2. Who Should Read the Scriptures in Worship?
Consider the role of reading Scripture when renewing the covenant in worship
“Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture” (1 Timothy 4:13)
Introduction
It’s a simple thing. Just a reading of Scripture. But who should read the Scriptures in worship? In response to this question, consider the following:
1. What is it that is being read?
2. Who should do the reading?
3. How should it be read?
1. What is it that is being read?
It’s the Old and New Testament Scriptures that are being read. Yes?
Not quite. It’s the old and new Covenant Scriptures that are being read. The Bible does not consist of two “last wills and testaments” of God. The Bible is a covenantal document. It contains the documents of the old covenant and the new covenant.
When someone reads the Bible to an assembly of God’s people, he is leading the people in a major aspect of a “covenant renewal ceremony.” The Lord of the Covenant himself speaks to renew his covenant with his people, and to lead them in the renewal of their solemn covenantal commitments. The reading of the covenantal documents formally reminds God’s people of his commitment to redeem a people to himself, and of the corresponding commitments of the people in response. These commitments for life and death are solemnly sealed in the covenant by divine oath and reciprocating human oath.
This process of renewing the covenant by reading the covenantal documents repeats an ancient procedure that goes back to the time of Moses. It has been re-enacted hundreds, even thousands of times over across the centuries. Note these recordings of the reading of the Scriptures in covenant renewal:
(1) Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, "At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” (Deut. 31:9-13 ESV).
Moses was renewing the covenant by reading the law to God’s assembled people in the plains of Moab just before they entered the land God promised in the covenant he made with Abraham. Embedded in this reading was the provision that this same ceremony of reading the law be rehearsed every year. The Levites and elders were entrusted with this special responsibility. This repeated practice ensured that each subsequent generation could participate in the covenant renewal ceremony by the public reading of the law.
(2) Moses had directed that after entering the land of promise, the nation should assemble for the renewing of the covenant (Josh. 8:30). In response to this specific command, Joshua assembled the people at Gerizim and Ebal.
Then he “read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them (Josh. 8:34-35 ESV).
Following the pattern established by Moses, Joshua renewed the covenant by the reading of the law.
(3) At the climax of the reform instituted by king Josiah, all Israel assembled for the renewal of the covenant:
The king went up to the house of the LORD, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD. And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant (2 Kings 23:2-3 ESV).
By the reading of the Book of the Covenant to all the assembled people, King Josiah renewed the covenant that God had established with his people. The reading of the law was at the heart of the covenant renewal process.
(4) It had been almost 100 years since Israel returned to the land from their exile to Babylon. The temple had been rebuilt, and the wall of Jerusalem was being resurrected. The people assembled in Jerusalem from all their villages. Ezra the priest led the people in a covenant renewal ceremony:
All the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.… the Levites helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading (Neh. 8:1-3, 7, 8 ESV).
This official reading of the law lasted from early morning until midday. Ezra and the other priests “read…clearly, and they gave the sense.”
These four instances, scattered across a thousand years from Moses in about 1400 BC to Ezra in about 440 BC, underscore the central role of the reading of the Scriptures to the assembled people of God. The solemn assembly for covenant renewal focuses on the reading of the written Scriptures.
The pattern is firmly set. The reading of Scripture to the people of God serves as an essential aspect of the renewal of the covenant.
One of earliest New Testament scriptures follows the same pattern. Paul concludes his first letter to the Thessalonians, which is very likely his earliest inspired writing, with these words:
I bind you by oath to have this letter read to all the brothers (1 Thess. 5:27 author’s translation).
The seriousness of his closing direction to the Thessalonians becomes evident when it is noted that Paul uses a word that contains the concept of “binding by oath.” He places his readers under a most solemn charge. What must they do?
They must read.
They must read this letter (of inspired Scripture).
They must read this letter to all the brothers (publicly).
