尋求敬拜的改革Seeking a Reformation ofWorship
[每日靈修] 1/7/2018, 駱鴻銘編譯
當以色列先知譴責以色列人崇拜的敗壞時，他們尋求的是改革，而不是革命。儘管他們強烈批評崇拜儀式主義，但他們從不攻擊禮拜儀式。雖然他們反對外在主義和形式主義，但他們從未試圖廢除上帝所設立的外觀和形式。
要讓崇拜形式有效傳達它們被設計用來傳達的內容，就必須有不斷的教導，好叫人們理解它們的意義。聖禮不是赤裸裸的象徵。它們必須披上聖道。聖道和聖禮必須同步進行。沒有聖道的聖禮不可避免地會產生形式主義。而沒有聖禮的聖道不可避免地會讓崇拜不結果子。
我們需要崇拜的革新，要重新發現古典形式的意義。對於敬拜上帝，我無法漫不經心。被剝奪了超越性的上帝，根本就不是上帝。有一種叫做「神聖」的東西。聖潔是神聖的。這是不尋常的。這是在我們以外的。它是超越的。它並不總是對使用者友好的。但它與我們有關。它引發了崇拜，這是敬虔敬拜的本質。
活在神的面光中（在神面前禱告）：
想想你參加的教會的聖禮和禮儀。它們對你有真正的意義，還是僅僅成為禮儀的形式？
進一步研讀：
(Psa
119:171) 願我的嘴發出讚美的話，因為你將律例教訓我。
(Psa
108:1) 神啊，我心堅定；我口（原文作榮耀）要唱詩歌頌！
(Rev
4:11) 我們的主，我們的神，你是配得榮耀、尊貴、權柄的；因為你創造了萬物，並且萬物是因你的旨意被創造而有的。
Seeking
a Reformation of Worship
When
Israel’s prophets denounced the corruption of Israelite worship, they sought
reform, not revolution. Though they vehemently criticized liturgicalism, they
never attacked the liturgy. Though they railed against externalism and formalism,
they never sought to remove the externals and forms God had instituted.
For
the forms of worship to communicate the content they are designed to convey,
there must be constant instruction so that people understand their meaning. The
sacraments are not naked symbols. They must be clothed with the Word. Word and
sacrament must go together. Sacrament without Word inevitably yields formalism.
Word without sacrament inevitably yields a sterility of worship.
We
need a reformation of worship, a new discovery of the meaning of classical
forms. I cannot be casual about worshiping God. God stripped of transcendence
is no God at all. There is such a thing as the Holy. The Holy is sacred. It is
uncommon. It is other. It is transcendent. It is not always user-friendly. But
it is relevant. It provokes adoration, which is the essence of godly worship.
Coram
Deo
Think
about the sacraments and liturgy of the church you attend. Are they truly
meaningful to you or have they become mere forms of ritual?
Passages
for Further Study
Psalm
119:171
Psalm
108:1
Revelation
4:11