persuade all women to recognize their significance and relatedness to the
subject of worship. There’s more to be
learned on this matter from our next teacher: the woman in Luke 7.
Lessons from the Woman in Luke 7:
Scene Two: The
Lord and the woman in the house of the Pharisee
Luke 7:37 “And
behold, a woman in the city, who was a sinner, and knew that he was sitting at
meat in the house of the Pharisee, having taken an alabaster box of myrrh…”
THE ROAD TO THE
FEET OF CHRIST - THE PLACE OF WORSHIP - WAS FILLED WITH THORNS:
This sinful woman knew where
the Lord entered – a place that she would never be welcomed – Simon’s house,
the Pharisee.
If I
were this woman and found out that the Lord was in the house of a Pharisee, I
would NOT have gone to see Him there.
How could I enter this man’s house?
I know what he thinks of me – “a sinner.” I have no place there. They would treat me as if I am a vice in the
place.
If
this woman had actually entertained all these thoughts in her mind before she
went into the house, she would have been right. For when Simon saw her, he referred to her not as a “who” but a “what this woman is” (vs 39). How degrading!
In the sight of Simon and his friends, this woman was
unworthy of their notice. Simon may
have felt that seeing her could defile him.
She was not considered worthy of his notice. The Lord calls Simon (and all of us) to look at the woman. He says, “And turning to the woman he (the Lord) said to Simon, Seest thou
this woman? (
TO REACH THE
FEET OF CHRIST.
The box of alabaster was like
a fire in her bosom that needed to be quenched by pouring it on the Lord. She came from behind Him and stood
there. It seems as she had no eye
contact even with the Lord, initially.
She was not abrupt; she did not make a sound; she did not say greetings;
she did not ask for permission; she did not get any glory, attention or
recognition from anyone save the Lord.
She did not have a grand entrance or a microphone handed to her. It seems she would have much preferred to be
invisible. Even the Lord did not make
any remarks of recognition to her until He heard Simon’s thoughts of
her. And even if He never had, it seems
to me that it would not have mattered to this woman at all, for she had given
up recognition long ago the moment she decided to enter the house of the
Pharisee. For worship is not about any recognition
we get, (and I am not referring to recognition from man at this point)
but that of God, it is about giving all the recognition to Him. Is it that she had forgotten where she was –
the Pharisee’s house surrounded with all his friends? Could it be that she gave up whatever little dignity she had left
if it would stand between her and the feet of our Lord? If we ask, “How did she do it?” the Lord
answers this on her behalf in Luke
Her entry was so discrete. She did not seem to necessitate any further preparation or
special arrangement or a common protocol prior to her act of offering. All she needed was to get there. As Brethren, the word ‘tradition’ is
something we tend to detach ourselves from and even sometimes assume our
innocence of, just because we are the Brethren – the historically accredited
tradition-free gatherings. I regret to
break the news for you, but the truth is, we have traditions[2].
There is one such tradition
that I have noticed common among many assemblies in
When we examine such practice
with the simple act this woman demonstrated, we may begin to realize our
sophistication. Let us honestly ask
ourselves before the Lord: why do I
speak first before I give thanks? Can’t
I just pray, or can’t I just speak? Why
do the two have to come hand-in-hand? I
am not pointing this out as a fault in our practices. I am making mention of it because sometimes when we don’t
acknowledge such patterns, we inevitably leave them to time to be nurtured
until they become unshakable traditions.
This was the explanation of
everything she gave and everything she endured[3]. The spirit of indignation which filled the
place could not overcome her much love for our Lord. I’ve been in some situations where I almost justified my poor
worshipful state for reasons such as:
The conduct of so and so or the presence of so and so was an irritant, a
distraction that swayed me from giving worship. Although these things may have some weight on the outcome of my
reasonable worship, I am convinced that the bottom line is “LOVE.” If I have “loved much” as the Lord said of
this woman, nothing around me, let it be a spirit of a Pharisee or unwelcoming
gestures[4], would detain me from reaching His feet and
pouring my thanksgiving there. Mrs.
