C.H. Spurgeon’s Counsel for “Blended” Worship

If you spend enough time in a church, the issue of worship “style” will inevitably come up in some form or fashion. Of course, one might assume that if you attend a church focused on the ordinary means of grace, that there is no debate over worship style. Yet, there is a word that even the most committed soul to the regulative principle of worship needs to hear. In a sermon entitled, “The Rent Veil,” C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) provided some sound wisdom that all need to hear when it comes to worship. Spurgeon stated, “I can admire the solemn and stately language of worship which recognizes the greatness of God; but it will not warm my heart nor express my soul until it has also blended therewith the joyful nearness of that perfect love which casteth out fear, and ventures to speak with our Father in heaven as a child speaketh with its father on earth.”[1] Spurgeon’s description of “blended” worship is one to take to heart.

Corporate worship within a church needs to blend a solemn reverence for God while also being marked by a lifegiving joy rooted in adoption. One does not have to search very hard to find evidence for rather cringe, irreverent, and shallow forms of corporate worship on Sundays. So many things are ushered into a sacred space on the Lord’s Day that are revolting and should make believers nauseated. When we assemble each Sunday for worship, there is a real sense of awe that should fill our hearts. Men and women, boys and girls are gathering together to approach the thrice holy God who was, who is, and who is to come. Corporate worship in many evangelical churches needs a heavy dose of the holy and the solemn. This is not a spectator sport we are engaging in when we sing, pray, and hear the Word of God proclaimed. Our worship needs to attempt to display how great, holy, and majestic we believe God truly is.

While this element of solemnity is crucial to biblical worship, Spurgeon provides a helpful balance: a joy that warms the heart. Notice that Spurgeon rooted this joy in the believer remembering they are the adopted child of God. Our corporate worship recognizes the greatness and holiness of God but not at a distance. We come near to God because we have been made a part of the family of God. Spurgeon’s words are an illustration of what the writer to the Hebrews is getting at in Hebrews 12:18-24. As new covenant believers, we worship God by way of Mount Zion, not Mount Sinai. Worship combines a high view of God with a deep affection of love and joy that we who were dead in sin are now alive in Christ.

The key in most everything is balance, and Spurgeon provides us with that when it comes to worship. Many evangelicals need to truly order corporate worship in a way that declares “how great Thou art” when it comes to their view of God. In certain sectors of the rural South, while the production levels are not what you might find at a megachurch, there was a sense in which worship was geared around our cultural Christianity. Worship could be centered more on a traditional taste rather than divine truth. For these reasons the Bible must form and drive the church’s worship. The legacy of sola Scriptura given to us by the Reformation and the Puritans needs to be recovered. However, there can be a danger where a desire to not engage in emotional manipulation means that worship becomes a dour experience. Spurgeon is right that true worship does not forget that the veil is torn, and we are beckoned to come to God as a child draws near to a father. Corporate worship needs to be blended: solemn reverence for God and affectionate joy in God.

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[1] See https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/the-rent-veil/#flipbook/