Nothing could be clearer. Paul the Apostle to the Nations places the recipients of his God-inspired letter under a solemn oath. They must see that the inspired Scriptures are publicly read. The fact that the Apostle speaks in this most directive of manners indicates the seriousness of this charge. It must be done.
This solemn charge in connection with his first letter sets the pattern for all his subsequent letters. In concluding his letter to the Colossian church, Paul says:
When this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea (Col. 4:16).
The whole point of Paul’s writing his letters to the various churches, and the Holy Spirit’s inspiring them, is that they be read. They must be read publicly to all the brothers.
But why must this practice of reading the Scriptures to the assembled people of God be treated with such seriousness? Would it not be enough simply to pass the document around, and have it read in private among individuals and families?
This public reading of the Scripture is treated with such seriousness because it has the capacity to bind the whole community to the same principles—the principles operative for life under the new covenant. By the reading of Scripture, the people are bound together by the public pronouncement of their God-given principles and beliefs. They are together brought under the bonds of the new covenant people of God. Through the official reading of the inspired Scriptures, God speaks to renew his covenant commitments to his people, and the people respond by receiving the terms of their covenantal commitment to the Lord. Whatever portion of Scripture is being read, it has the same effect. For the whole of the Bible exists as a unified and coherent covenantal document.
It is generally recognized by evangelical Christians that the Bible is the inspired, infallible and inerrant Word of God. But it is not so broadly understood that the Bible consists altogether of documents that bind them to God and to one another for life and death by the commitments of the covenant. This perspective introduces a sense of awesomeness into the moment of public reading of Scripture in every worship service. The God of the Covenant commits himself in a bond of life and death with his people.
But…who should read the Scriptures? Who should be given this solemn responsibility of publicly reading God’s Word to God’s assembled people? Who should perform the reading that plays such a vital part in the covenant renewal ceremony being regularly enacted in the worship services of the church?
2. Who should read the Scriptures?
Obviously in informal settings of reading at home or in a Bible study group, it would be quite appropriate for anyone who can read with clarity and some basic understanding to read the Scriptures. But the current question focuses more directly on the reading of Scripture in the formal setting of a Christian worship service. The people of God have been called together by the elders of the church as a worshipping assembly. In this assembly, all the basic elements appropriate to a proper worship service are represented, including the singing of God’s praises, intercessory prayers, confession of sin, a declaration of faith, the presentation of offerings, the preaching of the Word, the celebration of the sacraments—and the reading of Scripture.
Often preachers naturally tend to think of their sermon as the most important part of the worship service. They have worked hard, studied diligently, prayed much, and envisioned their ministry of the Word as meeting some critical need of the people of God.
But is the preaching of the Word actually a more significant moment in the worship service than the reading of Scripture? A sermon, as fine as it might be, is nonetheless a fallible representation of the truth of God. The perfect sermon never has been preached, and never shall be. But God himself speaks directly to his people at the reading of Scripture. God’s infallible Word comes forth from the mouth of the reader.
Give to God the place of honor. Let him speak! Let him address his people directly. Have faith in the power of the unadulterated word of God to communicate truth directly to his people. God’s Spirit works with the Word to infuse life into the hearts and souls of his people.
In this context of God himself speaking directly to his people, who should be the agent of this communication? One particular passage of Scripture specifically addresses this question. The Apostle Paul solemnly charges Pastor Timothy regarding his specific responsibilities as an ordained minister of the Word. Three items are included in this charge. As might be expected, “preaching” and “teaching” are listed as major gifts that Timothy must exercise. But neither of these critical items take first place in Paul’s list. Note well the first item listed in Paul’s charge:
Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture..(1 Tim. 4:13).[i]
First in Paul’s charge is not Pastor Timothy’s preaching or teaching, which obviously are both critical to the fulfillment of his calling as a minister of the new covenant. Prior to these two items, Paul lists the public reading of Scripture. He does not treat this ministerial obligation lightly, as though it were an optional duty that could be delegated to someone else. Just as you do well to “pay attention” to the words of the prophets (2 Pet 1:19), so you must, as the Arndt and Gingrich Greek lexicon defines the term, “turn [your] mind to," "be alert” regarding, "be careful, be on your guard," “devote or apply [yourself] to” your public reading of Scripture. Focus your attention on this critical matter.[ii]
But where did Paul get this idea of stressing the public reading of Scripture for ordained ministers of the gospel? No doubt he got it from the very same records of Scripture going back to Moses, Joshua, Josiah and Ezra previously cited. In the long, unbroken history of covenant renewal ceremonies of God’s people, the ordained kings and priests of Israel were the ones who read the covenantal documents. This unbroken practice was followed in the synagogue system of the New Testament era, as seen in the experience of Jesus in Nazareth (Luke 4:16-21), Paul in Antioch (Acts 13:14, 15) and Timothy from his childhood (2 Tim. 3:14-17).
