In the most recent issue of Christianity Today magazine, N.T. Wright is interviewed about his
latest book, The Case for the Psalms. “How can the Psalms transform us?” Interviewer Andrew Beyers poses this
question.
I was taken by Wright’s response. “Within the Jewish and Christian traditions,
you get your worldview sorted out by worship.”[i]
You get your worldview sorted out by
worship. Wow! Does that happen at HillSong Church? Wright goes on to say, “What is true today
was true in the first century: There was a clash of worldviews. The early Christians discovered themselves
drawn into the Psalter’s ancient Jewish way of seeing God as both totally other than the world and radically
present – dangerously present –
within it. And of course, this
description of God is the description of Jesus.”
I know when I think about worldview, in my mind
I immediately go to missions and the Gospel of Luke, or eternity and the book
of Revelation. I don’t initially
consider worship and the Psalms. But,
Revelation includes poetry, music, and worship.
And Jesus refers back to the Psalms throughout the Gospels. Paul does the same in his letters. Seeing this and considering it, I feel I need
to rediscover the Psalms.
I also need to reinvest in worship. I don’t mean I have been sleepwalking through
it. I love our times of worship at
HillSong Church. I think our music and
prayer and preaching is rooted in the scriptures (especially Isaiah along with
the Psalms). I mean, by my own personal
reinvestment, that I need to enter at a deeper level. When the worship leaders and musicians huddle
before each worship service, I always ask God to “touch us where we are and
bring us where he wants us.” I need to
seek that touch more.
Seeking is a key component of a Kingdom-of-God
worldview. We who follow Jesus should
constantly seek Him. In our spirits,
when we worship, that is a prime arena for intensely seeking God from the
deepest parts of ourselves. And the
Psalms give us language. A way of
preparing for worship is to, throughout the week, practice personal, individual
worship by reading and praying (and maybe singing) the Psalms.
I think Wright’s intent is for the church to
move the Psalms into the center of our worship.
I haven’t read The Case for the
Psalms, so I cannot recommend it.
But I trust N.T. Wright as a scholar and as a disciple who is seeking
after God. To his call for the church to
return to the Psalms, I had an invitation.
Make the Psalms a regular part of your life. Your understanding God will deepen and your
Spirit will grow in love and joy and depth.
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