The Biblical Foundations of Christian Worship (Library of Christian Worship: Volume 1)
Overview
The Biblical Foundations of Christian Worship includes an introduction to the Hebrew vocabulary (translated) of worship as well as a general survey of such theological themes as covenant, sacrifice, the numinous, the names of God, words of praise, and biblical symbolism in worship from the Patriarchs through the early church and features special studies of the tabernacle, the temple, and the institutions and theology of early Christian worship.
Top Highlights
“Biblical worship is active worship, involving movements of the body as well as of the lips, to express both submission to the covenant God and exultation in his presence.” (Page 4)
“The expression ‘Hallelujah!’ means ‘Praise the Lord!’ and is a combination of hillel and a short form of the Lord’s personal name, Yahweh. The reflexive construction hithallel (Pss. 34:2; 105:3) means ‘to make one’s boast in the Lord.’” (Page 6)
“The Pentateuch lays out a sequence of three major annual observances” (Page 4)
“It is a striking phenomenon that the Psalms, the hymnody of the sanctuary, so seldom refer to the sacrificial cultus. When the Psalms refer to sacrifice, it is almost always the sacrifice made by praise and thanksgiving.” (Page 8)
“The congregation of the Lord is often invited to sing ‘a new song’ (shir ḥadash, Pss. 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; Isa. 42:10); perhaps this was spontaneous song under prophetic anointing. Free-flowing singing with instruments may also be indicated by the term selah, occurring in thirty-nine psalms and in Habakkuk 3, usually at the end of stanzas; the meaning of the term is obscure, but Psalm 68:4, which uses the related verb salal, ‘lift up’ a song, suggests that it may indicate an interlude of vocal and instrumental praise.” (Page 7)
Product Details
- Title: The Biblical Foundations of Christian Worship (Library of Christian Worship: Volume 1)
- Author: Robert Webber
- Publisher: Star Song Pub. Group
- Publication Date: 1993
- Pages: 349
Robert Webber (1933–2007) was known for his work on worship and the early church. The son of a Baptist minister, Webber was raised in the Belgian Congo where his parents were missionaries. He studied at Bob Jones University, Reformed Episcopal Seminary, Covenant Theological Seminary, and Concordia Seminary.
Webber taught theology at Wheaton College for 32 years and was the Myers Professor of Ministry at Northern Seminary. In 1998, as a part of the Convergence Movement, Webber founded The Robert E. Webber Institute of Worship Studies school which focused exclusively on worship education.
Later in his life, Webber took a special interest in Christian worship practice and wrote and edited more than 40 books on this topic including the Ancient-Future series and The Complete Library of Christian Worship.
Reviews
4 ratings
Ralph A. Abernethy III
9/7/2017
Andrew W.L. Lau
7/27/2017
Maryellen J Lewis
12/8/2016
Glenn Crouch
3/4/2015
This book aims to present an Encyclopaedic Layout for easy access to specific topics, that is also readable from beginning to end - and I think for the most part they have achieved this. The various "articles" are compiled by different authors, and just like an Encyclopaedia that may be argued to be "objective" overall, each of the articles has of course the bias of the Author. Not that I found this to be a problem, as I enjoyed the Ecumenical approach this book takes. I would also say that it does endeavour to look for the strengths in alternate Christian views, rather than highlighting flaws. I did think that some sections had more robust bibliographies than others - and do see that as a bit of a weakness. Overall this is quite a pleasant way to cover both the Old Testament and New Testament roots of Christian Worship, as well as to include Second Temple Judaism (good coverage of Synagogues for example), Greek and Roman approaches around the First Century, and early Christian writings. The book is quite well thought out and laid out. I would say that I learnt quite a bit from this book, and I am looking forward to moving on to the next volume.
