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Well, good evening, brethren. 
It's good to be with you once again. You can turn with me in your 
Bibles to the book of Malachi chapter 1. Malachi chapter 1, we're gonna 
look at verses 6 through 14 this evening. Malachi 1, begin reading at verse 
6. And a son honors his father, 
and a servant his master. If then I am the father, where 
is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my reverence? says the 
Lord of hosts. To you priests who despise my 
name, yet you say, in what way have we despised your name? You 
offer defiled food on my altar, but say, in what way have we 
defiled you? by saying, the table of the Lord 
is contemptible. And when you offer the blind 
as a sacrifice, is it not evil? When you offer the lame and sick, 
is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor. Would he be pleased with you? 
Would he accept you favorably, says the Lord of hosts? But now 
entreat God's favor, that he may be gracious to us. While 
this is being done by your hands, will he accept you favorably, 
says the Lord of hosts? Who is there even among you who 
would shut the doors so that you would not kindle fire on 
my altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you, says 
the Lord of hosts, nor will I accept an offering from your hands. 
For from the rising of the sun even to its going down, my name 
shall be great among the Gentiles, and every place incense shall 
be offered to my name and a pure offering. For my name shall be 
great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. But you profane 
it, in that you say, The table of the Lord is defiled, and its 
food is contemptible. You also say, O what a weariness! And you sneer at it, says the 
Lord of hosts. And you bring the stolen, the 
lame, and the sick. Thus you bring an offering. Should I accept 
this from your hands, says the Lord? But cursed be the deceiver. 
who has in his flock a male, and takes a vow, but sacrifices 
to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great king, says the 
Lord of hosts, and my name is to be feared among the nations. 
Amen. Well, let us pray. O God, we 
are thankful that you truly are the most honorable being there 
is. We're thankful, O God, that you are majestic, you are glorious, 
and we ought to reverence you as such. We confess, O God, sometimes 
we do not think of you biblically. Sometimes, even in our own practice, 
we do not think of you aright. We must do what your scriptures 
say and must recognize who you are, O God, for you are a God 
who is infinite, eternal, unchangeable in your being, your justice, 
your goodness, your power, and your truth. We're thankful that 
we have such a God who is such an omnipotent being, yet we're 
also thankful, O God, that you stoop to our nature, that you 
speak to us in baby talk, you reveal yourself to us in your 
Word. But we confess, O God, that how 
we think of you is evidenced in how we worship. We confess, 
O God, that as we seek to do what is right according to your 
Word, as we seek to engage in worship in an acceptable way, 
We confess, O God, sometimes we still do not have a right 
view of you. Sometimes we do not have a proper view of who 
you are. Forgive us for this sin, O God. Forgive us for these 
things. Help us to worship you in spirit and in truth. Help 
us to worship you aright, O God, with a proper view of who you 
are. We're thankful for your patience and long-suffering. 
We're thankful that you are the Lord, the Lord slow to anger 
and abounding in steadfast love. We thank you for your covenant 
care and covenant love, especially in the new covenant. We're thankful 
for the Lord Jesus Christ, who is that perfect covenant keeper, 
that we might be brought into the covenant through faith. So 
God, help us to engage in right worship. Help us to engage in 
new covenant worship. Help us to worship in spirit 
and in truth. We ask, O God, that we would 
love your word, that we would love worship, that we would love 
the things that you love, and that we would worship you acceptably. 
So, God, help us now as we come to your word, the blessed time 
of worship. Help us to be awake and attentive. 
Help us to know that we are hearing from you. Help us know that you 
meet with us in this place, O God. Help us to have that expectation 
that when we come, we get to meet with the God of heaven and 
earth. So we ask, O God, You give us illumination by Your 
Spirit once again concerning what Your Word says. Prick our 
hearts, we do pray, and we pray that we would give You glory 
and praise and honor. We pray these things in the name of Christ. 
Amen. Well, in the history of Israel 
at the time of the prophet Malachi, the people of Israel have been 
vomited out of the land for their wretchedness. They've been kicked 
out of the land by Assyria and by Babylon. And thus, in Malachi's 
time, there's a blessed return. Before Malachi's time, there's 
a blessed return in 538. This is the post-exile. This is the second temple period. 
The people have been kicked out. Now they've been brought back. 
There's a lot of hope with coming back. 538, the decree of Cyrus 
says the people of Israel can return to Jerusalem. 516, the 
Temple is rebuilt under the first return under Zerubbabel. But 
then after that, things seem to fade. The hope of the 500s 
fades into the 400s. Yes, the temple has been rebuilt, 
but Jerusalem is still in ruins, and they only occupy a small 
portion in the land of Persia. What of our God? What of Yahweh? 
What of His promises? What of His worldwide domination? 
Why is it we're still this puny little nation? And why should 
we worship such a God as this? For if we are so puny, our God 
must be puny as well. And so Malachi comes on the scene. 
Probably the same time as Ezra, same time as Nehemiah, perhaps 
a little bit before. Same problems we see in Ezra 
and Nehemiah. And he comes to deal with their 
false perception of who God is. A false perception of God's covenant 
love. And this false perception of 
God leads to a false practice, especially in everyday life. 
Malachi really is all about everyday life, and one of the things that 
we see in verses 6 through 14 is with respect to their worship. 