Thompson writes:
Precious moments at Thy table, From all fear and
doubt set free;
Here to rest, so sweetly able Occupied alone with
Thee…
Here rejoicing in Thy nearness, Gladly by Thy
Spirit led;
(Hymns of Worship and Remembrance # 157)
“SHE FROM THE TIME I CAME IN
HAS NOT CEASED
KISSING MY FEET.” LUKE 7:45
This is another testimony of
Christ about this woman – her timing; she did not waste time. Notice, Christ DID NOT say: She from the time she came in has not
ceased kissing my feet. On the
contrary, He said, “…from the
time I came in…” This means that
this woman was there before Christ arrived to Simon’s house. She was watching and ready for His entrance
so that as soon as the Lord was seated, she was at His feet kissing them
ceaselessly. What a glorious testimony
of the punctuality and promptness of a worshiper!
Even the time we come in
before Him to meet at His feet is something He appreciates and values. It does not go unnoticed by our Lord. He takes note of it.
Father,
this woman puts me to shame.
Forgive
me for the times I did not make it a priority to honor you in my timing. For I occasionally come in few minutes late
after the meeting has already begun rather than early. Father, if you take notice of when I come in
to worship, I pray that you would grant me to strive to please you in this area
– the time I come in before you – as a sign of my love to you for I do love you
Lord.
In
His most precious name.
Amen.
HAS NOT CEASED
KISSING MY FEET.”
LUKE 7:45
I
wonder if this is a testimony that Christ could say about us when we are gathered
around His feet to worship Him. I am
reminded of many of our morning corporate worship meetings where Christ’s
testimony of it (us) would not have been so.
The Lord is present in the meeting as He promised to be, yet many of us,
sometimes myself, delay and/or cease kissing His feet. We wait to the last minute; I am not sure
for what reason. But this woman used it
all. She was there before He came and
she did not leave until He dismissed her from His presence. Doesn’t our Lord deserve that we would not
cease kissing His feet when we come to meet with Him in His meeting where He is
the Head? Isaac Watts writes:
How sweet and holy is the place With Christ
within the doors,
Where everlasting love displays the Choicest of
her stores!
With joyful hearts we raise our song, As those
who have been blest;
Each one thus cries with thankful tongue: Lord, why am I a guest?
‘Twas the same love that spread the feast, That
sweetly forced us in:
Else we had still refused to taste, And perished
in our sin.
(Hymns of Worship and Remembrance # 158)
One of the things that characterizes the brethren worship meetings is the moments of silence. Silence is a fundamental element when we are in His presence (Ecc. 5:1-6). It is the ‘Selah’ found in the psalms (about 75 times in the Old Testament). It orchestrates the melody of our worship and defines it.
There
is a silence that soothes and constrains one’s heart in worship. And there is a silence similar to the hiss
that comes on the TV channel after the broadcasting is over for the day – a
sign that a disconnection took place.
The kind
of silence is a diagnostic symptom of our state as a body of worshippers. Being born and raised in the Brethren
assemblies, I would like to bring this to our notice. After few years of practicing worship, our clever flesh had
become very well trained in the things of God.
We learned what hymn goes with what theme. We learned what hymn fallows what hymn. We figured out how to display coherence in our worship. There is nothing wrong with any of this if
it is done in the spirit. My point is
that we can have the appearance of a spirit lead meeting while the inner
reality could be emptiness. Although
coherence in our thoughts and worship sounds like a characteristic of the things
of God, it is not a determinant per se for the Spirit orchestrated gathering of
worship. For our flesh, at least mine,
can do things so close as if it’s by the Spirit of God when in essence, it’s
all by my own might.
The truth is, we know how to fill the
time. We know how to cover up the
embarrassing uncomfortable gaps of silence with proper things. But we are only covering the symptoms. We know how to make a fire and where to
place it[5]. For this, I believe, it is prudent to
examine our silence in the presence of the Lord during the worship meeting to
see if it’s an indicator of our emptiness or if it’s a part of our melody of
praise to Him.
