Recalling the Hope of Glory [Hardcover]

Allen Ross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2006

Moving beyond worship wars over style and denominational proclivities, this book considers all the major biblical passages about worship. Regardless of their denomination, pastors, worship leaders, and laypeople interested in the biblical themes of worship will benefit from this definitive resource.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"For any significant change to occur in our worship activities," writes Allen Ross, "we have to get behind forms and methods and changes in style and focus on the biblical theology that informs worship." Out of his concern for worship to be as glorious as it should be, Ross has provided readers with a methodical, detailed study of all the biblical testimony on the subject of worship.

Many "biblical" studies of worship explain Scripture only where it is most applicable to the author’s own views, but very few, if any, have attempted an inductive study of worship throughout the entire Bible. Beginning not with early Israelite worship but with creation itself, seasoned biblical scholar Allen Ross uncovers the glories and beauty of worship as it is progressively revealed from its beginning in the Garden of Eden to its climax in the new heavens and new earth. Along the way, the historical development of worship is considered from the religious world in antiquity and worship in the early church to modern traditions and liturgy.

Neither technical, simplistic, nor specific to one denomination, Recalling the Hope of Glory is designed for all God’s people. Pastors, worship leaders, professors, students, and laypeople will find exposition that challenges, informs, and furthers our understanding of glorious worship. Through this study, readers will see patterns and principles of worship emerge, understand more fully our great heritage and its traditions, and discover ways to improve their worship.

From the Back Cover

“The publication of Recalling the Hope of Glory is a splendid addition to the growing number of works on biblical worship. Not only is this work a comprehensive theological vision of creation, incarnation, and re-creation, it is also a genuine work of praise.”

—ROBERT E. WEBBER, author of more than forty books on worship and the church

“Stunning in scope, Recalling the Hope of Glory provides a historical-theological study of worship from creation to the new creation. The logic of Allen Ross’s ranging exposition across the flow of biblical history will challenge every reader and grace every church, regardless of tradition. Here is dazzling substance for recovery of robust worship of our sovereign and holy triune God. Sure to be a standard work.”

—R. KENT HUGHES, pastor, College Church in Wheaton

“This book deals expertly and thoroughly with worship in the Bible. What is most refreshing: it is not at all ideological. People of all persuasions will find it valuable as a reference work. It also gives us a large perspective on worship that is likely to moderate the current discussion.”

—JOHN M. FRAME, professor of systematic theology and philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary

“Allen Ross takes his readers back to the Bible itself to paint a colorful picture of worship that is spiritually vibrant, theologically sound, and focused on Christ. His passion for worship that glorifies God and his thorough knowledge of Scripture are obvious throughout. For the western church, which needs desperately to recover its biblical and theological roots, this book will be an extremely helpful resource.”

—DANIEL I. BLOCK, professor of Old Testament, Wheaton College

“It is remarkable that so many books about worship have so little to say about God. Recalling the Hope of Glory is a welcome exception. Through its patient reflection on specific biblical texts and themes, it evokes a vivid awareness of the God of glory. By developing the theme of glory, this book hones a vision of worship that is at once luminous, transcendent, and inexhaustible.”

—JOHN D. WITVLIET, director, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 592 pages
• Publisher: Kregel Academic & Professional (November 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0825435781
• ISBN-13: 978-0825435782
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #336,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful!, December 19, 2006

By 

J. Collier (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Recalling the Hope of Glory (Hardcover)

Prior to reading, I was familiar with Allen Ross (Holiness to the Lord), but this was the first Ross title I've read. Overall, I think it's a masterful study. I was skeptical on whether it would really be a book for all Christians, "regardless of tradition." Really, there are very few theological biases that enter the book. Ross's central concern is to understand the development of worship in the Bible. He admits that all denominations do things well, and his purpose is not to make one change denominations, etc. I truly think all Christians with appreciate this book, and glean great insights. Ross, himself, is somewhat difficult to pen down. He's Episcopal, but in the past has been Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian. He approaches many issues from a Reformed point of view, but I think Arminian and Catholic readers would get a lot out of this book.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worshipping the God of Glory, October 24, 2007

By 

Labarum (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Recalling the Hope of Glory (Hardcover)

Many local churches have been torn apart by what has called the "worship wars". Battles between "oldtimers" with their set way of doing things as Baptists (or Methodists or Presbyterians or ...) have always done them against the "young turks" with their marketing surveys and praise choruses over the format of worship with each side determined to have its way. Often the solution is to have different style services that imposes a congregational split along generational and socio-economic lines. Unfortunately, there seems to have been an assumption that the Holy Scriptures have little to say on the issue and it is merely one of style and not substance.

Allen P. Ross, a professor at Beeson Divinity School, goes a long way in demonstrating the fallacies of this line of thinking in his important survey of Biblical worship Recalling the Hope of Glory. Working his way from Genesis to Revelation, Ross sheds light on just how much the Holy Scriptures tell us about worshipping the Lord God. Dividing the book into ten parts, each dealing with a phase of development, Ross outlines how God's plan for worship was progressively revealed just as His plan for our salvation was revealed. From the creation to the last trump, we are being led to our true end in the communion with the living God. It is absurd to think that there has not been revealed some level of understanding that is to assist us in moving us toward that final destination.

