Old Hymnal
I was looking through an old hymnal (copyright 1951) and found the following on the second page:
We have entered the sanctuary that has been dedicated to the service and worship of Almighty God. Our purpose in coming should correspond with the purpose for which this house was erected and dedicated. “Lo, God is here,” and in His presence worship is the only proper exercise. He hallows the place where He dwells, and it is fitting that we should hallow His name in reverent attitudes. God has an appointment to meet us in His house and we shall not miss Him if we make the means of grace a transparency through which we may see His “goings.”
Here the oracles of God are expounded by the servant of God. If the ear of the inner man has been made sensitive by the worshiping mood, we shall hear the heart-moving accents of the Holy Spirit through the lips of the prophet. The Scriptures that were given by inspiration of God will breathe benediction upon us and become “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3: 16, 17).
This is pre-eminently the house of prayer. Here the priesthood of believers is in evidence as nowhere else. Here the collective church prays, and her united worship prepares each individual for divine revelations that we cannot receive when alone. As the whole church engages in adoration, which involves the prostration of creatures in the presence of the Creator, each worshiper experiences the spiritual elevation that comes when man takes his proper place at the feet of his Lord.
The house of prayer is the house of praise. The holy hymnody of the church has power to kindle the spirit of praise and lift the whole being Godward. The songs of Zion give wings to the heart and tune the spirit for communion with heaven. The great creeds of the church were first hymns, and never is the church so joyfully triumphant as when she sings her faith. The worshiping host on earth is most like the worshiping host above when it mounts on pinions of inspired poetry and music into the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Having thus mounted up with wings as eagles we may come down to “the trivial round” of everyday life and “run and not be weary,” and “walk and not faint.” The common task will take on a sacred glow borrowed from the hours of communion with God and we shall feel that it is good for us that we worshiped with God’s people in His house.
~Hymns of the Living Faith
Meditation
We have entered the sanctuary that has been dedicated to the service and worship of Almighty God. Our purpose in coming should correspond with the purpose for which this house was erected and dedicated. “Lo, God is here,” and in His presence worship is the only proper exercise. He hallows the place where He dwells, and it is fitting that we should hallow His name in reverent attitudes. God has an appointment to meet us in His house and we shall not miss Him if we make the means of grace a transparency through which we may see His “goings.”
Here the oracles of God are expounded by the servant of God. If the ear of the inner man has been made sensitive by the worshiping mood, we shall hear the heart-moving accents of the Holy Spirit through the lips of the prophet. The Scriptures that were given by inspiration of God will breathe benediction upon us and become “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3: 16, 17).
This is pre-eminently the house of prayer. Here the priesthood of believers is in evidence as nowhere else. Here the collective church prays, and her united worship prepares each individual for divine revelations that we cannot receive when alone. As the whole church engages in adoration, which involves the prostration of creatures in the presence of the Creator, each worshiper experiences the spiritual elevation that comes when man takes his proper place at the feet of his Lord.
The house of prayer is the house of praise. The holy hymnody of the church has power to kindle the spirit of praise and lift the whole being Godward. The songs of Zion give wings to the heart and tune the spirit for communion with heaven. The great creeds of the church were first hymns, and never is the church so joyfully triumphant as when she sings her faith. The worshiping host on earth is most like the worshiping host above when it mounts on pinions of inspired poetry and music into the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Having thus mounted up with wings as eagles we may come down to “the trivial round” of everyday life and “run and not be weary,” and “walk and not faint.” The common task will take on a sacred glow borrowed from the hours of communion with God and we shall feel that it is good for us that we worshiped with God’s people in His house.
~Hymns of the Living Faith
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