Worship in the Presence of God

by Frank Joseph Smith (Editor), David C. Lachman (Editor)

Worship is special and it is dialogical in nature. It is also prescribed. The fact of being in God's special presence means that not only are general principles to be observed, but the very elements of worship have been written out beforehand. Written from a Reformed Presbyterian view of Scripture, "Worship in the Presence of God" is a collection of essays on the nature, elements, and historic views and practice of worship. Edited by Drs. Frank J. Smith and David C. Lachman, "Worship in the Presence of God" contains articles by James E. Bordwine, E. Clark Copeland, Louis F. DeBoer, J. Cameron Fraser, Herman Hanko, Kerry W. Hurst, R. Sherman Isbell, Douglas F. Kelly, Henry Krabbendam, David C. Lachman, John Murray, Kevin Reed, Thomas G. Reid, Jr., A. M. Schneider, III, C. Greg Singer, Frank J. Smith, and William Young.

412 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2006

Reviews

[Zack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out of 19 chapters and two lengthy appendices, I can say that only six chapters are of lasting value. Don’t get me wrong - the others have some value, but there were major shortcomings in the book that caused me to give it relatively low marks:
1) formatting is terrible.
2) the editors did not bring the various articles into conversation with one another. The resultant redundancy was frustrating as I waded my way through article after article covering the same ground. It is good to be reminded of the key passages relating to the Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW), but this anthology would have been made much more useful with some additional editorial legwork.
3) there is an abundantly clear condemnation of hymnody in most of the articles in this collection. Exclusive psalmody abounds, which wouldn’t upset me at all if it was counterbalanced by a biblical defense of “inclusive” hymnody/psalmody.

Some points of commendation:
1) the six articles that are worthwhile (4, 6, 7, 10, 14, 18) are really valuable and useful - especially the articles on NT Worship, Christian Liberty, Family Worship, and Public Prayer.
2) the Reformed ecumenism is pleasantly surprising. There are articles from men in the PCA, Protestant Reformed Church, Presbyterian Reformed Church, RPCNA, CRPC, OPC, Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), and others!
3) the strong defense of the RPW is admirable, even if it should have been presented in a more effective way.

[Scott Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent compidium of thought on the Biblical viewpoint called the Regulative Principle of Worship. Contributors include John Murray (Song in Public Worship), Frank J. Smith (History and Worship, etc.), C. Gregg Singer (The Reformed Creeds and the Reconstruction of Christian Worship) and Thomas Reid (The Acceptable Way of Worshipping the True God), and many others.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

overview of liturgical structures in worship. multi-authored. Helpful.