is published by (VII) Worship: The Solemn Assembly
VII It is now as truly witnessed as it was of old, that the eye of the Lord runs to and fro through the earth, beholding the evil and the good (2 Chronicles 16:9); specifically that eye which searches the heart, and tries the reins (Psalm 26:2; Jeremiah 17:9-10), and shows to man his thought. Our happiness consists in this, that we have a testimony within ourselves, that our hearts are upright and sincere in the sight of this eye. It is the upright heart which God has had respect for in all ages; for when his chosen people, the Jews, degenerated from uprightness of heart, notwithstanding they kept in the outward performances and observations, as keeping appointed feasts, new moons, and Sabbath-days, solemn assemblies(Leviticus 23:36), killing and offering sacrifices, and so on, yet all these things, while their hearts were gone astray from Him, and were not upright and sincere in the sight if this eye of the Lord, their performances were not accepted, but were an abomination unto Him (Isaiah 1:11-15).
It is a precious thing to witness, that our hearts are upright in the sight of the Lord, or before His eye, that runs to and fro through the earth; that that sin may never overtake us, which overtook the Jews of old, namely to keep the outward form, and lose the power. Our solemn assembling, our form of sound words, and our outward demeanor, which the Life of Truth led us into at first; if we feel not the same Life accompanying us, and preserving us in it, that we may be a living people, walking uprightly before the Lord; I say, without this, all is vain and unprofitable.
It is the honest and upright heart that is the good ground, where the seed of the kingdom grows and prospers, and brings forth acceptable fruit (Mark 4:13-20).
(Bible References Added)
As he continues to write about Quaker worship, Shewen does something that is interesting – He connects the solemn assemblies of Leviticus 23 with the solemn assembling of Quaker worship. The animal sacrifices and offerings required by the Torah are of the same order as the waiting worship of Friends, if the worshiper’s heart is upright and the inner reality of worshiping before God is taking place.
Shewen uses the words of Isaiah 1 to describes how the solemn assemblies of the Israelites had degenerated and warns that Quaker worship could also become vain and unprofitable outward forms if the Life of Truth does not accompany it.
I would also argue that this passage suggests that early Friends were a lot more flexible in their ideas of what constituted worship than we are today. Forms were secondary to them. The primary concern in worship was the worshiper’s heart – the inward reality of God at work. Waiting worship with an upright heart was a powerful way to experience that, but Shewen seems to be suggesting that the solemn assemblies of Leviticus 23 could also be true worship.
Shewen closes with the good news that the upright heart is where the kingdom of God becomes a living and growing reality in our world.
Comments