THE CHURCH’S
3,000 YEAR
OLD
MODEL FOR
WORSHIP
Praise is an
instrument
of violence.
Praise
destroys the
atmosphere
in which
Sickness,
defeat,
discouragement,
and futility
flourish.
Praise
upsets the
climate
which allows
the growth
of life's
suffering,
Confusion,
turmoil and
strife.
Praise
breathes
Heaven's
life into
the vacuum
Death
produces on
earth.
Praise will
cast down
the
obstacles
which Sin,
self,
sickness, and Satan have erected. — Anon
God
established
praise in
the earth,
first with
the
Tabernacle
of Moses and
secondly,
with the
Tabernacle
of David.
These two
differed in
that the
first was
the scene of
constant
bloodshed,
sacrifice,
and death;
it foretold
the future
agony of the
Cross. The
second–a
scene of
endless
music and
praise–portrayed
redemption
as complete
and foresaw
the reign of
the Messiah.
While the
first
Tabernacle
heard the
bellowing of
slaughtered
animals and
of Priests
struggling
to tie oxen,
goats, and
sheep, to
the horns of
the altar,
the second
heard only
the joyous
praise of
men and
women who
knew that
"death had
been
swallowed up
in victory."
I
Corinthians
15:54-56.
Piests at
Moses’
Tabernacle
were sweaty,
covered with
ashes,
smelled of
smoke, and
splattered
with blood.
At the
second
Tabernacle,
the Priests
were clean,
free of
stain, with
their
hearts–not
just their
bodies–having
been
sprinkled
and "washed
with pure
water."
Hebrews
10:22.
Moses’
Tabernacle
was a
wanderer,
constantly
moving from
place to
place in the
people’s
search for
rest. Not so
with
David’s;
pitched
permanently
on Mount
Zion, it
found its
final
resting
place.
Hebrews
4:9,10. A
thousand
years after
David, it
would be on
this same
Mount, in
the Upper
Room where
the
Messiah’s
disciples
had
gathered,
that the
Holy Spirit
would come
as a
"rushing,
mighty
wind," and
the true
Tabernacle
of David be
restored for
its
world-wide
mission.
Had you
visited
ancient
Jerusalem
during the
reign of
King David
you would
have been
awe-struck
by the
unbroken
celebration
of music
that sounded
from the top
of Mount
Zion. It
never
ceased.
Regardless
of the hour,
night or
day, rain or
shine,
summer heat
or winter
snows, a
river of
praise
descended
continually
upon the
city below.
No wonder
David wrote,
"Beautiful
for
situation,
the joy of
the whole
earth, is
Mount Zion!"
Psalm 48:2.
Nor was it
quiet hymn
singing that
echoed from
the top of
the mount. "Asaph
made a sound
with
cymbals;
Benaniah
also and
Jahaziel the
priests with
trumpets
continually
before the
Ark of the
Covenant of
God." I
Chronicles
16. There
were
psaltries,
harps, and a
full
orchestra of
instruments.
Every four
hours a new
band of
Levites who
were rested
and eager
for the work
arrived to
replace the
earlier
ones. The
celebration
never ended.
In their
separate
eras, each
Tabernacle
contained
Israel’s
most sacred
item: the
Ark of the
Covenant.
The
relationship
between the
Tabernacle
of David and
the Church
was first
revealed by
the Apostle
James at the
Council of
Jerusalem.
Acts
15:12-17. In
his attempt
to calm Jews
who did not
understand
the mass
conversion
of thousands
of Gentiles
to the
Jewish
Messiah,
James
explained:
"God at the
first
visited the
Gentiles to
take out of
them a
people for
His name.
And with
this the
words of the
prophets
agree, just
as it is
written:
`After this
I will
return and
will rebuild
the
Tabernacle
of David
which has
fallen down.
I will
rebuild its
ruins, and I
will set it
up, so that
the rest of
mankind may
seek the
Lord, even
all the
Gentiles who
are called
by My name."
According to
the sequence
of events in
Amos’
prophecy,
Israel would
be scattered
world-wide,
the
Tabernacle
of David
restored
(the Church
established)
and the Jews
returned to
their
homeland.
This
carefully
detailed
time-frame
should
forever
silence
"replacement
theologians"
who deny the
Jews’
modern-day
restoration
to the land.
The
Tabernacle
also has
profound
meaning in
"redemption
theology".
Jesus, the
Messiah-Christ,
who became
the final
sacrifice at
Moses’
Tabernacle
now invites
us to join
Him at the
Tabernacle
of David.
Those who
realize they
have been
rescued from
the Law’s
reign of
terror can
now run to
David’s
Tabernacle,
dance before
the Ark,
shout their
praise, and
offer to the
Lamb of God
the deepest,
most
profound
worship
possible.
The One who
"takes away
the sin of
the world"
and has
moved the
Ark from
Moses’
Tabernacle
to David’s
has come.
