Truth Magazine

Consider for a moment the importance of that which takes place in worship: man approaches his Creator and Redeemer in an act of contrition, veneration and adoration. It is as if he has made an approach into the throne room of the greatest King that has ever been. If he were to enter the chambers of a mere human king, he would expect to dress in his very finest, not to appear in sloppy clothing, unkempt or unbathed, but to look his best. He would do this because the occasion is special, and the person he is about to enter into fellowship with is extra special. Now, if this be so in the case of a mere human being, how much more so as he makes his appearance before the Lord of all the universe, Master of all creation! There is nothing casual or ordinary about the circumstances of that which we have just described. The casual nature of so much of modern “worship” is therefore completely out of order and inappropriate to the occasion which is associated with religious devotion.

Drawing nigh to God is very serious business, when considered in the light of biblical teaching. It must not be done without adequate preparation or due reverence. David declared in Psalm 29:2, “Give the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” The glory that is due to God’s name is an appropriate present for God’s people to set before the Maker and Preserver of the universe as they come to him in worship. Also, however, according to this text, those who worship the Lord are expected to come before him in what the author calls “the beauty of holiness.” Holiness is beautiful in the eyes of God, as per this text, and he expects that as we come to him in our various acts of devotion we shall be arrayed in what he describes as “holiness.” God himself is holy, and he looks for this same wonderful quality in those who would be his servants: “. . . but like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; because it is written, Ye shall be holy; for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:15, 16). It is the most important adornment of those who proffer spiritual affection upon the living God.

But this brings up what we consider to be an interesting point. If God expects those who worship him to do so in “the beauty of holiness,” what does this mean for those who otherwise grace his presence? And, since the answer to this question is so patently obvious, we would inquire as to what sorts of things we might do to insult and dishonor him, or to cause an affront or an indignity to his majesty? The Bible, in fact, speaks of several situations which would definitely outrage the holiness of God. Let us speak briefly of them below:

1. Unholy Living is an Affront to the Beauty of Holiness. When the prophet Isaiah appeared in the Holy Presence of God in Isaiah 6, he felt embarrassed and alarmed that he was standing in such a Holy Place with such a Holy One. The text reads as follows: “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts” (vv. 1-5).

The prophet was humiliated and broken at recognizing his undone condition in the presence of the Holy One of Israel. Further, he knew that something needed to be done to cleanse him of his transgressions and his sins, so one of the angels went into swift action: “Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he touched my mouth with it, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin forgiven” (vv. 6-7). There is a most valuable lesson couched in this beautiful description of the divine and human encounter. We understand that today the unconverted sinner comes to a state of holiness by belief, repentance, confession, and baptism (cf. Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Rom. 10:10; 1 Pet. 3:21), and that the Christian who has fallen into sin may have forgiveness through repentance, confession and prayer (cf. Acts 8:22; 1 John 1:9).

Many people today do not understand what an affront it is to God to worship him while they are engaged in wilful and unrepentant transgression of his will. It is an insult and a disgrace! The Lord will never accept such worship! Sin needs to be atoned for and repented of before one may expect his worship to be received. The atonement God himself has provided through the death of his only begotten Son (Rom. 5:8-11). The repentance is upon our part, and may not be neglected (Acts 3:19). We cannot merely allow enough time to pass, or even go to a different locality where the sin was not committed. God yet knows the condition of our hearts and the guilt upon our souls. It still separates us from our Maker (Isa. 19:1, 2). We must worship God in the beauty of holiness.

2. Worship Which is of Human Origin is an Affront to the Beauty of Holiness. I know that this may be a complete surprise to some who may read this. In the present era such a pronouncement may appear crude and unkind, but the fact that it came from the lips of Jesus ought to lend it some small amount of credibility: “Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people honoreth me with their lips; But their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching (as their) doctrines the precepts of men” (Matt. 15:7-9). In the time of Isaiah, and then later in the days of the Christ himself, some men made up their own rules in religion, and did so believing that God would be pleased with whatever religious activities they offered to God. The bottom line is that the Lord was not nearly so pleased with their religion as they were. In fact, if we are to believe what Jesus said, he was not pleased at all.

We need to learn the important lesson which this Scripture was intended to teach. As God’s creatures, we cannot strike out upon our own and make up our own rules as we go along. God will not be satisfied with such religion. Those who depart from Holy Scripture in their approach to religious work and worship ought to be put on notice that people who went before them in these rebellious ways offered their worship in vain. God wants to be worshiped in the beauty of holiness, and worship is not holy, is not sanctified, unless it is derived from the New Testament which is the written word of Christ!

