THE K I N G ’S BUS I NES S
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(5) Worship of th e F a th e r m ust he founded upon the w orth of His Son. (6 ) The Saviour seeks sinners (Luke 1 9 :1 0 ); th e F a th e r w ants wor shippers (John 4 :2 3 ). (7) We can worship jthe F ath e r in se cret and in silence. P riv a te Worship. Dr. Cuyler speaks abou t a cavalry officer w ith a sm all number of follow ers who was pursued by an enemy of large force. He discovered th a t his saddle g i r t h was LESSON was coming loose; ILLUSTRATIONS he d i s m o u n t ed, W. H. P ik e tightened th e loose g irth and th en rode on. £>r. Cuyler applies th is same idea in real life in th e city of New York where a delay in business for th e pu r pose of religious m editations and wor ship was th e daily habit. He says, “ One of th e most em inent Christian m er chants in New York City told me th a t he never met his fam ily a t th e b reak fa st table un til he had had a refreshing interview w ith God over his Bible and on his knees, and this, w ith his family worship afterw ard s, was noit only a tigh ten ing of th e buckle for himself, b u t was a gracious means of safeguard ing his household.” W orship an Absolute Necessity. Man is made w ith a capacity to wor ship. If th is capacity is no t exercised and satisfied it is more fata l to th e man th a n th a t he have lungs and do not b reathe or a stomach and do no t eat. Emerson said, “And w h at g reater calam ity can fall upon a nation th an th e loss of w orship,” or to p u t it in the words of R andolph’s couplet, “F irs t worship God; he th a t forgets to pray bids no t him self good morrow, nor good day.” “Lord, le t us to Thy gates rep air To h ear th e gladdening sound, T h at we may find salvation there, While yet it may be found.
There teach us how to pray, F o r grace to choose, and stren g th to keep The straigh t, th e narrow way. And so increase our love for Thee, T h at all our fu tu re days May one continual Sabbath be Of g ratitu d e and p raise.” W orship Reverently. Rev. Joseph Cook once said, “A preacher w ishing to get his audience .in to a rig h t fram e of m ind for appre ciating w hat he was to say, told them to imagine th e roof of th e lofty cathe d ral in which they were seated to he removed, and th at, in the depths of the sky above, they saw all th e countless hosts of stars, and high above th e re the G reat W hite Throne of God, while an angel song rang in th e ir ears, ‘Glory to God in the high est,’ and then, w ith the hush of awe on th e ir m inds which such a vision was fitted to bring, to listen to w hat he had to say.” It is w ith such reverence, and in such a spirit, th a t we ought to tre a t every foo tp rin t of God, every revelation of His natu re, every in stin ct or inten tion which speaks un m istakably of th e Divine. The Joy of Worship. Alleine once w rote to a dear friend, ‘Though I am ap t to be unsettled and quickly set off th e hinges, yet, m’e- thinks, I am like a bird out of th e nest. I am never quiet un til I am in my old way of communion w ith God; like the needle in th e compass, th a t is restless till it be tu rn ed tow ards th e pole. I can say, th rough grace, w ith the church, “w ith my soul I have desired thee in th e night, and w ith my sp irit w ithin me haye I sought Thee early.” My h e a rt is early and late w ith God, ’tis th e business and delight of my life to seek H im ’.” The T ru e S p irit of Worship. In 1917, J: Duckworth was dying and u ttered th is p rayer: “The Lord is my joy, my hope, my trea su re: He is my com fort and my delight. O Thou g reat
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