Christian worship : a discourse delivered at the dedication of the Unitarian Church, in Wheeling, Va. on the evening of the 15 May, 1852

Front matter

/CRRISTIAN WORSHIP

JOHN B. COWDEN :

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Chapter II

THE EMOTIONS IN CHRISTIAN WORSHIP.......0cccceccecn 76 (a): Wraith 2.305265 eee eee ee 78 (6) Revetence2. 5.25.2 ee 84 (ET TOVe ieee eee ene Cree ae salen 91 (@) SOY OW es eee 105 (e) Joy and: Pest... oS ee 114

CHAPTER IV. THE MESSAGE IN CHRISTIAN WORSHIP.0..0.00.0.-:cccccccceecceee 227

‘CHAPTER ~ VI.

CHAPTER VII.

THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIDP.....cccccc:c:ssssscccscssessssssesseee 263

CHAPTER VIII.

THE OFFERING OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP.....-ccccccecscseeceee 280

CHAPTER IX.

Tre PRAISE OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIDP....00...:c:cccc:csscccscseeecseees 299 7

CONTENTS

CHAPTER X.

Tue LIBERTY OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP. ..ccsnccccssscscsscsescessccceeee 331

CHAPTER XI.

Toe UNITY OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP....ccccccsscccscsseccessssesesseseeee 347

WHAT AND WHY?

HY another book in these days of many books

and few readers? John’s statement, ‘‘that even the world itself would not contain the books,’’ has almost literally come to pass, while very few to-day seem to have time and inclination to read these numberless books. These books cover every field and phase of human knowledge, so there is little hope of exploring a new field and bringing forth ‘‘something new under the sun’’ in the way of a book. No field has been so fully and exhaustively treated as that of religion; truly thereupon ‘‘the making of many books there is no end.’’ He who adds another needs, therefore, to consider well Solomon’s warning, lest he add to ‘‘the vanity of vanities’’ of the world. The author of this book is not unmindful of these things, but, in spite of them, believes that there is still a need for books. While there is no end to the books on religion, yet, strange to say, there are very few, if any, directly and specifically on worship—the heart of religion. While every item and detail of Christianity have been exhaustively treated by the writers of the past and present, yet these things have not been set forth in their relationship to Christian worship; or, in other words, they have not been seen as parts of Christian worship. Christ put worship at the very heart

WHAT AND WHY?

and center of his religion, and enveloped all his teaching and living in an atmosphere of worship, so that all the great truths of His religion need to be studied in their connection and bearing upon Christian worship; which the author proposes to do in this book. The subjects herein treated are old and familiar; but they are set forth in a new relationship, that of Christian worship. Worship is the vital spark in every Christian and every church; and whenever this is allowed to die, the Christian and the church die; and there is nothing left of Christianity but lifeless bodies, ‘‘whitened sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.’’ True Christian worship is the vitalizing, cleansing element in Christianity, and needs, therefore, to be studied and seen in all its parts and relationships, which is proposed in this book. This is the what and the why of this book; and to this end it is written and sent forth with prayers that it may be used of God in building up and strengthening His worship in the world. JoHN B. Cowpen.

Introduction

E THE MEANING OF WORSHIP

AN is instinctively and distinctively a worshiping

being; in fact, he is the only worshiping being— the only being that looks upward to something higher and greater than himself, or entertains and aspires toward an ideal. These instinctive worshiping aspirations in man are manifestations of his distinctive life, the soul-life, through which he feels his relationship and responsibility to a higher Being, whom he regards as his Creator; consequently, he instinctively desires to worship this creative Author of his being. This instinctive desire in man, to render homage to that which he regards as the author and source of his life, has given rise to the many religions with their various and varied systems of worship, which have flourished on the earth from crudest paganism to the most cultured Christianity.

Since worship grows out of man’s highest aspirations, it, therefore, becomes the greatest factor in the formation of his life and character; in fact, life and character are largely determined by what and how one worships. The study of such a subject, then, having to do with man’s life and character and his relationship to his God, ought to command every one’s highest interest and deepest thought, which are earnestly solicited in the following investigation of this important subject. An exposition of Christian worship, the truest, purest and most nearly perfect system of worship known to man is herein proposed; and a careful and thoughtful consideration of the same on the part of the reader is respectfully requested.