Ross begins by discussing the purpose of worship. We cannot understand the purpose of worship, the author contnends, until we see its link with the nature and atributes of God. The knowledge we have of God from the revelation of Him in Holy Scripture (i.e., God is holy, God is omnipresent, God is righteous, etc.) all play a role in our understanding the glory of God. Our response to being confronted with the glory of God is to be fear, adoration, confession, commitment, and finally the participation in ritual acts and religious observances that reflect upon God's glory. The observances of God's people have always centered upon sacrifice, proclamation, praise, prayer, and covenant renewal. Each of the ritual acts can be seen from an intellectual, aesthetic, corporate, and moral sense and each of these views satisfies a need of the human spirit. True worship can thus be seen as the celebration of being in a covenant fellowship with the triune God by means of praise, adoration, commitment, and ritual as we have faith that God's covenant promises will be fulfilled.

Ross then examines how the memory of paradise impacts worship. The construction of the Temple with its different levels of access to God symbolically reconstructs the world before the fall while emphasizing that access to God is no longer direct but requires a mediator. The effect both looks back to paradise but also looks forward to reconcilliation with God through the one true mediator Jesus Christ.

Pointing out how, at the time of Abraham, worship since the time of Noah had deteriorated into fertility cults governed by elite priests, Ross shows how God called Abraham and his descendents back to a true worship of Him. An important part of the worship was a sacrifice accompanied by a proclimation of faith in God at the altar. This proclimation was not only through words but also in ritual acts that demonstrated faith in the promises of God throughout the believer's life.

Ross then turns in successive sections on the details of how sacrifice and praise were integrated into the worship of Israel. The combination of prayer and ritual are not in opposition as commonly believed by many but are complementary in true worship. The author follows the development of Jewish worship from Sinai to the Temple and how the two formed a cohesive plan for the Jewish liturgical celebration.

Even with the establishment of worship ordained by God, the fallen nature of man still led yet again to corruption. The author covers how, on different occasions, Israel fell into pagan idolatry. Even when not turning to pagan beliefs, there was also the hypocrisy of those who claimed to be holy but bore bad fruits as injustice and immorality reigned. In such times, God chose prophets among His people to rebuke them and announce both punishment and eventual redemption.

Then turning to the New Testament, Ross shows how Jesus continues the prophetic call to Israel to turn from the hypocrisy of its religious leaders but also now institutes the New Covenant worship. New Testament worship is worship of Christ that is done in Christ as the believers are identified with as His Body. Worship was transformed by Jesus at the Last Supper where He identified His body with the bread of affliction and identified His blood as to be poured out as He pointed to His coming sacrifice on the cross. The institution of the Holy Communion serves is not a mere memorial in the modern Western sense but serves to keep alive the New Covenant promises for the believer.

The author then points out how the New Testament Church would build upon the existing Jewish liturgical tradition with this new ritual. Jewish concepts were reinterpreted through the New Covenant with Christ. All aspects of worship became Christocentric with both Word and Sacrament an indispensible focus of the liturgy.

Ross goes into much detail on the structure of the early Church liturgy, its reliance upon Jewish precedent, and its subsequent development to reflect the new Christian covenant. Many Evangelicals might be surprised and perhaps uneasy by the "Catholic" appearance of early Christian worship. It should be pointed out, however, that all Christian worship until recent centuries followed this basic form. The worship of Israel was always liturgical as was the early Church and all churches that can trace its history from before the Reformation. Among the Churches of the Reformation, the Lutherans, Anglicans, and many Reformed also retained the basic structure of the historic Christian liturgy.

One element that has until recently been downplayed is the eschatological ends of worship. As we come together to thank God and praise Him we should also be reminded of His faithfulness not only in our past and present but also in the future as His plan will be fulfilled. Ross shows how the views of Scripture about the end of days are brought into the liturgy and how elements of true worship point to the coming eschaton. Just as the liturgy and the structure of true woship has always pointed back to paradise, so it also gives us a glimpse of the coming day when we will experience the full presence of God in His glory.

Ross finishes with a list of principles for more glorious worship. These serve to transcend the "worship wars" that too often center on passing styles that are peculiar too a particular generation and places the focus squarely on Christ and how we may proclaim His glory. The implementation of these principles would call for a change among worshippers of the "megachurch" or "emerging church" movements but also among many Evangelicals whose liturgical outlook was formed by earlier "revival" movements that sought emotional experiences at the expense of losing a sense of God's transcendent glory.

Rarely has a book dealt so frankly and honestly with the issue of liturgy and its implications for Evangelical Protestantism. Allen P. Ross has given us a rich and powerful evaluation of the essential elements of true woship that is deeply rooted in the Holy Scriptures and communicates how the true worship of God has developed in response to the progressively revealed state of God's Word. Recalling the Hope of Glory is a challenging work that should be read by anyone concerned with the worship of the God of Glory.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was led into the thrown room of God, January 19, 2007

By 

JSR (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Recalling the Hope of Glory (Hardcover)

For several years, something has been missing in my life--this book has shown me exactly what that is. Genuine, heart-felt worship. The book is well written. It opens up the entire scripture (along with early church history) and leads the reader right to the feet of Jesus--and thats where I found I needed to be. For the most part, it is instructional, but has many moments which are magnifiicent and which stirred in me that "knowing" that I already know but have forgotten or let grow dim. My thanks to the author for helping me to be reminded.