O blessed hope! With this elate, Let not our
hearts be desolate,
But strong in faith and patience, wait Until He
come!
(Hymns of Worship and Remembrance # 148 George Rawson)
THE LORD DID NOT DEMAND
THESE ACTIONS
FROM THE WOMAN.
Our Lord contrasts what the
woman did when she wasn’t expected to do anything with what Simon was expected
to do as a host but cared not to do.
We see Simon failing to do
the average that was due to his guest.
Christ’s testimony of Simon was that he did not give Him:
“Water to my feet
(vs. 44)…One kiss (vs.45)…Oil for my Head (vs. 46).”
On the other hand, we see the
woman doing far more than what was expected from anyone. Nothing she did went unnoticed by
Christ. Our Lord said of her:
She washed My Feet with her
tears and wiped them with her hair. Vs.
44
She has not ceased kissing My
Feet since the time I came in. Vs. 45
She anointed My Feet with
Myrrh. Vs. 46
Notice that the Lord only
brought up this contrast between Simon and the woman both when He wanted to
defend this woman and to meekly deal with Simon’s thoughts of both Him and his
thoughts of the woman who was sitting at His feet. Christ’s response to Simon demonstrated to Simon that He could
read his mind and that He is the creditor who could impute forgiveness to
sinners.
We
invite the Lord to come to our meetings and be in our midst as He promised to come
and supper with Him. I wonder how He
would assess our hospitality, our meeting with Him. Would His testimony of us be that we have washed His feet with
our tears, that we have not ceased kissing His feet since the time we came in,
that we have poured out at His feet the best we have? Or will His testimony of us be as of Simon whom, as the host of
Christ, should have at least brought water for His feet, should have at least
displayed a simple and common gesture of friendship by greeting Him with a kiss
on His cheek and should have at least anointed His head with something so
affordable as oil? In all sincerity, I
recall few occasions where we as worshipers have failed to give even the
minimum, just like Simon. May He open
the eyes of our minds to help us be just in our assessment of our collective
worship meetings at His table.
Thus might I hide my blushing face, While His
dear cross appears;
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness, and melt my
eyes to tears.
(Isaac Watts, Hymns of Worship and Remembrance # 143)
I marvel that the Lord did
not undermine the sins of this woman nor magnify the sins of the Pharisee. The Lord’s answer may strongly suggest that
this woman had much to be forgiven of - a lot more than Simon. Yet, the Lord does not negotiate sin because
of what she offered.
May
this truth be present with each one of us - whether I am one who is conspicuous
or common in the assembly - as we come before Him to worship: I have much to
be forgiven of. May the joy of
being forgiven of many sins be manifested in our praise to Him as “the redeemed
of the Lord.”
THIS WOMAN LOVED HIM MUCH
BEFORE SEEING
WHAT HE WAS ABOUT TO DO FOR HER.
She loved Him much even
before she witnessed Him
Nailed upon Golgotha’s tree –
Faint and bleeding. Who is He?
Hands and feet so rudely torn, Wreathed with
crown of twisted thorn.
Nailed upon Golgotha’s tree – Mocked and
taunted. Who is He?
Scorners tell Him to come down. Claim His kingdom and His crown.
Nailed upon Golgotha’s tree – As a victim. Who is He?
Bearing sin, but not His own, Suffering agony
unknown.
(Hymns of worship and remembrance # 163)
She loved Him before seeing
Him dying on the tree. She loved Him,
not yet hearing His crying agony. She
loved Him, not yet recognizing His full humility.
But we have seen His love for
us at the cross. How much more should
we love Him, and run to His feet, ceaselessly kissing them? How much more ought our eyes fail to hold
back a teardrop at the sight of His sufferings and immense love toward us?
WHAT SHE DID
BROUGHT CHRIST ALL THE GLORY
AND POINTED
THEIR ATTRACTION TO THE MAN SHE LOVED MUCH – OUR BELOVED LORD AND HIM ALONE.
