Could you go a little more into what parameters scripture sets around our worship meetings?
Three times in Ex.25 & Ex.26 the Lord repeats his direction to Moses that he must construct the Tabernacle "according to the pattern" unveiled by God himself. These were "the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See
that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” Heb.8:5. Worship by the saints on earth, be it OT style or NT style, is bound to some manner of conformity with worship by the saints in heaven. All is one worship. When we assemble for worship, we ascend in the Spirit "to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn
who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling," Heb.12:22-24.
In Lev.10:1-2, two sons of Aaron were killed by the Lord himself on account of the unauthorized, "strange" or profane fire which they used when they otherwise went about their duties to offer incense within the Tabernacle. It is stated explicitly that what made their offering unacceptable was:
failure to abide strictly by the Lord's command. Neither the incense they offered was improperly prepared, nor was it offered up at the wrong time, manner or place; all which essentials are plainly dictated elsewhere in the Law. But they made their own fire. Just one verse before, Lev.9:24, the Lord made his own fire a part of the Tabernacle ritual. Hence, kindling of fire being nowhere commanded in the Law, it was wrong and sinful to assume it might be done in any convenient manner that suited the minister. True worship comes prescribed to us, so that we will not fall into idolatry as is our nature. The people of God today are no more free now to worship by our inclinations than were the people of God in old time.
The King appoints his own audience. Worship is not our meeting, where God may show up if he is attracted by our sincerity or effort. He doesn't come when called. We are
summoned to worship, as his subjects. Worship is revelation; in NT terms it is the revelation of Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God. Our worship is centered on who he is, and what he has done. Everything we do in worship has glory to Christ as its object. We sing God's praise. We pray as Jesus taught us we should and for those things which he directed us or which he demonstrated we should ask, both in what is recorded in the Gospels and in what his apostles taught as recorded in the Acts and Epistles. Our great High Priest forgives us our sins, as only God may do. The minister or elder takes the lead in raising the whole assembly's needs before our God with one voice. We observe the two dominical sacraments of the Lord on their right occasion, precisely according to his institution. Central to our gathering together is that teaching of the word by the Word in the mouth of his spokesman. The Prophet himself is our true Teacher. Our Lord Jesus is in his glorious session on Mt. Zion, and his disciples come to him, Mt.5:1.
There are other incidental elements which our worship might include, being observed in Scripture; but these which I have just mentioned in that previous paragraph are the fundamentals. God speaks, and we respond speaking his word back to him; or in the conclusion of worship we go forth believing his word in order to live out the ingrafted word. If you have any doubts whether anything I presented is actually biblical and prescribed, feel free to inquire for further justification.
I think if you will recognize that worship is about God, in Christ accomplished and made not only possible but real in every sense, and that what God has given by way of gifts was or is oriented to the end of revealing God in Christ to us; then it is not hard to see that various modes of revelation have certain suitability unto the end or goal (the telos) of worship. The gifts of Christ through his Spirit have no other or better telos than referring the recipients back to the Giver. They were not meant to terminate on us, or to get others to refer to us when we share a revelatory gift with them. If more "dramatic" gifts have faded from the scene, it is not because the church in general has neglected to cultivate them; but can only be because the need for them has gone as Christ, the dispenser of them, sovereignly determines. He is perfectly revealed in Scripture, now complete. In that word we have "everything necessary for life and godliness" because therein we "know him," 2Pet.1:3-4, cf. vv19-20 & 2Tim.3:15-17.
We pass amongst us Scripture promises, delighting in the morsels as they nourish us, finding after our fill there remain twelve full baskets to start our next share.
