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Worship meant at first worth-ship, or the condition of being worthy, as friendship is the condition of being friendly. The best worship is not merely to thank God for what He has done for us, but to show ourselves worthy of this. It is very clear that this is the best kind of worship for us; for it results not in mere words, but in character. We are better for our religion, which cannot always be said of the outward kind; and surely it must be more acceptable to God. You would rather have your boy thank you for what you give him, and recognize your kindness, than not. But you would rather even than this have him use what you give him wisely. As between the boy who thanked you very profusely, and even sincerely, and then spent your money in some degrading way, and the boy who took your money carelessly and without a word, but spent it in a way that made you proud of him, you would surely choose the latter. But what is it that makes us worthy? It is "the beauty of holiness." And what is holiness? Here we have another word that has lost its first and best meaning. Our dictionary tells us that "holy" is the same word, essentially, as heal, hale, whale. A man is physically holy when he is healed, or in health, when he is hale, when he is whole. Holiness is wholeness. No man is holy who is not a whole man; and, to be a whole man, he must care for his body as well as for his soul. "What we shall be it doth not yet appear;" but it is very certain that while we are here, the body is part of the man. Holiness is wholeness; and wholeness means a sound body and a sound soul together. But it means more than that: it means sound judgment, common sense. Good people are the salt of the earth. But it is possible to have too much salt in proportion to your porridge. It would be hard to say that anybody is too good; but it is very certain that many a man's goodness would be worth a great deal more if only he had a little practical judgment to direct it. The world needs its dreamers, its men and women of enthusiasm and ideals; but it needs also the calm, steady balance and ballast of the men and women of common sense. There are other things that one needs to be a whole man, as a warm heart and a strong will, without which he does not fulfil the Divine ideal, and so does not render back the worship that God loves. These are enough to show what is meant, so far, by the worship of wholeness. But we have yet to see that mere individual wholeness is not possible unless the individual recognizes larger wholes than himself, of which he is a part. In the first place, in so far as a man is a body, he is a part of the great whole of matter, or the universe. The man who does not realize that he is so far a part of the world cannot be a whole, cannot be holy. The farmer must put his work into line with the material laws of soil and season; the engineer must put his work into line with the laws of steam, and the physician with the laws of the human frame. If either tries to do otherwise, to set up a world of his own invention or imagination, the great universe calmly sweeps over it and him, as the sea sweeps over the child's house of sand on the beach. Let a man in any way separate himself from this great universe, and he suffers. As a man faints when he shuts himself into a room, away from the atmosphere that clothes the world, so he faints if he shut himself into his own life and interests. Just as the value of his land grows, though he may do absolutely nothing to it himself, simply because other people come and settle near him, and make a city about him, so his life grows, though he may not try to cultivate it at all, simply because other people are about him, and with him day by day. There are things that a man can do better in solitude than in society. There are necessities that sometimes drive individuals away from their fellows. There are circumstances that sometimes compel men and women to live destitute of the companionship which makes life rich and deep for others. But, though there may be a gain on one side, there is loss on others. There is about the recluse something less than human. The great currents of thought and emotion that sweep through society and keep hearts and minds fresh, as the breezes keep the air fresh, are lost by the recluse. It is a great mistake for those who are in grief or misfortune to shut themselves away either from the fresh air of nature or the fresh air of human companionship. Health is wholeness with nature and with man. To-day, human sympathies are broadening out with the spread of commerce; and, as it slowly dawns upon us that the good of the world is the good of every nation, so into our hearts comes a thrill of pity and desire to help, when we hear of the suffering of any part of this variegated human race. This is the beauty of holiness that is the best worship. In old days, when the sacrifice was not of the soul, but of the body, it was counted an unworthy thing to bring to the altar of God a bullock that had spot or blemish. To-day, it is not a one-sided any more than a stained manhood that makes a man worthy of the Divine love. It must be a whole man, body, mind, heart, will, and soul, all rounded and complete, at one with the world of nature and the world of man, — that is the acceptable offering.

(W. H. Lyon)

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KJV: Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

WEB: Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name. Worship Yahweh in holy array.