Over this past semester, the idea of improperly worshiping the Lord had never rightly occurred to me before because I have rarely heard it spoken upon. Simply put, some of what I started to realize far outweighed what I was prepared to hear/be reminded of. That being said, I slowly started to realize how God is not interested in my sharing of brokenness when I come to worship Him as much as He is interested in my ability to radiate Himself by simply taking confidence in that which scripture clearly outlines how I am to revere Him. Sure, it may sound obvious to some, but to me, it was a scary yet refreshing notion to have in realizing that I have been more superstitious within my private worship than i've realized. But why stop there? This class not only educated me in how to identify the sin, but also how to properly readjust ones mindset in worshiping the Lord. Instead of bringing my brokenness with me to an assembly of believers, I should, as Burroughs puts it,
"Tender up that homage that is due from the creature to the infinite Creator, so that I must so pray as I must manifest that high respect that I owe to God as my Creator" (Burroughs Pg. 38), or in other words, take seriously the responsibility of in that which it means to prepare ones heart before hearing the Word, receiving the sacrament, and praising Him through song. Thus, this class has largely brought me back to the heart of worship via what it means to joyfully bare the responsibility of revering Him privately before praising Him publicly and therein reminding me of my limited/superstitious nature.
"When any creature is raised in a religious way above what it has in it by nature, if I do not have Scripture to warrant me, I am therein superstitious. It is a very usual rule to help you. If any creature that you make use of in a way of religious beyond what it has in its own nature, if you do not have some warrant from the Word of God (whatever specious show there may be in it), it is superstition" (Gospel Worship. Pg. 12).
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