In the beginning of this treatise it is necessary, as in every expository treatise, to preface the same with a definition of terms, for a correct understanding of terms in premise is essential to correct deductions in conclusion. In the first place, it is necessary to know the true meaning of worship itself. Many, relying on the common understanding of the term, have deemed a definition unnecessary; others, having no well-defined conception of its meaning themselves, have neglected to define it; and some, though asked to define it, have refused to do so, for any rational, adequate - definition that they might give would run counter to some pet theory of theirs; consequently, the term has gone undefined in most treatises on the subject. This lack of definition in premise has led to great differences in conclusions, which have resulted in many sad divisions in the church, and have greatly disturbed the work and worship of the same. So then, for the sake of clearness throughout and correctness of conclusion in the end, the following definition of worship is given as a fundamental premise in this exposition: Worship is the feeling and expression of adoration to the Deity, a subjective feeling given an objective expression.

THE MEANING OF WORSHIP

In the first place, the above definition of worship is Scripturally true; that is, in harmony with the Christian Scriptures, or recognized standards of authority. In every system of worship there must be authoritative scriptures, recognized sources and standards of authority, to which appeal may be made for confirmation; so it is highly important to know what constitutes the Christian Scriptures, or standards of authority, to which appeal may be made in this investigation. Paul states that the Christian standard of authority is ‘‘the mind of Christ’’ (1 Cor. 2:16); hence the Christian Scriptures are those that contain “the mind of Christ,’’ which limits the Christian Seriptures to the inspired writings of the Bible, for in no other book can one be sure of the mind of Christ. However, the Bible as a whole is not the mind of Christ; it contains the mind of Christ, but it contains also the minds of many others, some divinely inspired, ‘ such as Moses, David, Solomon, ete., and some uninspired, such as Saul, Ahab, Pilate, Herod, ete., and even the mind of the Devil; but the words of none of these are the mind of Christ. Many of the Old Testament writers prophetically and typically reveal the mind of Christ; however, they can not be taken as authoritative in Christian work and worship, for Christ sets himself up as supreme in authority over Moses, Solomon, Elijah and all preceding religious authorities (Matt. 5:21; 17:1-5; 12:42; Col. 2:14; 1:18). This, therefore, limits the Christian Scriptures to the words of Christ and His apostles, who alone were inspired to record and speak His mind.

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With this understanding of what constitutes the Christian Scriptures, let us now proceed to examine the above definition of worship in the light of these Seriptures. According to this definition, both the inner feeling and the outward expression are essential to worship, which is Seripturally true, as is evident from the words used by Christ and the apostles to express worship. There was no single Greek word that had in its meaning both the subjective and objective ideas in worship, so different words were used to express these two ideas. There are four words in the original text which are translated into English by the one word ‘‘worship.’’ Two of them, sebo and eusebeo—meaning fear, reverence—express the inner or subjective feeling (Matt. 15:9; Acts 17:23); and the other two, proskuneo and latruo—meaning kiss, kneel, prostrate and serve—denote the outward expression, or objective idea (Matt. 4:10). All these words are translated into English by the one word ‘‘worship,’’ which gives to the English word the combined meaning of the four original Greek words, and imparts to it both the subjective and objective ideas contained in the original words. Christian worship is, therefore, dual in its nature, being both subjective and objective, consisting of an inner feeling given an outward expression. If the reader has thought of worship as being subjective alone or objective alone, he needs to study the subject in the light of the above original words. Furthermore, Christ makes it clear in His conversation with the woman at the well that worship is both subjective and objective in its nature. He says

THE MEANING OF WORSHIP that it must be ‘‘in spirit’’—that is, a subjective feeling—and ‘‘in truth’’—that is, expressed according to revealed truth.

