Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship

Introduction As the principal of Oak Hill Theological College in London, England for the past 11 years, David Peterson has been a significant vessel that God has used to elevate that seminary to be one of the largest in the United Kingdom and in the Church of England. Only recently succeeded by Michael Ovey as Principal, Peterson has shown himself to be an astute interpreter of the biblical text, being formerly a lecturer in New Testament at Moore College in Sydney, Australia. As such, it is no wonder why Engaging With God is another first-rate example of Peterson's careful exegesis and gospel-centered hermeneutic. Subtitled A Biblical Theology of Worship, Peterson's Engaging With God is the author's attempt at a biblical theology of worship that is evangelical and generally free from denominational bias. Students of biblical worship would be happy to see an extensive exegetical volume finally released, as Peterson provides a full-orbed examination of what worship is according to the whole counsel of God and the entirety of Scripture - both the Old and New Testament. Summary In his introduction, Peterson establishes the nature of Christian worship as "an engagement with [God] on the terms that he proposes and in the way the he alone makes possible" (20). The rest of the book is hence an explanation of `engaging with God' as an idea that is found in the totality of Scripture. With this purpose in mind, Peterson thus begins careful exegesis of the Old (in chapters 1-2) and New Testament (in chapters 3-9) to provide the foundation for his thesis. The groundwork for his biblical worship theology is provided in the first two chapters, where Peterson examines engagement with God from the Old Testament. The ark, tabernacle and temple are shown to be the God-ordained, God-initiated means for Israel to acknowledge and live in relation to the royal and holy presence of God. Worship in Old Testament has its emphasis on God's self-revelation: God makes it possible for His covenant people to worship Him by the cultic observance of the sacrificial system. Through a detailed look at various important worship sections in Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, Peterson finds that it is only by "God's provision through the cult the covenant relationship could be maintained" (49). Further, the author establishes that honoring, serving and respecting God are encompassed by adoration as an expression of awe and grateful submission to the LORD (73). While this includes the physical acts of bending/bowing down or falling down before God that hinted at by the Greek word proskynein or the Hebrew histahawa (57), expressing homage according to the Old Testament is not merely bending over at the waist. It further includes awe and submission that is motivated by gratitude, and so it is also a matter of heart-worship, thanksgiving that inevitably leads God's people to serve Him (64-70). While the obedience to God's demands in cultic activity enabled Israel to express revere

I enjoyed Engaging With God because it was different than any other book or discussion of worship I have ever read or heard. It went straight to the bible to address the deep questions about worship that most books and people do not discuss. Starting with the Old Testament and moving right through to the end of the New Testament Peterson interacted with worship in the Old Covenant, reverence for God, and New Testament teaching by Jesus and about Him as fulfillment of Old Covenant shadows. He laid out a solid framework from which to answer the controversial but surface questions the modern Church is asking about what to do in church services and what not to do. He also stressed that the object of worship is to engage with God on a relational level that permeates all of life. Finally, a biblical analysis rather than a argument based on opinion and preference.

Peterson's "Engaging with God" is an excellent treatment of the biblical doctrine of "worship." His basic argument is that the Bible doesn't understand worship to be an occasional act of praise, or even a corporate meeting, but rather a life charcterized by obedience and reverence to God, and lived on the terms that God proposes. Peterson is particularly good when he discusses the meanings of the different Hebrew and Greek words that we translate "worship", and when he talks about how Christ fulfills the sacrificial/temple worship of the Old Covenant. This is simply a really solid, thoughtful, and biblical theology, written from an evangelical point of view. It is the standard biblical theology of worship, and rightfully so. Peterson also talks about corporate worship (namely church services), emphasizing that the New Testament seems to suggest that gatherings of Christians are for edification more than worship. His argument is that worship is what we should be doing all of the time, so it doesn't make sense to talk about gathering for that express purpose. I think he fails to emphasize the special quality that God, in his providence, has ordained for corporate worship. Regardless, this is an excellent, supremely biblical book, and comes recommended by scholars as eminent as D.A. Carson, Mark Dever, and I. Howard Marshall. It is scholarly, but pretty accessible, and well-written.

I've been studying this issue for more than 25 years, and I've read many more than 100 scholarly books and articles on the subject. Peterson's work stands far above all others as the premiere treatment of the biblical material on worship.He successfully cuts through today's all-too-common misconceptions of the word and presents a comprehensive picture of what the Bible really says about it. Peterson is a qualified scholar, and his research and handling of the Greek and Hebrew origins ably demonstrates his expertise. He is also unafraid to challenge other scholarly works on this complex subject. His respect for scriptural teaching and his capability for "rightly handling the word of truth" is obvious on every page.This is not light reading, yet it is apparent that Peterson has endeavored to write in a style that may be understandable by seminarians and professors, as well as those in the pulpit and those in the pew.Properly understood and applied, Peterson's book has the potential to revolutionize Christian churches and revitalize Christian lives. A hundred years from now, I dare to say that Peterson's landmark work will still be regarded as the benchmark book on the subject.

In preparing to develop and teach a theology of worship for our church's Sunday School, I have of late accumulated a large number of works on the topic which provide some rudimentary background and systematic foundation, only to turn and focus primarily on practical methodology. I have also found a fair number of writings with 'an agenda'...several appear to have been intended to rebut a recent argument or conflict.What has been sorely lacking is a balanced and sound exegetical development of a Biblical theology of worship FROM THE BIBLE, apart from the contemporary rhetoric and 'worship wars' which characterizes so much current thought.Peterson begins with a thoughtful (though not entirely comprehensive...Carson's seems more thorough to me) definition of worship, and works through detailed examinations of key OT and NT passages of prescriptive and descriptive texts. I found his textual work both defensible and insightful, and his conclusions provocative and resonant with the corpus of the Scriptures.This book, in conjunction with the recent "Worship By the Book" (edited by D.A. Carson) to be the two most useful materials on worship I have found for my preparations.Other works which I found more narrowly useful on particular related subtopics include John Frame & Marva Dawn (useful in a David Wells-ish postmodern perspective on worshippers, although a subtle Christian Feminism perspective is noted). Hopefully, an objective reading of Peterson and Carson will yield similar conclusions in your studies.