Ordained pastors following the practices of the reformers have regularly devoted themselves seriously to the “preaching” and “teaching” of the Word. But it is not at all clear that they have grasped with equal seriousness and devotion their calling to devote themselves to the public reading of Scripture. Instead of the pastor, various members of the congregation read the Scripture before the preaching of the Word. The minister would not think of relinquishing his calling to preach at the worship service to a variety of members from the congregation, and yet he surrenders this equally significant task of reading God’s Word to various members of the congregation, whether young or old, men or women.
Paul is not content with a single word of admonition. Four times in three consecutive verses he charges Timothy:
“Devote yourself! (1 Tim. 4:13).
“Do not neglect your gift! (1 Tim. 4:14).
“Be diligent in these matters!” (1 Tim. 4:15a).
“Give yourself wholly to them! (1 Tim. 4:15b).
His reference to the “gift” given Timothy when the presbytery laid its hands on him embraces all three of the ministerial functions listed in the previous verse: the public reading of Scripture; preaching; and teaching. “These matters” about which he is to be diligent and to which he must give himself wholly encompass the same three elements.
How many ministers are devoted, diligent and given over wholly to the “public reading of Scripture”? Yet since this “public reading of Scripture” is included in his list of ministerial obligations, it may be assumed that God in calling him into the ministry must also have granted him the gift necessary for fulfilling this task as well as preaching and teaching. He may work hard in developing his God-given gift for the preaching and teaching of the Word. Yet he may neglect the gift of public reading of Scripture. But none is more qualified to read the Scripture, particularly the passage of Scripture that the minister himself has chosen, studied, and prayed over for the previous week.
Should any willing individual be allowed to preach or teach the Word, fulfilling the other two tasks listed as belonging to the essential gifting of the ordained minister of the gospel? The public reading of Scripture should be viewed as being on the same level of significance in the worship service as the preaching of the Word and the administering of the sacraments. While every person in the congregation is of infinite value in the eyes of God, not every person has been called and commissioned to discharge these sacred functions before the assembled people of God.
It is often suggested that in this modern day, women in particular should be given a larger role in the worship services of the church. Male dominance has prevailed for too long. Let the women take their place in the church’s services of worship.
In the fullness of scriptural directions, it is altogether appropriate that women have a role in the worship services of the church. Paul specifically states that it is perfectly appropriate for women to “pray” and to “prophesy” in church (1 Cor. 11:5). A godly woman’s leading the congregation in worshipful prayer can richly bless God’s people. In terms of “prophesying,” it may be remembered that prophecy from a biblical perspective means speaking the very Word of God without any mixture of human, fallible elements.[iii] In the redemptive-historical era in which the prophetic gift was still active in the life of the church, a regular phenomenon in worship would have been women uttering prophetic pronouncements. In such cases, nothing of the woman’s personal opinions or evaluations of the state of the church would be included in her prophetic utterances. Though their minds and hearts would have been altogether active in receiving the revelation from God, the words that they uttered would be directly inspired by the Holy Spirit.