The ointment, which this
woman poured at the feet of Christ, did not quickly fade away from Christ’s
body. I am sure everyone who came in
contact with Christ many days later wondered about His smell; there was
something of a sweet fragrance, some pleasant aroma, a cogent beauty around
Him. Certainly the entire house with all
the guests at the table enjoyed that wonderful and sweet savor that now was
identified with Christ. May we
calibrate our worship and offerings to Him so that they will be such that would
bring glory to Him alone.
The
greatest man that was born of women (Matt 11:11) said, “He must increase, but I [must] decrease” (Jn 3:30). We could clearly see
this demonstrated in the acts of this woman.
The Lord increases as she crowns Him with her ointment and she decreases
in a materialistic sense as she pours her alabaster that is of great commodity
and decreases in metaphysical sense as she is despised by the crowd.
We
as brothers with a public role must bring this attitude of John the Baptist as
we exercise our service of worship before Him; He must increase and I must
decrease. Personally, to continue
reminding myself of this while I am in His presence, I have begun doing
something which some have found interesting.
I carry a veil folded in my Bible cover all the time. Yes, a veil, a head covering. For I believe the ordinance of the head
covering (1 Cor. 11) instituted by our God is not only for the woman to
wear but also for the man to observe.
It is another significant emblem in the gathering in His Name. The Lord designed it such that when the men
and women and Christ the Lord are gathered all together, the glory of man and
the glory of woman be concealed/covered; Only the glory of Christ is to be revealed/uncovered. The scripture said that the glory of man is
the woman (1 Cor. 11:7). This glory needs to be covered. The scripture also said that the glory of
the woman is her hair (1 Cor.
11:15). This also needs to be
covered. The head of the man is to
remain uncovered, for Christ is the head of every man (1 Cor. 11:3). Also, “For a man indeed ought not to cover [his]
head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God” (1 Cor 11:7). Christ and the image of God are not to be
covered. Everything else must disappear
while He alone is to be seen in the scene.
As men in the body of
Christ, our priesthood many times takes a public form. With such a manner of service, we are
vulnerable to falling in a position where our glory and image become a touchy
matter. Our flesh may allure us to do things
that could bring us some glory while we are in His presence. This activity of the flesh could take its
role in many ways. For example, in our
glamorous choice of words in prayer or speech, in our tone of voice, in the
length of time we occupy and even in the clothes we wear. I remember a dear brother who is frequently
used by the Spirit to stand up and speak during the worship meeting. He happens to be very affluent. Whenever he raised his left hand while he
was speaking, some of us could not help but notice the three thousand dollar
watch he was wearing. I am very certain
that this dear brother did not intend to broadcast any glory of his by this
silent act of wearing such an expensive watch.
Nonetheless, our flesh has its clever ways to poke some holes in that
veil so it can breathe. My point here
is NOT about what clothes to wear. I am
much more occupied with the state of our hearts as we are present before Him than
I am occupied with the appearance of things.
For we all know that the two can be very far apart.
Every
time I stand up to participate as a male priest publicly, I cannot help but
notice the heads of the women are covered while the heads of the men are
uncovered; it is a continuous reminder to me that I and any other glory are to
remain covered while His glory appears alone.
With this truth in my conscience and the physical emblems before my
sight, I am careful in my words, my thoughts, my attitude and my conduct in His
presence that none of this would be of glory to anyone but the Christ who is in
our midst. Each time I raise my head
and look around me, I observe the covered glory of man and the revealed glory
of Christ symbolized by the head covering in the gathering in His Name. And since this ordinance is not just a
formality for the women but ought to be a living truth in the hearts of both
man and woman, I took one of the head coverings that my mother makes and made
it my own – an emblem of whose glory ought to take the center of my life both
during and after the meeting.
I
wonder how this realization ought to transform the perspective of all the women
in the worship meeting. For what they
do silently at the feet of Christ in worship is so powerful. The sisters can lift up the entire worship
meeting. Worship is not just the men’s
responsibility and function in the meeting.
