The Worship Quote of the Week for (09/09/2003):

Delight in God He is considered by many to be one of the greatest preachers in American history. Today’s WORSHIP QUOTE is from a book by Jonathan Edwards. His topic here is the beauty of Christ, the beauty of the gospel of grace. I hope the connection to biblical Christian worship is obvious. DELIGHT IN GOD (BECAUSE HE IS GOD) True saints center their attention on Christ, and His beauty transcends all others; His delight is the source of all other delight; He in Himself is the best among ten thousand and altogether lovely. These saints delight in the way of salvation through Christ, because it demonstrates God’s perfection and wonder; they enjoy holiness, wholeness, while they take no pleasure in sin; God’s love is a sweet taste in their mouths, regardless of whether their own interest are met or not. They rejoice over all that Christ has done for them, but that is not the deepest root of their joy. No, they delight merely because God is God, and only then does their delight spill over onto all God’s works, including their own salvation. —Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), RELIGIOUS AFFECTIONS (Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour Publishing, 1999), page 136. ISBN 1-57748-525-4. You can also find the entire book at http://www.ccel.org/e/edwards/affections/religious_affections.html. [Here is some additional biographical material on Edwards: http://www.ccel.org/e/edwards/edwards.html] Have a great week. Chip Stam Director, Institute for Christian Worship School of Church Music and Worship Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky www.carlstam.org www.sbts.edu/icw