With the completion of the redemptive work of Christ through his life, death, resurrection and ascension, and with the recording of the God-inspired interpretation of those events through the work of the Holy Spirit in inspiring the authors of the New Testament, no further verbal revelation beyond the New Testament Scriptures should be expected until redemptive events associated with the return of Christ begin to occur. As a consequence, verbatim God-inspired utterances by men or women should not be expected in the present era. Yet the prayers of godly women offered in the worship services of the church should prove to be a great blessing for the people of God.
In addition, verbal testimonies of God’s blessing in their lives would be an appropriate element in worship for women to offer meaningful contributions to the worship services of the church. The role of testimonies has regularly played a part in the life of God’s worshipping people in the Old Testament as well as the New. The witness of Miriam, Hannah, Elizabeth and Mary all offer glory to God through their testimony as godly women (Exod. 15:20, 21; 1 Sam. 2:1-10; Luke 1:41-45; 46-55). Though not in the context of a formal worship service, Jesus required the woman who had been healed by secretly touching him to come forward and give public testimony to her experience of God’s grace (Luke 8:45-48).
A third significant area of women’s involvement in worship may be their singing to God’s glory. Women in Scripture regularly break out in song as they give glory to God for his redemptive work. Miriam, Hannah, and Mary all honor the Savior for the salvation of his people.
Much of the church of today doesn’t seem to like the idea of choirs, special groups of singers, or vocal soloists. Indeed, congregational singing in worship must be given first place as it blesses God’s people by their “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Eph. 5:19, 20). But nothing in that passage of Scripture indicates that the whole of the assembled body of believers must always participate in the songs that edify. God gives to some individuals, both women and men alike, special musical gifts including distinctive voice qualities. These gifts can be used significantly in worship for the edification of the church, and represent one further element in which women may participate in the corporate worship of the church.
So Scripture provides guidelines for women to participate in worship services. They can pray; they can testify; they can sing to God’s glory. At the same time, recognition must be given to the restrictions placed on the role of women in the church’s worship practices. From the time of creation, the Bible recognizes a basic difference between men and women. While both men and women are equally created in the image of God, their basic constitution defines differing roles. This root distinction from creation finds its counterpart in God’s work of redemption. By delivering people from the curse of sin and its consequences, the Lord does not alter the basic structures defining the relation of men and women. The Creator designed the woman to be “helper” to the man at creation, and the Redeemer defined the man as “head” over the woman in redemption (Gen. 2:18; Eph. 5:22-24). While man and woman have equal worth and potential as bearers of God’s image, the Creator established an order that may be compared to the relation of God the Father to God the Son. Though altogether equal in power and glory, the Son lovingly submits to the Father.
In appreciating this relationship of God the Father to God the Son, a person may be in a better position to understand Paul the Apostle’s directions regarding the relation of men and women in the context of worship. He says, “I do not allow a woman to teach, or to exercise authority over a man” (1 Tim. 2:12). Paul roots this restriction in the three great watersheds of human history. In creation, God made man first, establishing a position of priority. In humanity’s fall, the woman was deceived and not the man. In redemption, the woman shall be saved by the Redeemer whom she bears (1 Tim. 2:13-15).
The warnings, the invitations, the covenantal curses and blessings read aloud to a congregation embody the very voice of God in solemn declaration to all hearers of the Word. In referring specifically to the use of varying gifts of service, the Apostle Peter says, “If anyone speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11). In the very same section of Scripture in which Paul approves of women “praying” and “prophesying” in church, he states, “As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says” (1 Cor. 14:33, 34). It is difficult to determine the precise passage of the Law to which the Apostle refers. But it is clear that he appeals to the full authority of the Word of God, not to current customs of the culture. The public reading of God’s Word from Scripture in worship involves the exercise of authority over men of the congregation, since the reading represents the direct speaking of God to the people with all the force of the covenant renewal documents. This manifestation of authority in the worship services of the church is not permitted for a woman by Scripture.