The sisters’ silent function can fill the entire place with a sweet
savour unto Christ. After the meeting,
everyone would confess that it was a pleasant time during the Lord’s Supper,
not necessarily because of so-and-so’s audible worship, but because of the
sweet aroma with which the sisters buffered the meeting, silently. The sisters, thus, need not feel limited by
the actions of the brothers in the assembly.
The assessment of the worship meeting is therefore based on both the
sisters’ silent function and the brothers’ public responsibility.
THE LORD
DISMISSES HER FROM HIS PRESENCE[6].
He says to her, “Thy sins are forgiven…Thy faith has saved
thee; go in peace.” Luke 7:48, 50
As one
who loved the Lord so much, it seemed she made His feet her final
destination. She was not anxious to
leave. The Lord told her, “Go.”
Even if her ointment ran out and
there were no more tears to shed on His feet, she was at His feet to
remain. She forgot where she was – the
Pharisee’s dining room. She forgot
about the rest of the guests who knew who she was. She saw no one but Him.
That was why she could remain there in the haven and refuge of the
Lord’s feet until He told her, “Go.”
Sometimes
this is not a testimony of us when we come before the Lord. It is so easy to depart from His
presence. I have been to some
assemblies where I was taught this wonderful lesson. When gathered around Him, if all our offering of praise and
worship comes to a close, let us not assume that the meeting is over. For perhaps the Master wants to say
something to us. Let Him dismiss us
from His presence as He did to all those that came falling at His feet. We can leave His presence with the wonderful
delight of not only beholding His face but also receiving something from Him[7]. In the case of this woman who loved Him
much, she left with both forgiveness of sins and peace. With this principle in mind, I noticed that
in such an assembly, after the signs that the meeting is concluded (e.g. the
offering plate has been passed or whatever cue the assembly was accustomed to
as the end,) the brethren did not begin to ruffle or change the spirit they
were in or rush into the “announcements.”
On the contrary, we continued in the same spirit in our seats for few
moments in quietness at the feet of Christ, allowing ourselves the opportunity
to hear the Spirit speaking -either dismissing us to go in peace or speaking to
us what was on His mind – that which is of the Son (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:13-15).
May our presence round His table steal all
future thoughts beyond;
Making His dear feet a place where an
eternity starts. (MJF)
Mrs. Thompson wrote this hymn
that I believe expresses in part the state of the woman in Luke 7 right before
the Lord dismisses her from His presence:
Jesus, Lord, I’m never weary,
Looking on Thy cross and shame;
Gazing there I seem so near Thee, Dear to me each
throb of pain.
Ever near Thee, Ever near Thee, Ling’ring here I
would remain.
Jesus, Savior, I have found Thee All my utmost
need required;
In Thyself, Lord, Thou hast found me All Thy
loving heart desired.
I would praise Thee, I would praise Thee From my
soul by love inspired.
(Mrs. Thompson, Hymns of Worship and Remembrance # 156)
May this be a testimony of us as we
come before Him.
Lessons from the woman in Song of Songs 4: The
Shulamite
Scene Three:
The Lord and His earthly bride
King
Solomon, whose name means king of peace wrote many songs. But there is only one song that he regarded
as the song of all his songs. It was
the song he sang displaying his thoughts and love of his beloved Shuwlammiyth,
whose name is the feminine version of the name ‘Solomon,’ also meaning peace.
When
taking applications from the Song of Songs – the dealings and thoughts between
the Lord and His earthly bride – let this question be in mind: if this is how
much He thinks of her (His earthly bride), how much more does He regard
(His heavenly bride) whom He purchased with His own blood?
The main lesson
we can take from the Shulamite is how precious is our Love and Myrrah to our
Lord. We will see His calling voice and
inviting words and welcoming replies and yearning gesture for us to come before
Him. For He longs and looks forward to
being with us far more than we do. May
our understanding of this truth change our thoughts toward Him to much bolder
ones. May this knowledge awake in us
reciprocating feelings as we come before Him.
THE
PROGRESSION OF HER AWARENESS OF HIM AND HIS LOVE:
Stage one:
“My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.”
