Study 14 "How Majestic Is Your Name" Part 1

Psalm 8.1-2

Have you ever sung the chorus "How Majestic Is Your Name"? "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" What an affirmation! If we want one verse to guide us in our worship theology, Psalm 8.1 is that verse.

An article entitled "Supersized Faith" was featured in the latest edition of NewsMax magazine. Let me note some statements from the piece. "Advocates of the big churches, . . . point out that large churches simply reflect broader trends occurring in society at large. The church, they say, must change with the times." One megachurch pastor’s messages were described as "being less about religion and more about being healthy and prosperous." He was quoted as saying, "I don’t get deep and theological." Sermons "tend to avoid divisive issues and heated oratory about sin." The message is "more upbeat, one of empowerment, and it seems to be working—these churches are packed." "The worship services are high quality, entertaining and well planned." One "authority" was quoted as saying "‘There’s more to spirituality than Scripture, and the megachurches are addressing the full needs of human beings’ while giving them what they want in their everyday lives."

By comparing the quotes from the NewsMax article with the single verse from Psalm 8, we find a real disconnect between modern concepts of worship and the biblical definition. What can be learned from Psalm 8 that would inform our approach to worship?

We begin with the opening word: "LORD." Traditionally, the Jews have been reluctant to pronounce the name of the Lord because of their fear of taking God’s name in vain. So, in reading Scripture, when the Jewish reader arrives at the name of God, YAHWEH, the word Adonai is read instead of YAHWEH. A profound respect guides the Jewish worshiper in his approach to God, even to the point that he will not pronounce the name of God.

Are we in the modern setting as respectful of God? The sense of the NewsMax article was that the worshiper and his "needs" are of paramount concern to the megachurch leadership. But, what about God? What of his expectations from worship?

The NewsMax article closed with a quote from the Gospel of Matthew: "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I." This verse begs the question, "What does ‘in my name’ mean?" For many, the name of the Lord is nothing more than an identifying tag, "YAHWEH," "Jesus," "Christ," "El Shaddai," and so forth.

If we hang one of those titles on the door of our building, we must be gathering in that name. Israel labored under such a misconception. They streamed in and out of the Temple and with great fanfare, pomp, and grandeur, worshiped and made offerings to the Lord. Yet, God, speaking through Isaiah stated, "When you come to appear before Me, who requires of you this trampling of My courts?" In other words, is a big crowd in a big building a sign or true worship?
Israel had forgotten that when they came to the Temple, they were gathering in God’s actual presence. For them, "God’s presence" was a spiritual abstraction of sorts. That God was in reality in the Temple had escaped their attention. They came for reasons of self-preservation; their "needs" were of the greatest of importance. Seemingly, only by paying attention to the needs of the worshiper could the worshiper actually worship God. The vision of Isaiah in Isa. 6 showed how misguided such worship was. God was indeed in the Temple, and Israel had missed that most important point. His presence was the chief reality; everything else should have flowed from that truth.

"O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth." So, when we declare we are gathered in the "name of the Lord," what do we mean? And, when we declare that we are gathered in his name, is the Lord required to show up? Further, does being "gathered in his name" mean that everything we do is acceptable to him?

Paul made an insightful comment to the church in Rome. "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man." When the worshiper replaces God as the focus of worship, we have entered the realm of idolatry.