Public Worship
BY DR. W. B. SELBIE.
WHY should I go to church ? is a question which is being very insistently asked in these days, and especially by those of the younger generation. The un- thinking customary church and chapel going of an earlier age has quite ceased. This is just as well, for there was a good deal of unconscious hypocrisy about it. If, then, the modern neglect of worship has not yet put the churches on their mettle, as it might have done, it has at least let loose a flood of criticism and excuse which they will do well to heed. The gravamen of it all is that in public worship as it is generally conducted there is no compelling sense of reality and urgency. People are expected to say and sing and hear many things which they do not and can- not believe. The whole thing is nebulous, often slipshod and perfunctory, and has little vital relation to the deeper needs of human nature or indeed to anything that really matters. That there is truth in this indictment must be frankly admitted, but the question is what, if anything, can be done about it.
In the first place, it should be recognized that the modern neglect of public worship is not due to religious indifference or to any superfluity of naughtiness. There is to-day probably more interest in religion than there- ever was, and a very real desire to obtain its benefits and penetrate its secret. Most people realize that there are values in human life which cannot be represented in material terms. They feel that they have somehow to reckon with God and the spiritual .world, and they wel- come anything that will help them to that end. It is well, therefore, to remind them that as religion covers the whole of life, so the worship of God can never consist of isolated acts but must be the expression of a permanent outlook and a constant need. The man who realizes that his chief end is to glorify God will pursue that end in everything that he does and will worship God in his daily work as well as in his private prayers and corporate devotions. While much of a man's religious life is carried on so/us cum solo he can never forget that he is a social animal and will often feel the need of joining those who are like-minded, that they 'may worship God together. Public worship may therefore perform a great service in both giving expression to and discovering man's religious aspirationS, and. there are good psychological reasons for attempting it in concert with others.
But if this is to be done well much will depend both on those who conduct the worship and on those who take part in it. God can only be rightly worshipped in spirit and in truth, and the first necessity of all corporate worship may be summed up in the word reality. The conduct of worship is a terribly difficult and most respon- sible task. It needs the highest gifts, both olimagination and devotion,' a vivid apprehension of GOd and a deep sense of the needs- of the congregation. The question as between a liturgy and free prayer, or between speech and silence, of which so much is Made; is really irrelevant. Both may be equally boring and equally repellent. The " brief, bright, and brotherly "business is just as bad as " the finest prayer ever addressed to a Boston congrega- tion," and any type of worship which-has as its object the attracting of worshippers will defeat its own end. Prayers may be never so beautiful in language, but if they do not ring true they will -not- help anyone to pray. So hymns may be set to the finest music, but if the words arc false and cannot be sung sincerely they will be no aid to devo- tion. True worship is' in spirit. Its aini to bring the spirit-of man into communion with the spirit of God, and it best fulfils its function when the veil-between God and man is at its thinnest. For God is not a far-off absentee. It is not necessary to beg and beseech Him to-be gracious and helpful and forgiving: He is all that already, and if Only our idea or Him were more Christian -we should be more likely to worship Him acceptably with reverence and godly fear. But if there is to be the true spirit of worship in church, much depends on the congregation. It is possible to sympathize with many of the reasons given by those who abstain from public worship, yet they almost always overlook one important point, viz., that we do not go to church merely for what we can get, but for what we can give. Corporate worship depends on the spirit, intention and devotional attitude of every member of the congregation. In the early days of Christianity it was when the people were all together in the one place and with one accord that the gift of the spirit descended ; and it is the same still. People who go to church in a merely critical or selfish spirit will be sure to come empty away. But those who go bent upon worshipping God and upon helping others to do so will not miss the blessing, even though there may be much in the conduct and symbolism of the service which is jarring and unhelpful. By all means let us seek to improve the externals of worship in every possible way, but do not let us imagine that that is all that is needed. By itself it is quite futile. Only when there is the right spirit and intention in all con- cerned will it be possible to convey to outsiders that sense of reality and urgency in the business that will convince them that in neglecting the public worship of God they have missed something really vital and well worth while.
For, " there is a little plant called reverence in every garden and it needs watering at least once a week." Those higher values and impulses of which we have already spoken, while integral to our humanity, yet need cultivating and may very easily be atrophied. Without the sense of reverence, awe and worship, human life can be a very shallow and arid thing. It is always necessary to " stir up the gift that is in us " and cultivate our powers. If men spent as much time and pains on the practice of the presence of God as they do in prac- tising various games, their religion would be a very much bigger and finer thing. In the gymnastic of the soul public worship has its own part to play and nothing can quite take its place. The massed forces of tradition, custom and suggestion constitute an ethical and emotional appeal that is not easily resisted. Any service for the public worship of God, if it is but rightly used, may and should become for those who take part in it a veritable mountain of transfiguration. The glory will pass away and the vision fade, but will leave behind a renewed strength and courage with which to face the temptations and perplexities of life. For it is certainly true that we arc " what and as we worship."
Previous page