The above definition of worship is also psychologically true. No definition of worship that contravenes the well-known scientific laws and concepts of the human mind ean be true; but the above definition meets also the requirements of reason, for we can not conceive of a mere subjective feeling as worship, for such a weak emotion would not be worthy of the name; and a mere act without any reference or relation to the inner feeling would certainly not be worship, for this would make every act a worshiping act. An act can not be a worshiping act until it is so willed by the worshiper (1 Cor. 8:10; 10:27); and an emotion does not become a worshiping emotion until it finds expression in an act of the will. Christ said, *‘Tf you love me, you will keep my commandments’’; that is, if you have the feeling of love in your hearts, you will express the same by keeping my commands; otherwise, your emotion is not love—worshiping love. Worship involves the exercise of the will both as to the subjective feeling and the objective expression; and neither the feeling nor the act is worship until it is so willed by the worshiper. Only the individual worshiper is, therefore, competent to sit in judgment on what emotions and acts are worship, for the worshiper alone knows the inner and outer quality of his emotions and acts, and is thereby competent to say what things do and what things do not enter into and form a part of his worship; and for any one else cr A a TT 3 EEE TD to presume to sit in judgment on another’s worship is bold assumption. On this point Christ says, ‘‘Judge not’’, and Paul, ‘‘Let a man examine himself.”’

Passing from the above understanding of the meaning of worship in its broad general sense, we have yet to define it in its specific sense of Christian worship. What is Christian worship? Evidently all worship is not Christian worship, for the word ‘‘Christian’’ will not permit of such a broad meaning and application. However, the word ‘‘Christian,’’ according to its modern use and meaning, is made to include everything that in any way has to do with Christ or Christianity ; but such a use and meaning are too broad for its Scriptural use and meaning. The word ‘‘Christian’”’ appears only three times in the Bible, and in each ease it refers to the disciples of Christ. ‘‘The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.’’ See also Acts 26:28; 1 Pet. 4:16. These passages make it clear that it is the name of the disciples of Christ, and has reference always to Christ and His disciples. Christian worship, then, must be the worship taught by Christ to His disciples.

Christian worship is briefly stated and summarized by Christ in His conversation with the woman at the well (John 4: 21-24), the substance of which was, ‘‘God is spirit; they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth,’’ which reveals both the object and ritual of Christian worship in one brief sentence. This text, therefore, will be made the major theme of this book, a careful reading and study of which on the part of the reader is earnestly solicited.

Il.

THE STANDARD OF AUTHORITY IN CHRISTIAN WORSHIP

EFORE taking up the subject of Christian worship

proper, it is necessary to speak further of the standard of authority in Christian worship, for a standard of authority is fundamental in religion, and should be clearly understood. Right and wrong can be determined only by reference to a standard of authority, and without a standard of moral and religious values there would be no right or wrong, or, at least, there would be no way of determining the right and wrong. ‘‘I had not known sin, except through the law’’, says Paul. The standard of authority is the most important subject that has to do with religion, because everything else depends upon this, and an error at this point leads into a wilderness of confusion and mistakes. It is like starting on an unknown journey without chart or compass, or like a man going into business without true weights and measures. So, then, in the beginning, let us have a clear understanding of the Christian standard of authority, both as to what it is and what it is not.