Sgs 2:16 KJV
Stage two:
“I [am] my beloved's, and my beloved [is]
mine: he feedeth among the lilies.” Sgs 6:3
KJV
Final stage:
“I am my beloved's, And his desire
is toward me.” Sgs 7: 10 KJV
In Stage one: She begins with
what is in it for her - her self interest and what she could benefit. It is all about her and her needs and
satisfaction. She says, “My beloved is mine,” then she says, “I am His.”
Stage two: She has matured in her love to him. She no longer places herself and her needs
first. Instead, she reverses what she
said in stage one. She says, “I am my beloved’s,” then she says, “and my beloved is mine.”
Stage three: what is “mine” in no longer a factor
in her view of her relationship with Him.
She no longer says, “My
beloved is mine.” Instead, she says, “I am my beloved’s.” It’s all
about him now. Not her. She says, “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.”
She no longer says, “He feedeth among the lilies,” an indication that he is somewhere far from her being
satisfied by other things. Instead,
this time she says, “His desire
is toward me.” His love has developed her to realize what she truly is to
Him. His desire is toward her. It is not just about what is his and what is
mine. It is far more sublime than just that, far greater than a give and take
relation. She has become aware of his
love to her that is far greater than her love to Him. His love surpasses hers to him.
She finds herself helpless but to give herself saying, “I am my beloved’s and His desire is toward
me.”
The following thoughts are to demonstrate some of His desires that are toward her.
CHRIST THE BRIDEGROOM
VALUES HER LOVE AND MYRRH FAR MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE.
The woman in Luke 7 had much
in common with the Shulamite. They both
loved and they both possessed and introduced ointments; the Lord valued their
love and ointments much. Just like the
woman who anointed the feet of Christ with her myrrh because of her love, the
Shulamite did likewise. We learn this
from her declaration, “While
the king is at his table, My spikenard sendeth forth its fragrance” (Sgs 1: 12). She had this
unwritten ritual that while her beloved was seated at his table, the fragrance
of her spikenard would fill the place – an indication that her ointment has
been poured for him in his presence.
May we take this practice as our own.
That as long as we are at His table seated around Him, let the pouring
of our ointments fill His circle with the fragrances of which our Lord is
worthy. For the glorious Bridegroom of
our hearts values both our love and ointments much. We believe this because He said, “How fair is thy love, my sister, [my] spouse! How much
better is thy love than wine! And the fragrance of thine ointments than all
spices!” (Sgs 4:10). The love the Shulamite had for him, although not as
strong as His, the Bridegroom still cherished her love. To him, her love is fair and far better than
any wine. Wine was a reliable source of
joy to people of that time. The
fragrance of her ointments he esteemed far more than all other spices.
Amidst us our Beloved stands, and bids us view
His pierced Hands;
Points to the wounded feet and side, Blest
emblems of the Crucified.
Thou Glorious Bridegroom of our hearts, Thy
present smile a heaven imparts!
O, lift the veil, if veil there be, Let every
saint Thy glory see!
(Charles H.
Spurgeon, hymns of worship and remembrance
# 144)
THE BRIDEGROOM PERCEIVES HER AS
Here is a portion of their
dialogue:
The Bridegroom:
“A garden enclosed is my sister, [my] spouse; A spring shut
up, a fountain sealed.” Sgs 4: 12
The Bridegroom:
“Awake, north wind, and come, [thou]
south; Blow upon my garden, [that] the
spices thereof may flow forth.” Sgs 4: 16
The Shulamite: when she realized what she was in his eyes,
she cheerfully invited him to come into his garden. She said,
“Let my beloved come into his
garden, And eat its precious fruits.” Sgs 4: 16
I
know it sounds unbelievable that our Lord would think of us with such a high
degree, namely, to be unto Him as a paradise.
It is too much to take in or accept.
It is unbounded love mingled with an overwhelming grace that bewilders
our minds when we attempt to understand it.
I pray that our futile attempt to understand this mystery may not corner
us in a state of incredulity but rather, a kneeling posture of worshipfulness.