But the
Tabernacle
of David is
important to
us for a
number of
other
reasons.
Primarily,
we cannot
understand
praise and
worship in
the Church
if we do not
have a
proper
understanding
of our
relationship
with this
Tabernacle.
Unlike the
Old
Testament,
which is
filled with
instructions
on how God
is to be
worshiped,
the New
Testament
gives us no
such
instruction.
Its brief
explanation
simply says
to "worship
Him in
spirit and
truth", John
4:24, And,
"speaking to
yourselves
in psalms,
hymns, and
spiritual
songs,"
Ephesians
5:19.
Colossians
3:16.. Why
this lack of
instruction
in the New
Covenant
era? Hear
this point
carefully:
God provided
the
direction
for praise
and worship
in the Old
Testament
and did not
repeat it in
the New; the
heart-experience
of worship
and praise
today is to
be exactly
like that of
ancient
Israel. In
that
statement I
refer only
to the
heart’s
experience
in
worship–not
to Israel’s
religious
ceremonies
which Jesus
fulfilled.
When David
escorted the
Ark to
Jerusalem
for its
placing in
the new
Tabernacle,
he laid
aside his
kingly
robes,
dressed
himself in
the simple
robe of a
Priest, and
"danced
before the
Lord". II
Samuel 6:14.
In the same
way the
twenty-four
Elders "cast
their crowns
before the
Throne" as
an act of
worship,
Revelation
4:10, so
also David
removed his
royal attire
and
theoretically
cast his
crown before
the Ark.
David’s
worship
anticipated
the
Messiah's
coming. We
now
celebrate
His arrival
and return.
Here is a
vital truth
we must
understand:
Jesus
fulfilled
the
sacrifice of
blood for
Moses'
Tabernacle;
He did not
fulfill the
sacrifice of
praise for
David's
Tabernacle.
The
sacrifice of
praise can
never be
fulfilled.
In Heaven we
will join
angels
numbering
"ten
thousand
times ten
thousand and
thousands of
thousands"
in
never-ending,
explosive
worship and
adoration of
God.
Revelation
5:11. Like
the lame
man’s noisy
yelling and
jumping in
the Temple,
Acts 3:8,,
so we also
will enter
Heaven with
that same
excitement.
Today, we
are to
praise God
with the
"Sound of
the trumpet;
Praise Him
with the
lute and
harp! Praise
Him with
timbrel and
dance;
Praise Him
with
stringed
instruments
and flutes!
Praise Him
with
clashing
cymbals. Let
everything
that has
breath
praise the
Lord!" Psalm
150. The
Tabernacle
of David is
here! The
Kingdom of
God has
come!
Rejoice
before it!
Christians
must be
willing to
drop their
hymn-books,
stand to
their feet,
lift their
hands, open
their
mouths, and
let the
earth ring
with the
celebration
of a new
Mount Zion.
It is our
task to
declare that
the Ark has
been moved
from the
site of
death and
bloodshed to
a new
location of
ecstacy and
thanksgiving.
Isaiah
foretold the
return of
joyous
celebration
to Jews and
Christians
when he
said: "The
ransomed of
the Lord
shall
return, and
come to Zion
with songs
and
everlasting
joy upon
their heads:
they shall
obtain joy
and
gladness,
and sorrow
and sighing
shall flee
away."
35:10. After
their Red
Sea
deliverance
Moses’
sister
Miriam led
Israeli
women with
tambourines
and jubilant
dancing.
Throughout
Jewish
history
there have
been
Synagogues
whose
worship
included
dancing,
hand
clapping,
and vigorous
celebration.
Once when I
visited a
Messianic
Synagogue I
met two
elderly men
who had
survived the
Holocaust
and the
reign of
Nazi terror.
During the
worship,
they joined
arms and
danced
excitedly in
the aisle.
Afterward I
went to
them,
thanked them
for their
dancing and
encouraged
them to
continue
celebrating
their
deliverance
from the
Concentration
Camps. One
of them
quickly
corrected
me. "We are
not dancing
because we
survived
Adolph
Hitler!," he
said, "We
are dancing
because we
have found
the
Messiah!!"
In many
charismatic-Pentecostal
congregations
today, there
is
hand-clapping,
rejoicing,
dancing in
the aisles,
and
celebration
reminiscent
of David’s
time. But
God does not
confine
Himself to
these places
alone. Years
ago at a
Primitive
Baptist Camp
Meeting near
Glen Rose,
Texas, an
amazing
thing
happened.
These
old-school
Baptists are
non-charismatic
and do not
even allow
instrumental
music in
their
worship; all
singing is
a’cappella.
As the
congregation
began their
traditional
hymns the
Holy Spirit
suddenly
swept like a
wave through
the crowd.
The next
moment
people began
jumping up
and
down–leaping
off the
floor. For
several
minutes
ordinary
worship was
lost in an
extraordinary
encounter
with God.
