PUTTING AN END TO WORSHIP WARS - Elmer Towns

May all who use these hymns experience, at all times, the blessed effects of complying
with the
Apostle Paul's injunction (Eph. 5:18, 19), "Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to
yourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart
to the Lord." Yea, may they anticipate, while here below, though in a humble and imperfect
strain, the song of the blessed above, who, being redeemed out of every kindred, and tongue, and
people, and nation, and having washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb, are standing before the throne, and singing in perfect harmony with the many angels about
it (Rev. 5:9-12 and 7:9-14), "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and
wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing, for ever and ever. Amen!"
Moravian Hymnal (1789)
The true ideal of worship is that of man communing with God.
G. Campbell Morgan
Again, it is not a thing which man can decide, whether he will be a worshiper or not, a
worshiper he must be, the only question is what will he worship? Every man worships - is born a
worshipper.
Frederick W. Robertson
The best public worship is that which produces the best private Christianity.
J. C. Ryle
In the act of worship, God communicates His presence to His people.
J. Oswald Sanders
We evangelicals do not know much about worship. Evangelism is our specialty, not
worship. We have little sense of the greatness of Almighty God. We tend to be cocky, flippant,
and proud. And our worship services are often ill-prepared, slovenly, mechanical, perfunctory
and dull. . . . Much of our public worship is ritual without reality, form without power, religion
without God.
John R. W. Stott
To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the
truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God,
to devote the will to the purpose of God. All this is gathered up in that emotion which cleanses
us from selfishness because it is the most selfless of all emotions - adoration.
William Temple