“... your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.”
— Isaiah 58:8c,d (NRSV)
The effect of obedience, true
worship, is the blessing of God toward many actualities of deliverance and prosperity.
But what is true
worship? This topic, of all topics, has held the attention of Christian
spirituals since time immemorial. It is clear, as we read the prophets, that
there was a heinous dichotomy between the acts of the people of God and the
acts of true worship. Isaiah 58 highlights this paradox between false and true
worship.
The Warnings and Promises of Isaiah 58
The first four verses speak of how
the house of Jacob practiced their legalistic fasting; how their humility was,
at best, pretentious. Such a contrived humility is drawn from pride. Their
worship was incorrectly motivated and was, therefore, a false worship. It
looked good, but there was no good fruit borne; instead there was oppression of
their workers and quarrelling as well as fistfights. There was also complaint—“why do we humble ourselves when God does not
hear?”
Isaiah prophesies that God will
hear and bless the worship befitting a genuine concern for justice and equity
and righteousness—God’s righteousness.
When the captives are set free from
bondage and the hungry are fed, and the homeless are housed, and the naked are
clothed, and families are reconciled, then, and only then, will the Lord, the God of Jacob, bless Jacob.
Then, and only then, will Jesus vindicate and the Father be the rearguard.
If the
people of God can only obey the Spirit of the Lord,
to advocate for others beyond their own selfishness, they will be blessed. If is the important word...
True worship, then, is found
actualised in the mode of living to do what is pleasing to God. By venturing
forward into faith, by discerning and doing the will of God, the house of Jacob
would be repenting from their sins.
Worship in the Present Day
What is the application of this
passage for today?
Worship is our most serious pursuit;
it is eternal prayerfulness where we would consider every moment of our lives
to be a pact for desiring guidance from, as well as a gift back to, God. Proof
of this inner work is the effect of service, related to practical interventions
of love. When we make differences in people’s lives, because we want to love, support, and encourage them, for
their sake and not ours, we have God’s assurance: we have the heart for
worship.
Having a heart for worship is the Spirit’s
assurance that we are willingly obedient, not through our efforts, but by the
gift of grace that has transformed our hearts. We are turned back to God as
much as we turn back to God.
God’s convicting of our hearts
meets with our hearts’ willingness to repent. Worship is a meeting of the hearts
and minds—ours with God’s. Our reaching up for salvation meets with God’s
stooping down to redeem us.
True worship is a fusion of
love—God’s with ours—to the ends of heart-transforming obedience and
faithfulness.
***
We ‘get’ worship when life becomes
about how we can please God by serving those in need. When God works the
miracle into our hearts, and we no longer want our self-serving agendas, true
humility reveals true worship.
Then, we are blessed.
© 2012 S. J. Wickham.
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