The foundation of worship

Last night, our prayer group discussed our motives in serving God. We have a tough time with this, mostly because motivation is a tender topic. We want to approach God without selfishness, but concluded that being totally unmixed in our motives eludes us. Learning how to be pure in heart is a lifetime project.

My verse today is about worship, but critics of the Bible would have a field day with it. One version (New King James) says, “God is the Lord, And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.”

In a more recent translation, the same verse says, “The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.”

I’m getting two different pictures. The first is worship involving a total giving of myself to God with the realization of my tendency to “crawl off the altar” so I need to rely on the light He has give me to keep me there.

The second also involves worship, but less personal and more corporate. With the people of God, I am waving palm branches (just as the people did during the festival before Jesus was crucified) and celebrating the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for my sin.

Wanting to hear God speak, but not wanting to ‘make up’ what He is saying, I checked a couple commentaries. One of them uses the second translation and says, “The second half of Psalm 118:27, though difficult in the Hebrew, probably refers to the custom at the Feast of Tabernacles of waving branches before the Lord. Then later, when the psalm was used in all the feasts, this part of verse 27 became simply an expression in the hymn without boughs literally being in people’s hands.”

This didn’t help me much, except the part about being “difficult in the Hebrew.” What did the writer intend to say in the original psalm? That is the challenge for those who study the Scriptures. Knowing Hebrew is helpful in cases like this, but knowing the mind of God would be even more helpful.

Rather than get lost in trying to figure out the English meaning, or even settling for a combination of the two (like some versions have done), I’m trying to listen, and to keep this perplexing verse in its context.

Psalm 118 is a song of praise. Throughout, the writer expresses the marvel of God’s mercy and makes numerous references to what God will do and is doing for Him. God’s blessings include deliverance from enemies and chastening for sin. The writer uses words already said by Moses, so some think Moses wrote this Psalm.

If Moses wrote it, he certainly knew what it meant to ‘crawl off the altar’ for he struggled with the task God gave him of leading His people out of bondage to the promised land. He had light to guide him, but even with that, remaining faithful was a challenge. The people he led so often rejected the light of God and resisted Moses’ leadership. Yet God was merciful and heard this man’s cries for help.

Another thought is about interpretation. Most Bible students are told ‘don't read New Testament thought back into the Old Testament’ while interpreting it, but that is not what happens in the Bible. For instance, Psalm 118 talks about the “chief cornerstone” without saying who it is, but Peter identifies this person as Christ. Rather than ‘reading back’, Peter is using new information from God to figure out a perplexing mystery in the earlier revelation. The coming of the Messiah shed light on the older Scripture, and just as this verse says, “He has given us light.”

As I read it again, another possibility comes to mind. The sacrifice that is bound to the altar could refer to Christ. As the people of God come to worship, we need to bind that sacrifice, both with praise (like the waving of palm branches) and with determination. It isn’t that Jesus would leave the altar; He was committed to stay there and die for us, but that we, in our human pride, will try to nullify the sacrifice He made. I do it every time I try to please God apart from Christ and from what happened at the cross.

Human effort subtly creeps into worship. I put myself and what I am doing up before God. See my service. See my enthusiasm. See my love for You, instead of remembering that the only reason I can stand before Him is because of the sacrifice of Christ. Bind the sacrifice to the altar. Even though I can swish palm branches (or raise my hands if I want to), my worship must be solidly grounded on that altar of sacrifice, not in my performance of waving or doing anything.