WHY WE WORSHIP THE WAY WE DO

Occasional Elements of Worship

Religious Oaths, Vows, Solemn Fastings,

and Thanksgivings Upon Special Occasions

"Stated festival-days, commonly called holy-days, have no warrant in the Word of God; but a day may be set apart, by competent authority, for fasting or thanksgiving, when extraordinary dispensations of Providence administer cause for them. When judgments are threatened or inflicted, or when some special blessing is to be sought and obtained, fasting is eminently seasonable. When some remarkable mercy or deliverance has been received, there is a special call to thanksgiving." - Robert Shaw, The Reformed Faith

As we have been examining ‘why we worship the way we do,’ our attention in previous installments has been focused on the ordinary elements of worship. That is, those elements that we are taught in the Bible to regularly observe in Lord's Day services, regardless of what is going on in the world around us. Now, we turn our attention to those elements in our worship that are occasional. These are elements warranted in the Word of God, but which are only observed on special occasions dictated by God's providence.

An example of just such a special occasion were the terrible attacks which took place on September 11, 2001. In light of the great suffering and turmoil America was plunged into, it was entirely appropriate for churches throughout that nation to call for special services dedicated to prayer and fasting. If the nation were mercifully delivered from some terrible calamity (as would be the case if, for instance, a Nuclear Weapon planted by a terrorist were found and defused prior to going off), then it would be appropriate for the churches to give thanks to God for His mercy with a special service of Thanksgiving to God.

We find these spontaneous days of fasting or thanksgiving in response to God's providence throughout the Bible, for instance, when the tribes of Israel were defeated by Benjamin, they fasted and mourned all day (Judges 20:26); and that when the rebuilding of the Temple of the Lord was completed, they had services of thanksgiving (Ezra 6:16).

We also find that throughout the Bible, the people of the Lord had the taking of religious oaths and vows as part of their worship. Examples include the oath sworn by the people of Israel to only serve and worship the Lord and to have nothing to do with false gods (Joshua 24) and the admonition to pay our vows to the Lord (Eccl. 5:4). A common example of vows taking place in a service of worship would be the ordination vows that Elders make.