Despite these Scriptural principles regarding who should read the Bible in worship, the practice of having a wide variety of individuals in the church fulfill this sacred responsibility continues to spread even among evangelical and reformed churches. Sometimes a particular church has a special Sunday in which they wish to recognize the youth of the church. They desire to have one of their teenagers participate in the worship service. So let him or her read the Scripture.
Once the door is opened to invite all and sundry people to read the Scriptures in the worship service, it is difficult to close. People quickly get accustomed to someone other than the minister or an elder reading the Scripture as a function of his office. The issue is not so much a matter of skill in vocalizing the words of the Bible. Various members of the congregation, including men, women and youth, may be better public readers, just as they may be superior as public speakers or teachers. Instead, the issue hinges on the biblical designation of ordained teaching and ruling elders as the individuals responsible for presenting the Word of God to the people assembled for worship, whether it be by preaching, teaching or reading Scripture. Failing to grasp the importance of this principle, any willing person is gladly accepted as a reader of God’s Word to the congregation.
Who should read the Bible in worship? First and foremost, an ordained minister should be the one to read the Bible in the worship services of the church. He has been gifted by God specifically for the awesome task of publicly reading the Scriptures. He has been charged by God’s Word four times over in a single passage with the solemn responsibility of reading the Bible to God’s assembled people. He should do all he can to discharge this solemn responsibility with as much effectiveness as he can muster. Secondly, ordained elders of the church should read the Scriptures in worship. They have been recognized by the congregation as godly, knowledgeable leaders, trained and ordained as officers in the church. Since the reading of the Bible in worship involves a declaration with authority of both promises and judgments pronounced over the people of God, this reading should be done by a person holding a position of recognized authority in the congregation. Great blessing will come on the people of God as they learn to listen with ever greater expectancy and attentiveness to the very Word of God being addressed to them by their own called and commissioned leaders of the church.
3. How Should the Bible Be Read?
How should the Bible be read? Several aspects of a proper reading of the Bible may be noted.
(1) Let the Bible be read with dignity, giving it the proper honor it deserves as a focal element in the worship of Almighty God
It is not a bad practice to have a congregation stand at the reading of Scripture. Let God’s Word, revealed, inscribed and preserved by His special providences against all efforts to have it banned and burned, receive the honor and the dignity it deserves. Not only spiritually but also physically let the Bible be clearly seen as it is being heard.
Preacher, if you don’t have a proper Bible in your possession, go buy one. Spend whatever is necessary to get the best Bible you can find. The surgeon will not be chinchy or cheap when investing in his surgical instruments. Go spend all you have to get a proper Bible to be read before the congregation. A recent mail-order catalog was exclusively dedicated to printed Bibles. All sizes, all colors, all versions are readily available. The Bible is still the most read, the most printed, the most translated, the most studied book in the whole world. Let everything that is possible be done to give proper honor and respect to God’s infallible and inspired Word in the worship services of the church.
A more proper place is often given to the reading of Scripture in churches with high liturgical traditions. These liturgical worship services regularly include readings from both the Old Testament and the New. Often a schedule is followed that requires reading consecutively through portions of Scripture.
It would be quite appropriate for a regular Bible reading program to be followed in addition to the normal reading of the passage chosen as the text for the sermon of the day.[iv] If the people of the Old Testament could stand and listen to the reading of the word of God from daybreak until noon (Neh. 8:3), it should not be too burdensome for congregations of God’s people today to listen attentively to five or ten minutes of the reading of the Word of God.
(2) The Bible should be read with authority
It is after all the voice of God that the people are hearing. It may be appropriate to remember the impact of the voice of God at Mount Sinai. The people prayed to Moses that they not be required to hear the voice of God any longer (Exod. 20:18, 19; Heb. 12:19-21). God spoke from heaven when Greeks came seeking Jesus, and the crowd thought it had thundered (John 12:28, 29). In the vivid imagery of the psalmist, the voice of Yahweh (qol Yahweh) thunders, breaks the cedars of Lebanon and shakes the desert (Psa. 29:3, 5, 8).
