Sunday Hymn: Ye Servants of God, Your Master Proclaim

I have always sung this hymn to the first tune, which, judging by YouTube videos, is the most common tune used in North America. The second seems to be the most common British one.

Which one do you sing?

Ye serv­ants of God, your mas­ter pro­claim,
And pub­lish abroad His won­der­ful name;
The name all vic­tor­ious of Je­sus ex­tol,
His kingd­om is glo­ri­ous and rules ov­er all.

The waves of the sea have lift­ed their voice,
Sore trou­bled that we in Je­sus re­joice;
The floods they are roar­ing, but Je­sus is here;
While we are ad­or­ing, He al­ways is near.

Men, de­vils en­gage, the bil­lows arise,
And hor­ri­bly rage, and threat­en the skies:
Their fu­ry shall nev­er our stead­fast­ness shock,
The weak­est be­liev­er is built on a rock.

God rul­eth on high, al­migh­ty to save,
And still He is nigh, His pre­sence we have;
The great con­gre­ga­tion His tri­umph shall sing,
Ascribing sal­va­tion to Je­sus our king.

Salvation to God, who sits on the throne,
Let all cry aloud and hon­or the Son!
The prais­es of Je­sus the an­gels pro­claim,
Fall down on their faces and wor­ship the Lamb.

Then let us adore, and give Him His right,
All glo­ry and pow­er, and wis­dom and might;
All hon­or and bless­ing, with an­gels above,
And thanks nev­er ceas­ing, and in­fi­nite love.

—Charles Wesley

Theological Term of the Week: Worship

worship
Honoring the triune God for who he is and what he has done by valuing, respecting, praising, thanking, obeying, and serving him; also used more narrowly to refer to a church’s public activity of glorifying God together by means of instruction, confession, prayer, singing, and participation in the Lord’s Supper.         

• From scripture:

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23–24 ESV).

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Roman 12:1-2 ESV).

• From the London Baptist Confession of Faith, 1689:

Chapter 22: Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day

1._____ The light of nature shews that there is a God, who hath lordship and sovereignty over all; is just, good and doth good unto all; and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the heart and all the soul, and with all the might. But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God, is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imagination and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures. 



2._____ Religious worship is to be given to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to him alone; not to angels, saints, or any other creatures; and since the fall, not without a mediator, nor in the mediation of any other but Christ alone. 

3._____ Prayer, with thanksgiving, being one part of natural worship, is by God required of all men. But that it may be accepted, it is to be made in the name of the Son, by the help of the Spirit, according to his will; with understanding, reverence, humility, fervency, faith, love, and perseverance; and when with others, in a known tongue. 

5._____ The reading of the Scriptures, preaching, and hearing the Word of God, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord; as also the administration of baptism, and the Lord’s supper, are all parts of religious worship of God, to be performed in obedience to him, with understanding, faith, reverence, and godly fear; moreover, solemn humiliation, with fastings, and thanksgivings, upon special occasions, ought to be used in an holy and religious manner. 

6._____ Neither prayer nor any other part of religious worship, is now under the gospel, tied unto, or made more acceptable by any place in which it is performed, or towards which it is directed; but God is to be worshipped everywhere in spirit and in truth; as in private families daily, and in secret each one by himself; so more solemnly in the public assemblies, which are not carelessly nor wilfully to be neglected or forsaken, when God by his word or providence calleth thereunto.

Learn more:

1. Got Questions: What is true worship?
2. Ligonier Ministries: Worship
3. The Gospel Coalition: What Is Worship?
4. Kevin DeYoung: A Theology of Worship
5. Derek Thomas: What Misconceptions Can Christians Have About Worship? (video)
6. John Piper: What Is Worship?
7. R. C. Sproul: How Should We Then Worship?
   
   

Related terms:

• corporate prayer
• liturgy
• Lord’s Supper
• preaching
• regulative principle of worship

Filed under Christian Life and Ecclesiology

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Sunday Hymn: A Charge to Keep I Have

A charge to keep I have,
A God to glo­ri­fy,
A nev­er-dy­ing soul to save,
And fit it for the sky.

To serve the pre­sent age,
My call­ing to ful­fill:
O may it all my pow­ers en­gage
To do my mas­ter’s will!

Arm me with jea­lous care,
As in Thy sight to live;
And O Thy serv­ant, Lord, pre­pare
A strict ac­count to give!

Help me to watch and pray,
And on Thy­self rely,
Assured, if I my trust be­tray,
I shall for ev­er die.

—Charles Wesley