And if we lose sight of this truth from time to time, as we sometimes may, let
us remember His words that He finds His delight in the congregation of the
saints - you and me (Ps 16:3). When our
eyes are opened to the depth of His love toward us and how much we mean to Him,
it will be a mind changing, life changing, and worship changing
realization. When we come to meet with
Him in the place in which He promised to be - our midst, knowing that He is
anxious to see us knowing that He is longing to be in His garden (us) and to
receive its fruits, we will be encouraged to bring our best to Him. These thoughts should make us come before
Him boldly, for we understand how (or more accurately, we believe how) He
perceives us as His paradise. This
boldness that we now have is not based on our own merits but on His love to us;
realizing this gives us the confidence to come before Him and delight in His
shadow.
The Bridegroom: In response to her willful invitation for
Him to com into His garden, He responds by saying,
“I am come into my garden, my sister, [my] spouse; I have
gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I
have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly,
beloved ones!” (Sgs 5:1)
With this truth, I say that
our Lord enjoys meeting with us in His name.
It is something that He looks forward to. He does respond to our genuine invitation for Him.
THE BRIDEGROOM’S
INVITATION FOR HER
AND ALL OF US TO COME
AND MEET WITH HIM.
Here is what the invitation
card says:
Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
For behold, the winter is past, The rain is over, it is gone:
The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing is come, And the voice of
the turtle-dove is heard in our land;
The fig-tree melloweth her winter figs, And the vines in bloom give forth
[their] fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away!
My dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the precipice,
let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice;
For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
Sgs 2:10-14
This shows us that not only
does He respond to our invitation to Him to come into His garden (us) but He
also invites us to come and meet with Him.
What
could be our hearts’ response to such an invitation but to cling to it. May the truth of His enthusiasm about
meeting with us create enthusiasm in us to come and meet with Him in His name
with each saint, declaring that “My beloved (The Lord) is mine, and His desire is toward me (Sgs
7:10.)”
Let us come to Him pronouncing Him “As the apple tree
among the trees of the wood, so [is] my beloved among the sons. I sat down
under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit [was] sweet to my taste”
(Sgs 2:3).
Conclusion:
It
is very evident that this paper is not a scholarly thesis. For this reason, I felt some liberty to
disregard the mention of various qualifiers, disclaimers, nor have I given in
to the ‘elaborate or you’ll get shot’ pressure. Therefore, I hope that my weary reader should not waste his/her
time constructing any postulates from any of its content, for this will be a
disaster.
All
the points made in this paper, although in regard to corporate worship in
particular, they are so pertinent to our every day personal walk. The motive of this paper is to produce more
worship to ascend from our hearts to our Lord.
It was written with the “Brethren” denomination in mind with all its
sub-branches. It was written as an
invitation to those who have so great of a truth to continue calibrating their
worship in accordance with the New Testament principles and continue to examine
their practices, conventions and patterns of worship with the spirit of the
scripture. It was written in simple
speech and common words not because I am trying to be unpretentious, but
because that was honestly the best I could come up with.
I
pray that it will cause our worship meeting to NEVER be ordinary, but
real. I pray that I have not written
anything that will be of any offense to any brother or sister that calls on the
Lord out of a pure heart. I pray that
when we fail to measure up to any truth this paper may have shed some light on,
to at least never stop admitting it.
May we continue to judge our worship the way our Lord would. And that we would never blind our eyes from
the occasional weaknesses thereof.
I
remember going to some of the elders after the worship meeting and asking them,
“So, how was the meeting this morning?”
Their opinion and judgment of it was totally different than what I had
seen with my own eyes. It was as if we
both were present in two different meetings completely. I thought it was very dry. They sanguinely replied, “It was nice.”
No
doubt one’s individual spiritual state will affect their views and judgment of
things around them; I still think it is prudent to bring the subject of our
worship meeting to honest scrutiny. And
even if after a sincere look, we realize any infirmity in us as a body of
worshipers, may we admit it rather than seeming as if all is well and recognize
that it is because we are infirm and weak that we need His grace to be in our
midst. Our infirm condition may remain
the same, but our awareness of it would be a reminder to us of the grace we
have found in His sight.