We do not expect these dramatic phenomena to accompany the reading of the Bible today. At the same time, these phenomena associated with the voice of God in both the Old Testament and the New may serve as reminders. Even in the modern worship service, the awesomeness associated with the Word of God should characterize the reading of Scripture. Indeed, the many words of comfort found in Scripture must be appropriately represented with a comforting voice of reassurance. Yet it must not be forgotten that the LORD of heaven and earth speaks through his Word, which should be read with the fullness of authority inherent in a word from God.
(3) The Bible should be read with understanding
What could be worse than to have someone read the Scripture without understanding what they are reading. That lack of understanding will inevitably pass on directly to the hearers. Then what have you got? You have got a disrespectful denigration of the voice of God as he speaks directly to his people.
Some 40 to 50 years ago Dr. Leon Morris preached in the chapel at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As I remember, he was speaking that morning on a passage from the gospel of John, which very likely contributed to his commentary on the fourth gospel. His reading of the Scripture so impressed me that I still remember my reaction even today: “He doesn’t need to preach. He has communicated the message of the Scripture so clearly and movingly by the way he read his text that nothing more need be said.” A similar depth of understanding should be the goal of every person reading from the Bible in every service of worship.
All members of the congregation may be expected to have good understanding of various portions of Scripture. Young and old, men and women alike, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, may have their hearts and minds illuminated through their personal study of the Scriptures. But in a distinctive way, it is the ordained teaching and ruling elders of the church that combine a position of authority alongside their understanding that qualifies them to read the Scriptures in worship. Particularly the teaching elder, formally trained and personally gifted with the ability to preach, teach, and read from the Bible, is in a proper position for reading God’s Word in worship.
(4) The Bible should be read loudly enough so that it can be distinctly heard by everyone in the assembly
The person who reads the Bible should be experienced and practiced in projecting his voice. He should intentionally address himself to the last pew in the back of the church. He should know what it means to speak from the diaphragm rather than from the back of the throat. If he is not familiar with that difference, he should educate himself in this area.
The invention of the microphone with its public address system in some ways has been the bane of good public communication. Indeed, these speaking systems can be useful, and in larger assemblies, essential. But many systems in many churches are of poor quality that distort the human voice. Even the best of speaking systems has difficulty producing all the subtle variations, the emotional appeals, the challenging emphases that are a natural part of the human voice. The human voice vibrates with life and energy. Its subtle variations are capable of communicating the height and the depth of human emotions. A modern speaker system makes preachers lazy in the use of the voice. By depending on amplifiers that can only imperfectly reflect the vitality of the human voice, they miss out much of the power that potentially resides in their articulation of the gospel message.
Dr. John Reed Miller, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi, refused to allow a public speaker system to be installed in the sanctuary. With a congregation of approximately 500 to 800 attendees on a Sunday morning, he had only a sounding board above his head, and that was enough.
Benjamin Franklin, the early American inventor and statesman, wrote in his autobiography of the time he went to hear the preaching of George Whitfield in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With his scientific bent, Franklin was more interested in the strength of Whitfield’s delivery than in his message.[v] While he was speaking, Franklin decided to see how far back he could go and still hear Whitfield’s voice.
He had a loud and clear Voice, and articulated his Words and Sentences so perfectly that he might be heard and understood at a great Distance, especially as his Auditors [audience], however numerous, observ’d the most exact Silence. He preach’d one Evening from the Top of the Court House Steps, which are in the middle of Market Street, and on the West Side of Second Street which crosses it at right angles. Both Streets were fill’d with his Hearers to a considerable Distance. Being among the hindmost in Market Street, I had the Curiosity to learn how far he could be heard, by retiring backwards down the Street towards the River; and I found his Voice distinct till I came near Front Street, when some Noise in that Street, obscur’d it. Imagining then a Semicircle, of which my Distance should be the Radius, and that it were fill’d with Auditors, to each of whom I allow’d two square feet, I computed that he might well be heard by more than Thirty Thousand. This reconcil’d me to the Newspaper Accounts of his having preach’d to 25,000 People in the Fields, and to the ancient Histories of Generals haranguing whole Armies, of which I had sometimes doubted.
