Skip to main content

Recalling the Hope of Glory





Recalling the Hope of Glory: Biblical Worship from the Garden to the New Creation by Allen Ross

What is the foundational element of worship from a theological perspective?  Why do we worship in the way we do as Christians?  All these questions are encountered in the delightful and carefully written book, Recalling the Hope of Glory by Professor Allen Ross.  Ross is known for his insightful works on the Psalms (both from Kregel Academic) and his work on Biblical Hebrew.  In this book on worship, Allen begins by cataloging the lowly and unsatisfying picture of worship in many of our churches as a mundane affair that is casually done by its participants.  Instead, Ross rightly posits worship as “a transcendent meeting with the living God (39).”  The reason that so much of our worship is lacking in substance and vision is the deficit of a robust biblical and theological of worship that undergirds all of what we do and say concerning worship (38).

When we come to the fount of meaning concerning worshiping God, where do we start?  Ross clues us in on the answer by bringing us back to the Scriptures, specifically Isaiah 6.  In Isaiah 6, the holiness of God is in view, and the proper response to God’s holiness is fear and adoration, confession and commitment (52-53).  While I thought this first chapter was very illuminating, Ross’ discussion of ritual acts of worship developing our four senses was especially helpful.  He identifies in ritual actions in worship four senses which are touched in worship; namely the intellectual, aesthetic, corporate, and moral sense (57-60).  These senses taken together include the cognitive apprehension of what is going on in worship (doctrine and ritual), the beauty of the art of worship, the nature of the worshipping community, and the moral formation that is caused by engaging in worship.  This is a helpful delineation of worship and our senses because without one of these components, worship does not affect lasting change in our lives.

In the midst of Allen’s discussion regarding the Perversion of Paradise, he looks at some compelling passages that shed light on both God’s grace and God’s remedy for sin.  He writes, “When Adam and Eve admitted their sin, God replaced their temporary coverings with animal skins.  Clothing thus became a symbol of God’s grace…” (115).  Ross connects this idea of clothing with what we find in later Scriptural texts, namely that righteousness and holiness are connected to the garments of holiness, whether white linens or other glorious apparel.  The point isn’t so much the apparel itself but the holiness that comes from being in relationship with God and us revealing the holiness of our Savior.  As God’s grace was evident in God giving our first parents garments of animal skins, so it is God’s grace which grants us the white linens of holiness as we approach God as witnessed in the Book of Revelation.

This is a beautifully written and well-researched book.  I hope you will enjoy it as I surely did.


Thanks to Kregel Academic for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saving Casper

Saving Casper: A Christian and an Atheist Talk about Why We Need to Change the Conversion Conversation by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Casper-Christian-Conversion-Conversation/dp/1414364881 Many readers will quickly know the authors of this book from their previous release Jim and Casper Go to Church.  Jim and Matt’s new book entitled Saving Casper focuses on the way we talk about conversion in the church and the devastating ways we have pushed away atheists and other non-believers by our posture.  Both Jim and Matt traversed the national landscape, meeting in churches and asking hard questions about faith, conversion, and life. The basic premise of the book and travel is laid out here in their words, “Part of what Casper and I are trying to achieve when we speak to a group of Christians is to help people move a little bit on their “judgment meter.”  This capacity, while intellectually and often theologically uncomfortable,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Essential Christian Doctrine

  Essential Christian Doctrine , General Editor John MacArthur Pastor John MacArthur has for years been teaching the Word of God in both pulpit ministry, books, and conferences with an aim to displaying God’s revelation to his listeners in a winsome and foundational manner.  This new book, Essential Christian Doctrine takes an entire life of teaching and preaching and encapsulates the main contours of the Christian faith for its readers.  John in a systematic way highlights the most necessary teachings from Scripture including God’s Word, the Trinity, while also including sections on Man and the Future. One of the most helpful ways the authors bring to light biblical truth and theology is the way in which they group together particular themes.  In the section on the Holy Spirit, instead of a complex discussion of personhood, word pictures of the Holy Spirit are introduced in a discernible and profitable manner.  The metaphors for the Holy Spirit include fir...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wisdom for All

Interpreting the Wisdom Books: An Exegetical Handbook by Edward Custis Among the many wonderful books on the OT wisdom literature, this fine new book helps the reader interpret, exegete, and apply God’s Word to his people in succinct and helpful way.  The book is laid out nicely with bolded words that emphasize necessary themes in the study of the wisdom books and short chapters that get to the point of the biblical books.  This series of exegetical handbooks is a great treasure for students and pastors because it synthesizes much of the academic work on a biblical book into digestable portions helpful  for preaching and teaching. The opening chapter on the wisdom books brings out a helpful grid for understanding wisdom literature.  Custis writes, “Biblical wisdom, in contrast to Israel’s neighbors, reflects “Yahwistic theology” through its regular use of terms like “fear of the Lord,” its affirmation of God’s providence, and its recognition th...
Post a Comment
Read more