Opus 2024-124: Law as worship

When I think of David, praising the law and talking about how much he loved it, and how much it meant to him, I think that the law to him was a means of worship.  Yes, it did have to do with the atonement.  It did offer forgiveness.  But ultimately, it was an access into the presence of God.  It was a form of worship.  When he went to the temple and made sacrifices, it was not empty ritual.  It was meaningful ritual.  It was coming into the presence of the Almighty.

This is true of us today in our rituals.  We sing hymns, read scripture, pray together, and all of these are rituals that are a means of worship.  They only have value as they bring us into the presence of God and remind us of who He is and help us to live as He would have us live.

The law has dangers like any ritual would.  It is much easier to turn off our hearts and minds and go through the motions.  Have you saluted the flag lately?  Did you really think about the words?  At our church we have a ritual of reciting the Apostles’ Creed every Sunday.  I work at thinking about the words.  I try to read it with feeling.  It is hard but it can be done.  If I just recite, does it make the Creed invalid or just reflect on me?

The law can never replace a heart for righteousness and love for God.  It isn’t designed to.  It was given at a time when the Hebrews had no clue about how to live an upright life.  They had been 400 years immersed in a pagan culture.  They needed a crash course in holy living.  They got it.  If you need it, focus on it for awhile but realize that your salvation comes through faith in the blood of Christ and your sanctification is through the work of the Holy Spirit.

homo unius libri