Paul, the master builder of Christianity, spoke clearly and at length on this roint. In the beginning of his first letter to the Corinthians, he discusses the standards of authority of that age, and clearly sets forth the Christian standard. He mentions first the Jewish standard, ‘‘The Jews seek after signs’’—supernatural signs, ‘‘signs from heaven’’, which constituted the religious standard of authority among the Jews. Accordingly, the Jew tested everything in the crucible of the supernatural. Moses, in establishing the law, relied on signs from heaven to confirm all his claims; and all the prophets confirmed their messages by some supernatural manifestation. Everything was confirmed ‘‘unto them by signs and wonders and manifold powers and gifts of the Holy Spirit.’’ Jesus often spoke of this, saying: ‘‘Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will in no wise believe.’’ Since Christ’s message was chiefly to the Jews, He was compelled to appeal often to their standard of authority in establishing His claims, and accordingly made much use of the miracle, but at the same time endeavored to divorce the Jews from this standard. He often rebuked them for clinging to this standard, saying: ‘‘An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall be no sign given to it except the sign of Jonah.’’ However, a people are not easily and quickly divorced from a long-standing standard in religion; consequently, the use of the miracle continued far into the apostolic age, and Paul labored faithfully to lift the Jews to a higher standard in Christ. Furthermore, there was the religious standard of the Greeks, which Paul had to meet and displace. The Greeks dominated the civilization of that age, and 20 carried their ideals to the uttermost parts of the earth; so Paul came in contact with their religion everywhere he went. Their standard of authority was wisdom— ‘‘The Greeks seek after wisdom.’’ The many systems of philosophy that were extant among them show to what extent they sought wisdom. The Greeks tested every claim in the crucible of wisdom, their accepted system of philosophy, and poured every thought . through the alembic of human reason. Consequently, the Greeks, as did the Jews, rejected much of Christianity, especially ‘‘the ecross’’, the atonement, because it did not fit into their religious standards. The cross was ‘‘unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them’ which are called, the power of God and the wisdom of God.’’ The history of the past two thousand years shows that the cross of Christ has been the greatest power and truest wisdom in the world, the very ‘‘power of God and the wisdom of God.’’

‘The wisdom of God’’, whatever that may be and wherever it may be found, must be, to all that believe in God, the true standard of authority in religion. This was admitted, of course, by both Jew and Greek; but where was the wisdom of God to be found? ‘‘Who hath known the mind of the Lord?’’, was the question that Paul had to answer to the satisfaction of both Jew and Greek. Paul called it ‘‘the wisdom of God in a mystery’’, but to whom had this mystery been revealed? Paul answers: ‘‘We have the wisdom of God, ... revealed unto us by God through the Spirit’”’; and | he goes into detail as to the nature and process of this

~ revelation, showing it to be a spiritual revelation from God’s Spirit to his spirit. But Paul seems to realize that some would reply: ‘‘This is a big claim you make, Paul. How do we know that you have thus received the wisdom of God?’’ ‘‘For who hath known the mind of the Lord that he should instruct him?’’ Paul answers, ‘‘We have the mind of Christ’’, which he affirmed to be the mind, or wisdom, of God. Paul’s credentials for having ‘‘the mind of Christ’’ were, ‘Have I not seen the Lord Jesus? I bear branded on my body the marks of Jesus. I am his witness and minister, and I have his mind’’, which he affirms to be the Christian standard of authority in all work and worship.

‘“‘The mind of Christ’? was a new standard of authority. It differed from the Jewish standard in that it was mind instead of matter; and it differed from the Greek in that it was truth, ‘‘the wisdom of God’’, and not ‘‘the foolishness of men’’; and it differed from both in that it was ‘‘the power of God’’ and not ‘‘the weakness of men.’’ Mind is power—the greatest power in the world; and it is truth—the very truth of God. A standard of authority that embraces both the power of God and the wisdom of God must, therefore, be the highest possible standard. Christ claimed to be such a standard of authority, saying, ‘‘ All authority in heaven and earth is given unto me’’; so then there is nothing in religion beyond His mind, which is the only true standard of authority.

The mind of Christ is His expressed thinking, or thoughts. Everything in Christian work and worship must, therefore, be determined by what Christ thinks, by His expressed thoughts, and not by what any one else says or thinks. This does not exclude, of course, the mind of Christ as expressed through His inspired apostles like Paul, who claimed to have ‘‘the mind of Christ,’’ and have so established their claim as to be admitted into the Christian canon of authoritative Scriptures; but it does exclude the mind of every one that has not so established his claim. It excludes the mind of the Pope, the Bishop, the Pastor, Mrs. Eddy, Pastor Russell, church-paper editors, and every other church official to-day that presumes to speak the mind of Christ. However, a few to-day claim to be Christ’s authorized spokesmen, such as the Pope and the Bishop, and many claim to see and interpret His mind as revealed in the world to-day; but where are their credentials? Have any of them seen Christ? Or have any ‘‘accompanied with Jesus all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and went out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day that he was received up’’? It is not sufficient merely to lay claim to ‘‘the keys of the kingdom’’ that were committed to Peter (Matt. 16:19), without showing how you came into possession of such authority. Asserting a claim does not establish it, nor does minimizing the authority of the apostles establish your own. The apostles appointed or elected no successors, excepting a successor to Judas (Acts 1:25, 26); nor did they delegate any authority to any except to elders of local congregations, who were the pastors and bishops of the same (Tit. 1:5; Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Pet. 4:1-4).