I am
reminded of Moses in Exodus 33 and 34.
The Lord was angry with His people and decided not to be in their midst
anymore. The Lord’s reason was that His
people were “a stiff-necked
people” (Exo 33:3). Moses, the man of God, pleaded with the
Almighty to go before them and be in their midst. Moses pleaded, “And
Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. And he said, If now I have found grace in
thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a
stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take
us for thine inheritance” (Exodus 34:8-9). The same reason that the Lord wanted to
destroy His people and depart from their midst, namely, being a stiff-necked
people, was the same reason that Moses used to convince God to remain with
them.
Isn’t
this so accurate of us today? That it
is because we have failed in many areas that we need our God in our midst and
not much because our meeting was all done accordingly but rather because of the
favor we have found in His eyes toward us.
Our
ways, although founded on scriptural principles, need to continuously be
measured after the shekel of the sanctuary[8]
(Exo 30:13). The
only shekel that will not change is that of the sanctuary. Any other shekel, regardless of how correct
it was the first day, with time, is doomed to be altered. For this reason, we need to come and measure
the same shekels we’ve been using for years to see if they still measure up to
that of the sanctuary. It is likely to
be very close, but that is the concept of calibration; the unbiased
re-measurement of it.
Lord
Jesus, You are worthy of all our love and worship. I do not know why You have brought creatures such as ourselves to
give worship to You. What good could
You expect from us unless Your mercy finds us and changes our hearts to love
You and worship You as we ought to?
If all
the love You have lavished unto us does not bring us on our knees to worship
You as we ought to, I don’t know what will.
For
this I place my soul and my heart before You to give it a beat again and again
to make a melody you are worthy of.
In
Your most precious Name – Jesus.
Oh Love that will not lot me Go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee.
I give Thee back the life I owe,
May richer, fuller be.
O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee.
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.
(George Matheson)
[1] There’s a lot more to be said here about spirit and
truth and their immediate corollaries to our worship today that it be found
pleasing to the Father. Not what I deem
best, not what I think is good, and not necessarily what I hold valuable. Abel in Gen 4: 3-7 could tell us more on
this. I don’t’ know if I should get
into it.
[2] I do not believe that tradition is categorically evil. Christ in His ministry did not attempt to change or make it a point to oppose tradition. His main dislike of tradition was when it nullified the commandment of God (Matt 15:6) and when people began to teach these conventions/traditions of man as if they were the oracles of God (Matt 15:9.) For people gleaned to it as a means to obtain righteousness which was not ordained by God. I believe we could have some format/conventions that are consistent with a spirit of obedience. The danger comes when we elevate our conventions and patterns to a degree as if God Himself decreed them. The apostle Paul exhorts us of this in 1 Cor 4: 6-7. That ye might learn in us not to think [of men] above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.
[3] There is also an interesting factor that the Lord mentions about her – Faith (Luke 7:50.) I am not occupied to write about it at this point.
[4] This is mostly common among the Brethren. It is the general report of not only the Brethren of one another but also the report of the brethren among non-Brethren body of Christ.
[5] Leviticus 10
[6] All those who met with the Lord and enjoyed His mercy and compassion could not depart from His presence. They wanted to remain there with Him. And if it wasn’t for the Lord Himself dismissing them to leave, they would have remained where they had found their life and all - with Him. The only exception to this phenomenon is Luke 17 where the Lord healed ten leprous men and only one returned. The Lord wondered about that. But still, He dismissed this man, “Go.”
[7] In the Old Testament, the individual came with a full hand to give to the Lord an offering of some kind. However, in some cases, that same individual was also to leave satisfied by feeding from the same sacrifice of Christ that was offered to God as well. For example, in Lev. 6 and 7 and numerous other places, the Lord allowed for the priests to partake from that which had been offered to eat at the place where it was offered.
[8] The phrase is mentioned about 24 times in the Bible.