3. Hypocritical, Judgmental Attitudes toward others are an Affront to the Beauty of Holiness. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for these insufferable qualities in their approach to religious piety: “Then spake Jesus to the multitudes and to his disciples, saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses seat: all things therefore whatsoever they bid you, (these) do and observe: but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not. Yea, they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. But all their works they do to be seen of men . . .” (Matt. 23:1-5). How can one be “holy” when he hates his fellow man? How can one be “holy” when he refuses to live by the standard which he attempts to force upon others? How can one be “holy” when he is hypocritical and judgmental in his attitudes toward his brothers and sisters in Christ? These are all questions which the Lord’s words engender. God wants us to worship him in the “beauty of holiness,” not with the unkind and hateful attitudes of the Pharisees.

Certainly there are a number of other points which we might add to this list, as they would also pertain to this important text. But these three applications are assuredly relevant to our own lives today. If worship is worth doing at all, then it is worth doing right. Thus, as David so ably said in his great Psalm: “Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”

Bethlehem is first mentioned outside the Scriptures in a 14th century B.C. letter from the king of Jerusalem who wrote to his Egyptian overlord asking for archers to help him recover Bit Lahmi which had seceded from his dynasty (Amarna Letters, quoted in Oxford Archaeological Guides 199).

Bethlehem is best remembered by Christians as the place where Jesus was born and where Herod the Great slaughtered the innocent babies under two years old in his attempt to kill the Messiah. Bethlehem is located six miles south of Jerusalem. Since the second century, men have been identifying a cave at Bethlehem as the site of the birth of Jesus (Justin, Protoevangelium of James). From Hadrian’s time (A.D. 135) to the reign of Constantine (about 180 years), the site was over- shadowed by paganism. On May 31, 339, the first church building was dedicated on the site of Jesus’ birth. In 384 Jerome took up residence in Bethlehem, which led to its become a monastic center. Jerome worked from this church building to translate the Bible from Hebrew into Latin (Vulgate). This translation became the official Bible of the Catholic church for the next 1500 years.

In A.D. 529, Emperor Justianian ordered the destruction of the older building and the construction of a new building to mark the birth of Jesus (the Grotto [cave] of the Nativity). That 6th century church building built by the Emperor Justinian remains essentially as it was built, although the roof and floor have been replaced several times. Known as the Church of the Nativity (one of the oldest churches in the world and the oldest in Israel), this church has a silver star to mark the place where Jesus came out of the womb of Mary which has become somewhat of a modern idol for many “Christians.” This church is divided among the Roman Catholic, the Greek Orthodox and Armenian denominations and conflicts occur among them over control of the building at various times.

Also located here are the Field of Boaz and Shepherds’ Field, Rachel’s Tomb (built in 1860 by Moses Montefiore, a Jewish philanthropist), and King David’s wells. These sites are not authenticated but one can get a sense of the terrain where these important Bible events occurred by being in the area.

Here are some important events that happened at Bethlehem:

• Bethlehem first appears in the Scriptures, nearly 2000 years before Jesus, as the burial place of Rachel (Gen. 35:19, 48).
• It is mentioned as one of the towns captured by Joshua (Josh. 19:15).
• The judge Ibzan was from here and was buried here (Judg. 12:8, 10).
• The story of Ruth occurs in Bethlehem (Ruth 1:1).
• David was from Bethlehem and there was anointed king (1 Sam. 16:4; 2 Sam. 23:15). It was from the well of Bethlehem that David longed for water when his mighty men broke through the lines of the Philistines to get it for him.
• Asahel was buried here (2 Sam. 2:32).
• Rehoboam strengthened Bethlehem (2 Chron. 11:6).
• Micah foretold that the Christ would be born there and he was (Mic. 5:2; Matt. 2:1, 5). There the shepherds came to worship him (Luke 2:4).
• Herod the Great slew the male babies under two years

He paused and looked outside,
unaware of the time of day,
Patiently searching the scriptures
for what they had to say.

He knew the significance of study
and was confident that he would find
The truth of the Word imparted
for all of mankind.

He diligently examined each passage to
discern right from wrong.
The sun was slowly setting
as his day grew long.

His wife passed by the doorway
and he turned and looked her way.
She started to ask him to rest awhile,
but smiled and walked away.

She realized the importance of his
study and trusted him to stop when he could.
Sometimes he pushed himself too hard but,
 his reasons for doing so were good.
Oh, sometimes he was late for supper
and there were times he didn’t come at all.
But, she knew when it came down to it,
he answered to a much higher call.