The Papal apos- 23 tolic successor did not arise until long after the apostolic age (347 A. D.—Fisher’s ‘‘Church History’’) ; and the Historic Bishop did not begin his history until the fifteenth century (Fisher, p. 374), so there is a considerable break in the chain of apostolic succession and the historic episcopacy. The genesis of ‘‘the modern viewpoint’? man is still more recent, but he is none the less clamorous and presumptive in these latter days; however, let it be clearly understood that the mind of none of these presumptive authorities is the mind of Christ. Such claims have disturbed and disrupted the church more than everything else combined, because ‘‘their voice is the voice of strangers, hirelings and robbers,’’ that seek to despoil the flock. No person, nor any assembly of persons to-day, has the authority to speak for Christ, and bind their deliverances upon the church; and they that do so are guilty of the presumptive sin of setting aside the supreme authority of Christ. The day of autocracy in government has about ended, and the day of world democracy is beginning; and likewise the day of autocracy in the church is fast passing to give place for the democratic church of the New Testament as expressed in the mind of Christ, who founded and built the church, and whose will and authority were to be supreme in it. He it is whom God made ‘‘to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to 24 the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all’’, ‘‘that in all things he might have the pre-eminence.’’ This establishes beyond the shadow of a doubt the supremacy of Christ in His church, and makes His mind alone the standard of authority in the work and worship of the same.

But it is admitted by all that Christ expressed His mind in the apostolic age through representatives. Why not so to-day? Because there is no need of His doing so to-day. We have His mind as expressed through the apostles, which Paul says is sufficient (2 Tim. 3: 16, 17; Heb. 1:1, 2). However, we need to look further into the mind of Christ as the standard of authority to learn where in the Scriptures the mind of Christ is to be found. To many the Bible as a whole is the mind of Christ. They read it indiscriminately, regarding every word as the mind of Christ and of equal authority. The Bible contains the mind of Christ, but is not itself the mind of Christ. It contains also the mind of many others, some inspired, as Moses and the prophets, and others uninspired, as Saul, Ahab, Herod and even the mind of the Devil in places; but the words of none of these are the words of Christ. Christ repeatedly claimed higher authority than Moses or the prophets, saying: ‘‘You have heard that it was said unto you of olden times... ; but J say unto you,... ’’, claiming higher authority than the law, the authority among the Jews. Paul labored much to establish the authority of Christ above Moses and the prophets, proving the same from their own Scriptures; for neither the mind of Moses nor the mind of any other Jewish authority is the mind of Christ, and much less the mind of any uninspired man, found in or out of the Bible. In reading the Bible it is essential, therefore, to know whose mind is being revealed, for it is the mind of Christ alone that is the Christian standard. This is what Paul meant by his words to Timothy, ‘‘Give diligence to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth’’; that is, distinguishing whose mind is therein revealed. The mind of Christ is revealed in the Old Testament in types and prophecies, which, when properly understood and applied, throw much light on Christian work and worship; and in the following chapters on Christian worship, these types and prophecies will be studied in their proper connection. But let us notice first the mind of Christ as revealed in the New Testament by His inspired representatives.

