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Reformed Worship
"First of all, Calvin insisted upon the Biblical and theological integrity of worship. As has been noted, Calvin was radical in his Biblical criticism of the church's life. He insisted that all practice my be supported by Biblical teaching. . . .
"His insistence on theological integrity is related to his insistence upon Biblical integrity, for the latter is the chief criterion on the former. Feeling and emotion, aesthetics and beauty were all subordinate to theological soundness. The primary fact in worship is the approach to God, not simply as awe-filled Mystery but as the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ who has revealed himself. All true worship is shaped not by human desires but by God's disclosure of himself.
"A second principle of worship is theological intelligibility. Worship must not only be correct; it must also be understood. Calvin did not deny the emotional element in worship. Worship, like faith, is a totally personal act. . . . Yet it is a characteristic of Calvinist worship that Calvin strongly emphasized the understanding.
"The first step toward intelligibility was the Protestant insistence that worship must be in the language of the people. Yet this was only the beginning. In music care must be taken lest the melody obscure the meaning. In preaching, language must be used to communicate thought, not to impress the hearer with the speaker's learning. Sacramental actions must always be in the context of teaching and preaching, so that the act or the symbol will be clearly understood. . . .
"A third theme in Calvin's theology of the liturgy is edification. As has been indicated, this was fundamental to his theology. He claimed that the form of liturgy he presented to the church was 'entirely directed toward edification.' 'Nothing which does not lend to edification ought to be received into the church.' The pragmatic test of worship is increase in love, trust, and loyalty to God and in love for neighbor.
"A fourth theme is simplicity. The liturgy must 'omit from baptism all theatrical pomp, which dazzles the eyes of the simple and deadens their minds.' In the celebration of the Lord's Supper, Calvin objected to the 'spectacular' and to the 'lifeless and theatrical trifles, which serve no other purpose than to deceive the sense of a people stupefied.' Concerning ceremonies Calvin wrote, 'it is necessary to keep fewness in number, ease in observance, dignity in representation, which also includes clarity.' 'Ostentation and chasing after paltry human glory' must not determine church architecture. Calvin's worship is not so much austere is it is economical. All unnecessary motions, actions, or words are eliminated. Morever, the words, actions, and paraphernalia of worship must be appropriate to the reality they communicate or express." (pp. 175-177, emphasis added)
"Authentic worship cannot be imposed on worshipers. It always grows out of the depths of experience and commitment and is determined by the disclosure of the mystery toward which it moves. Certainly there is no one pattern of Christian worship or of Reformed worship. Yet there are the decisive marks that are given to Christian worship by the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. And there are the decisive marks of Reformed worship that are formed by its awareness of the Presence of the Lord God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, who calls the people of God into being, gives to them their destiny, and elects them for the working out of the divine purposes in history. All pretense is cleared away, and the believer stands in the presence of God in simplicity, even austerity, to hear and do the will of God." (pp. 195-196)
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Grace and Peace,