Someone has said, “If you have trouble remembering things and you fear you are losing your mind — don’t worry about it — just forget it.” While this contains humor, losing memory is a serious matter.

Memory is the “power of the mind that retains knowledge acquired by the perception and consciousness of the past.” Marjorie Holmes, in her book, You And I And Yesterday, said, “man is the only creature whose emotions are entangled with his memory.” Memory is the record of man’s experience. It is the ability to review the events of yesterday, and bring meaning and purpose to present experiences. Without memory we would be ignorant of the past and incapable of understanding the present. We would be void of lasting impressions; no process of reasoning; no conscience nor sense of responsibility.

On a bright February morning, Beverly Slater, then 48, stepped off the curb as the traffic light turned green in her direction. She was struck by a car, flung onto its hood, car- ried 50 feet, and dropped headlong onto the pavement. The impact of the collision was so great that her outstretched hand left a palm print pressed into the car hood. She remained in a coma for four days. When she opened her eyes she was surrounded by strangers. Who was this “Hal” asking her if she was “all right”? And what did he mean by “husband”? Forty-eight years of memory — her entire past — was erased instantly on the morning of February 13, 1980, in Philadelphia. Imagine, waking up some morning with no memory of the past!

Memory forms an individual’s identity. Much of our lives are shaped by what we have learned. We can relate to the past — good or bad. We can relate to getting married, having children, but when we lose memory we cannot relate to any of these things. Memory is essential to human individuality. Tying the past to the present creates a continuing sense of identity. Memory helps to identify who we are — our roots.

Several years ago I had the opportunity to go back to the community where I was born and where I spent the early years of my life. It was a delightful journey back in time. I could visualize the men, long since gone, gathered in the shade of the old tree, whittling and making conversation, waiting for someone to signal that it was time to begin the church services.

I remember the three-room schoolhouse, which once stood a short distance away, and the happy experiences enjoyed there. As I sat in the old meeting house, I sat approximately where I sat years ago as a cotton-headed, barefoot boy in overalls. I looked across the room to a most familiar spot and recalled the features of an old grayhaired gentleman who always sat there — one whom I loved very much, and followed many a mile — my granddaddy Fite. I looked where he always hung his hat and remembered vividly the way he prayed.

Memories of childhood flooded my mind as I traversed the grounds of the old home place. As I gazed toward a corner of the pasture I could envision the small house in which I was born. It was there my brother died, and where I became deathly ill as the result of slipping a plug of Brown Mule chewing tobacco out of my granddaddy’s pocket and partaking of it. But now on that spot the green grass grows and the cows graze.

I looked at the sycamore trees alongside the house remembering the hours I played in the shade they afforded. It was there I gained my first experience and appreciation of the power of a 12 gauge double-barrelled shotgun when both triggers are pulled simultaneously.

I remembered the location of the wash pot in which we boiled clothes and made lye soap, and of the time when trying to be of help to my mother — but incapable of reaching the wash pot, I dropped various articles of clothing into the fire, and burned that which we could ill afford to lose.

Although all trace of it has been removed, I could see through my mind’s eye the barn, in which I sat and ate raw peanuts by the hour, shelled corn, fed the stock, and upon which I sat and contentedly smoked corn silks.

The tank of water where I watered old Nig and Preacher (our mules) still looked the same. The pastureland, which once grew cotton, presented a picture to me of one sitting on a cotton sack on a cool, crisp fall morning, waiting for daylight, wondering why his daddy didn’t let him sleep a little longer.

I remembered the spot where my dad shot my hound dog because he was sucking eggs, and the area around the woodpile where I spent many an hour and rode a broom stick many a mile while visualizing myself as the hero who wore the white hat and rode the magnificent white stallion.

Precious father, loving mother,
Fly across the lonely years
And old home scenes of my childhood
In fond memory appear.
Precious memories, how they linger,
How they ever flood my soul In the stillness of the midnight Precious, sacred scenes unfold.

Now these things identify me. This is who I am — my roots. Without memory I am a nobody. Memories can help us live in the present and future. God called upon his people to remember the past to secure obedience to the future (Deut. 8:1, 2).

We must remember our spiritual roots. Look back to when you were “dead through trespasses and sins,” without God and no hope of heaven. How you were saved from past sins by the grace of God coupled with faith (Eph. 2:1-8). You became a new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). We must always remember our cleansing from old sins (2 Pet. 1:8). This reminds us who we are (our spiritual roots). We are children of God by faith in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:26). We have been bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:20); our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20ff).

Our memory will play a part in judgment as God calls upon us to “remember” (Luke 16:25).

How wonderful that memory lingers still.