When we come to the New Testament, where the mind of Christ is directly revealed, we find also the minds of others therein contained, so we need to discriminate here also. The minds of others are placed there as a setting or background for the mind of Christ; but the words of these attendant actors with Christ in the great drama of life must not be confused with or taken for the mind of Christ. Where, then, in the Scriptures shall we find the mind of Christ revealed? First, in the words of Christ. Words are the most common means of expressing one’s mind, and Christ thus expressed His mind, as recorded in the words of the New Testament. We do not raise any question as to the authenticity and integrity of this record, for this has been established by the investigations of the best scholarship of the world, and does not come within the scope of this treatise. There can be no reasonable doubt that the words, attributed to Christ in the New Testament, are His words, and that they reveal His mind. The words of Christ as found in the New Testament are very few and simple, yet

they are so expressive and pregnant with meaning that - each sentence reveals a volume of His mind. W. J. Bryan said of Christ: ‘‘He was able to compress into a single sentence the experience of the whole human race.’’ Any one, therefore, that would know the mind of Christ must make much of the study of His words, for they vividly and voluminously reveal His mind. However, a few people seem to hesitate to accept some of the words of Christ in the New Testament as an expression of His mind, declaring the words to be either spurious or not applicable to this age. For instance, they claim that His words on the form of baptism were an accommodation to the age and intelligence of the people to whom they were spoken, and that He would not so express Himself to-day. In other words, only the spirit, and not the letter, of His words is to be taken as His mind. But it is only by the letter of His words that we know the spirit, and ean fulfill the spirit. Any interpretation of Christ’s words that ignores the literal meaning of the same, whenever that is reasonably possible, is contrary to the first law of hermeneutics, and can not be true. Such an interpretation of Christ’s words is but a veiled rejection of the same, because the mind of Christ, as expressed in those words, is contrary to the mind of the individual so interpreting them. In reality, the mind of Christ is not his standard of authority, and he accepts the words of Christ only so far as they conform to his own thinking. The words of Christ are ‘‘the word of God, that liveth and abideth forever’’ (John 14:10; 1 Pet. 1:24, 25), and He spoke to all ages and races of men. His New Testament message is the only message that we have from Him, and, if that be not for this age and people, we are without a message from Him, and have no way of knowing His mind to-day. Where else shall we look for the mind of Christ? The modernist answers: ‘‘In the writings of the greatest thinkers of this age, in the science and culture of to-day, just where it was found in Paul’s day; the writings of the apostles are only the best thought of that day.’’ This brings us back to Paul’s question, ‘‘Who hath known the mind of the Lord?”’ that he may speak for Him to-day. Let every one that so professes do as Paul did, give his credentials and establish his claim to speak the mind of Christ; then the religious world will listen, but not before. While the words of Christ, as contained in the New Testament, are a true expression of His mind to-day, they are not, as some claim, the only expression of His mind. Accordingly, they demand ‘‘A thus saith the Lord’’ for everything in Christian work and worship, maintaining that His words fully and completely reveal His mind. However, we are not shut up to His words as the only revelation of His mind, for we have 28

His deeds also, which, John says, ‘‘manifest his glory’’ (John 2:11), or reveal His mind. For this reason, he states at the close of his Gospel that he had endeavored to record, not so much Christ’s words, as “the things that he did’’—his deeds. By deeds the mind can be as truly expressed as by words, and if the old proverb, ‘‘ Deeds speak louder than words’’, be true, the revelation by deeds is the better of the two. _ Christ made much use of this means in the revelation of His mind. He could not have fully revealed His mind through the medium of words alone, for finite human words were vessels too small to contain all the infinite divine truths that He had to reveal. Whenever He was unable to embody His thoughts in words to. advantage, He put them into deeds, which are larger vehicles for thought, and thus revealed His mind to the world. So, then, if any one would know the complete mind of Christ, he must study also the deeds of Christ, which are recorded in the New Testament as a revelation of His mind. As a revelation of Christ’s mind, ‘‘A thus did the Lord’’ is just as izaportant and authoritative as ‘‘A thus saith the Lord.’’ The legalist who demands a specific ‘‘Thus saith the Lord’’ for everything in the work and worship of the church will find himself with folded hands and sealed lips in the church, because Christ did not prescribe all the necessary details and accessories to worship in words, but embodied many of them in His deeds. According to the above legalistic view of Christ’s teaching, one could not draw his breath in worship; and, if he undertook to hold his breath until he found ‘‘A thus saith the 29