Such is the power of the human voice. It should be remembered that our Lord preached to 5000 on the lakeside (Mark 6:32-44 par.). Yet preachers today in a small room that would max out at less than 100 hearers depend altogether on a public address system, which more often than not is a “cheap” one that only blurs and distorts the voice. Rather than aching in their diaphragm after preaching due to energetic speech projection, they are only a little hoarse in the back of their throats.
(5) The Bible should be read with proper articulation and pace
Every word should be clearly pronounced so that what is being said can be clearly heard. The mouth needs to be opened widely and the bottom jaw dropped so that every word is fully formed. Speaking so rapidly that words run into one another hinders the possibility of the listener distinctly hearing every verbally inspired word as the Scriptures are read.
(6) The Bible should be read with great sensitivity and appropriate passion
A mechanical, rote reading of the Word of God will not do. Sometimes the message from the Bible may be one of severe judgment. “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field” (Deut. 28:16). “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Luke 3:7). “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?” (James 4:4). These type statements must be read with appropriate sobriety and severity. On the other hand: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). “Do not be anxious about tomorrow” (Matt. 6:34). “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). “The God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction” (2 Cor. 1:3, 4). These consoling verses from the Bible need to be read with full empathy. The expectation of the reader as well as the hearer should be that the message of the Word being read with a proper heart-felt passion will become reality even as it is being read through the powerful work of the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion
So reading the Bible must not be regarded as a secondary aspect of the worship experience. It represents the solemn moment in which God himself speaks directly to his people. The minimal impact currently being made through Scripture reading in worship arises out of a minimalistic attitude toward this high moment of hearing God speak to his people. Meaningful worship among God’s people will be greatly improved by the restoration of a proper reading of the Bible in the worship services of the church.
[i] The term “public” does not appear in the original text of this Scripture. But by context it is appropriately included in the translation. Paul is not charging Timothy to diligence in his private reading of the Bible. He speaks instead of his gifts for ministry.
[ii] William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Cambridge: University Press), Fourth Edition, 1952, 721.
[iii] For a fuller discussion of the nature of biblical prophecy, see O. Palmer Robertson, The Final Word (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth, 1993), 1-21.
[iv] Worth noting is the article by Terry Johnson, “The Ebb and Flow of Lectio Continua Bible Reading in the English Speaking Reformed Churches, 1539-2000” in ed. Robert L. Penny, The Hope Fulfilled (Phillipsburg: P & R Publishing, 2008), 290-316.
[v] Despite his best efforts at resistance, Franklin was nonetheless touched at his pocketbook if not at his heart of hearts. He records his own response to Whitfield’s message: I happened soon after to attend one of his Sermons, in the Course of which I perceived he intended to finish with a Collection, and I silently resolved he should get nothing from me. I had in my Pocket a Handful of Copper Money, three or four silver Dollars, and five Pistoles [Spanish coins] in Gold. As he proceeded I began to soften, and concluded to give the Coppers. Another Stroke of his Oratory made me asham’d of that, and determin’d me to give the Silver; and he finish’d so admirably, that I emptied my Pocket wholly into the Collector’s Dish, Gold and all. At this Sermon there was also one of our Club [Junto literary club], who being of my Sentiments respecting [opinions concerning] the Building in Georgia, and suspecting a Collection might be intended, had by Precaution emptied his Pockets before he came from home; towards the Conclusion of the Discourse [sermon], however, he felt a strong Desire to give, and apply’d to a Neighbor who stood near him to borrow some Money for the Purpose. The Application was unfortunately to perhaps the only Man in the Company [audience] who had the firmness not to be affected by the Preacher. His Answer was, At any other time, Friend Hopkinson, I would lend to thee freely; but not now; for thee seems to be out of thy right Senses.
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