When the
Spirit’s
manifestation
finally
concluded–leaving
many of them
panting and
out of
breath–they
could not
believe what
had
happened.
These
ultra-conservative
people had
acted like
others whose
rowdiness
they
disdained.
Regardless
of
denominational
restraints,
any
Christian
group who
begins
worshiping
Jesus "in
spirit and
in truth"
can find
themselves
invaded by
His
wonderful
Presence. If
you are not
experiencing
worship in
this way
re-examine
your role as
a worshiper.
When Jesus
drew near
"the descent
of the Mount
of Olives,
the whole
multitude of
the
disciples
began to
rejoice and
praise God
with a loud
voice for
all the
mighty works
they had
seen,
saying:
‘Blessed is
the King who
comes in the
name of the
Lord! Peace
in heaven
and glory in
the
highest!’And
some of the
Pharisees
called to
Him from the
crowd,
‘Teacher,
rebuke Your
disciples.’
But He
answered and
said to
them, ‘I
tell you
that if
these should
keep silent,
the stones
would
immediately
cry out.’"
Luke
19:37-41.
True Worship
Includes
More Than
One Style
Here is
another
vital point:
Congregational
music must
not be
confined to
exuberance
and
enthusiasm.
Not at all!
We must also
experience
deep, deep
reverence
and serenity
before God.
Let me
explain: As
with Israel,
at Moses’
Tabernacle,
we begin
worship in
the "Outer
Court" with
celebrational
praise and
then move
into the
"Holy Place"
in a muted
presentation
of ourselves
to the Lord.
Finally–and
most
importantly
of all–our
worship must
become so
reverent, so
hushed, so
removed from
earth and
its noise,
that we find
ourselves
being drawn
under the
Veil and
prostrate
before Him
in the "Holy
of Holies".
Worship that
does not
contain all
three
aspects is
incomplete.
In fact, I
will go so
far as to
say that
this is the
dividing
point
between
praise and
worship: We
do not truly
worship
until we go
"behind the
Veil".
Tragically,
much of the
praise I
encounter in
traveling
from church
to church
remains in
the Outer
Court. Few
experience
the "off the
earth--out
of the
body–into
the Glory"
of the
Almighty.
Some
Christians
are afraid
of
quietness. I
grieve over
the loss and
long for
that sacred
meeting with
God that
leaves the
worshipers
in
awe-struck
silence.
This kind of
worship
releases the
power of the
Holy Spirit,
scatters
demons like
leaves in
the wind,
and drives
the sinner
in
repentance
to his
knees. Such
power-release
happened in
Philippi
when "at
midnight
Paul and
Silas were
praying and
singing
hymns to
God, and the
prisoners
were
listening to
them.
Suddenly
there was a
great
earthquake,
so that the
foundations
of the
prison were
shaken; and
immediately
all the
doors were
opened and
everyone's
chains were
loosed. Acts
16:25-27.
In trying to
explain the
paradox of
appropriate
and
inappropriate
worship,
remember
this: David
danced
before the
Lord in a
Godly way.
II Samuel
6:14. Psalm
149:3,
150:4. When
Moses was on
Mount Sinai
receiving
the Ten
Commandments
from the
hand of God,
Israel was
below,
dancing in
an ungodly
way. Exodus
32:19. Both
were
Israelites,
both were
dancing. One
was genuine
worship of
God. The
other, a
pagan
worship of
Baal. Is the
Church
permitted to
dance like
David?
Absolutely.
Is the
Church
immune to
Israel's
error? Not
at all. This
is my point
of concern:
When our
zeal gets
beyond God's
truth, we
will repeat
Israel's
tragedy.
Music that
moves the
body more
than it
moves the
soul has no
place in
Christian
worship.
Additionally,
many
congregations
localize on
one pet
style of
worship and
stay there.
Music should
be
integrated
with
historic and
contemporary
Christian
songs so
that it does
not reflect
the taste of
one
age-group
only.
Finally:
Worship
cannot
replace the
Church’s
need for
profound,
intense,
consistent
Bible
preaching.
Congregations
must
systematically
be nourished
on the Word
of God. At
the same
time,
Christians
must be
willing to
drop their
hymn-books,
stand to
their feet,
lift their
hands, open
their
mouths, and
let the
earth ring
with the
celebration
of a new
Mount Zion!
It is our
task to
declare that
the Ark has
been moved
from the
site of
death and
bloodshed to
a new
location of
joy and
thanksgiving.
Like Israel
in David’s
day, we are
to praise
God with the
"Sound of
the trumpet;
Praise Him
with the
lute and
harp! Praise
Him with
timbrel and
dance;
Praise Him
with
stringed
instruments
and flutes!
Praise Him
with
clashing
cymbals."
"Let
everything
that has
breath
praise the
Lord!"
