Pray

Read: Ecc 5:1-7.

Meditation

When we come to worship God, we come to listen, therefore our words must be few. That’s what we learned in our last meditation. But part of worship is about bringing our own offering as well. We must come and speak. Or, to be more accurate, Solomon instructs us to come and speak a little. He makes this very clear: the words of our mouths, even if they aren’t many, are not to be treated lightly. Reading again in verse 1, “To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.” Solomon’s main thrust in this passage is to call us to guard our own tongues in worship.

Fast forward to a modern day worship service. When you think about these words in that context, right away you may be thinking: How is this relevant to me? Maybe you think of worship services as largely passive. You sit back and receive. That is faulty thinking for two reasons. First, even listening is a proactive activity. We must come prepared to listen. If we come tired, lazy, distracted, or preoccupied, we will not be able to obey that instruction. We must come prepared to listen. But second, worship also requires engagement. As we meet to worship, this is a conversation. We pray. We amen the corporate prayers. We sing. We speak. We profess our faith, we affirm and receive new baptisms. Even the meditations of our hearts are visible before God in worship. Worship includes speaking on our part, even if you don’t think of it like that very much.

Solomon’s warning here is sobering. He speaks of offering the sacrifice of fools, and then says they do not even realise that what they are doing is evil. That is a strong warning. It is possible to turn up to a worship service and do evil. More than that, it is possible not even to realise it. It is possible that we offer the sacrifice of fools. To help us guard against that, Solomon opens it up further in verse two:“Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.”

First, there is the obvious instruction: let your words be few. In the first place, be sure to pray for your pastor. “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” This is why it is a fearful thing to become a preaching elder. It is best to be quiet in the worship of God. It is best to come to listen. And yet those who are to teach are required to speak more, and God will judge them more strictly for this reason. Please pray for your pastor. Please pray that God would spare pastors in our churches from leaking their own foolishness into the preaching of his word. Please pray that he would make the truths of the sermons living realities in the life of your pastor and in the lives of the people in your church.

Second, consider a modern idea we see in the church today. In most churches something highly valued is greater involvement by the members. People come up to give testimonies, share a word, lead the singing, do this, do that. I attended a High Anglican service once where more than half the congregation stood up at different points to do or say something. Yet what we see in these verses shows that this mindset gets it wrong. You do not need to give everyone airtime. It is the opposite. We need to come with our lips sealed, our tongues guarded, and our ears open. That is what you do when you meet with God. It is not about “getting involved” in the sense that everyone needs to have a turn at being the leading visible figure-head. It is about falling at the feet of God to worship, sitting attentive and ready to listen.

When Isaiah met with the Most High God, he did not begin by speaking about what part he could play. As he saw the Lord high and lifted up upon his throne, and the train of his robe filled the temple, with mighty seraphim flying, the foundations shaking, and the house filled with smoke, Isaiah did not say: “How about I give a testimony of my life”. He cried out and said, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Is that the sense we have in our worship services?

This is why the reformed tradition in the past has deeply valued reverence in worship. It ought not to be reverence in an old-fashioned, stuffy, or traditional sense. It ought to be reverence because this is the God of heaven we are dealing with. So let us come with sincerity and reverence into the house of God’s people, where God meets with us.

Let your words be few, but there is an inverse truth here as well: let the words you do speak be sincere. Solomon does not say let your words be none. He says let your words be few. There is a time to speak in the house of God.

In praise, we are told, “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” As we sing to God, there is a sense in which we offer the new covenant equivalent of old testament sacrifices. That is what this text is saying. So come prepared to sing your heart out to God, and come prepared to engage your mind as you sing. If we sing to God while our minds drift and our hearts are not engaged in what is being said, then we are offering the sacrifice of fools and doing evil, and we do not even realise it. Do not rush into the presence of God. Do not hastily begin singing without thought. That is foolish behaviour. Better to still your heart for a moment, seek the Lord’s help, be still and know that he is God, and then turn your mind and heart to offering the sacrifice of praise.

And in prayer also, do not be rash. Come prepared to the prayer meeting, with your thoughts ordered and ready to pray. On Sunday, come ready to pray as well. Come ready to say amen to every prayer that is spoken. There is nothing that tests your spiritual mettle like the quality of your prayer life. SDG.

Prayer of Confession & Consecration

Holy God, we confess that we have been rash with our mouths and careless in worship, offering distracted hearts and unguarded words before you. Forgive us for the sacrifice of fools, for singing without thought, praying without sincerity, and drawing near with lips when our hearts are far from you. Teach us to come with reverence and humility, to listen well, to speak little, and to mean what we say in your presence. Consecrate our tongues and our hearts, that through Christ we may offer the sacrifice of praise with clean lips and undivided devotion. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

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Ep 141: Be careful of wondering minds and careless tongues in worship... (Ecc 5:1-7).