See, Malachi is separated into six disputations, each dealing 
with a specific problem and a specific purpose. The first disputation 
in verses 2 through 5 is, does God really love us? Look at where 
we are. Look at where we're sitting. 
Look, our city is in ruins. Does God really care for us? 
And then this bleeds into that second disputation. Why worship 
a God like this? Or why worship Him according 
to His word? Why worship Him since we get 
nothing? out of it. And so this second 
disputation really goes into chapter 2, verse 9. It's really 
focused. So we're just going to look at 
the first part this evening. And each disputation has four 
things. It has an assurance. God asserts 
something. It has a question. The people 
respond to what God says with a question. God responds to them. Then God brings forth an implication. We're going to see all of those 
in the first part. The second part in chapter 2, verses 1 through 
9 is all implication. And notice we see throughout 
repeated themes, profaning, defiling the name of the Lord of hosts, 
for it is all about worship. For that was the problem going 
on in Israel at this time. It was corrupt worship of God. They treated worship indifferently, 
mainly because they treated God indifferently. And indifference 
towards God leads to indifference towards worship. What you think 
of God and how you worship, or very more, how you worship and 
what you think of worship, says a lot about what you think of 
the Lord God Most High. How you worship says a lot what 
you think of Yahweh, of hosts, and the people were treating 
Yahweh like he was nothing. And problems abounded as the 
people acted wickedly in worship, and they acted wickedly in everyday 
life. Now, yes, the priests are to 
blame. Well, that's primarily the second part of the disputation. 
Tonight we're going to see the worship in general and as a whole. I surmise, and I don't just surmise, 
I know it's a problem in our day and age as well with respect 
to the worship of our God. People treat God and Jesus indifferently. People have a low view of who 
God is and as such have a low view of what worship ought to 
look like. That's why in Reformed circles 
we emphasize the regulative principle of worship—worshiping God on 
God's terms, not on our own terms. But I also think there's perhaps 
still a problem that does enter into Reformed Baptist churches 
as well. We grow tired of the mundane. We grow tired of the 
everyday. Sometimes we want a little razzle-dazzle. 
Sometimes we want those things in life, and perhaps we grow 
a little weary of what God So we'll seek to look at this worship, 
this focus, Yahweh's indicting the people for their wicked worship, 
for their low view of Him, and we'll look at this idea of worship 
under three headings. First of all, questionable worship 
in verses 6-8. Secondly, Gentile worship in 
verses 9 through 11. Lastly, profane worship in verses 
12 through 14. So he's indicting them for their 
low view of worship, and we'll see that with questionable worship, 
Gentile worship, and profane worship. So let's first look 
at questionable worship. in verses 6 through 8. As I said, 
the first disputation, does God love us? And if He doesn't love 
us, which we view, we don't think He does care for us, why ought 
we to love God? And so their worship was wrong, 
their worship was corrupted, their worship was not Right. Now again, the emphasis is primarily 
on the priests, but includes the people as well. The priests 
can't just blame the people. On the flip side, the people 
can't just blame the priests. Yes, the priests should have 
known what they're supposed to do, but we are supposed to be Bereans 
to search the Word of God, and there probably was a faithful 
remnant in Israel at that time who searched the scriptures and 
knew the Old Testament and should have called out those priests 
on their wicked worship. But the priests and the people 
are both at fault here, and it has to do with honoring God. 
And notice in verse 6, we see this assertion. God makes a claim. And notice he makes an everyday 
life argument regarding his honor. A son honors his father, and 
a servant his master. If then I am the father, where 
is my honor? And if I am a master, where is 
my reverence? Says the Lord of hosts. In the 
ancient Near Eastern world, in the world at that time, honor 
and respect was more important than love. They probably could 
have gone to pagan nations, pagan households, and saw that fathers 
received respect from their children. Albeit they're pagans, albeit 
they're sinners, but perhaps there is some common grace operating 
in those nations. And some kids did honor their 
father and their mother. But that's not happening in Israel. 
You see, even theologically in Exodus 4, God calls himself the 
father of Israel, his firstborn. Yet if people in other places, 
if pagans in other places honor their fathers, where is mine? And I'm a far greater father. I'm a far more loving father. 
I'm a far more gracious father. Yet where is my honor? Where 
is my reverence? He's not just any father. He's 
not just a father who actually has hands and stands tall. He's 
a God Almighty who is unlike any father. He is a holy other 
being. He is to be revered. He is to 
be honored for who he is. recognizing God and His attributes, 
His majesty, His glory, His power, all these things He's demonstrated. 
They've seen God's grace in a special way. They've seen God's grace 
in a powerful way. Yet they still do not worship 
Him. God and His kindness appeared 
to them. God and His kindness dwelt among 
them, yet they do not worship Him aright or give Him the proper 
reverence. They don't give Him that proper 
fear, especially with respect to the covenant Lord, especially 
with respect to the covenant made with Israel. And you perhaps 
noticed throughout, we've seen Lord of hosts, Lord of hosts, 
Yahweh of hosts. The covenant name of the Lord 
is repeated throughout Malachi for that specific purpose. Malachi, 
or God through Malachi, wants us to see that I am the covenant 
Lord who has kept his promises, yet you still disregard me as 
your God. So he says, where is my honor, 
says the Lord of hosts, to you priests who despise my name? And then they say, they don't 
see it. Yet you say, in what way have 
we despised your name? Again, it's with the priests, 
but the people as well. They despise his name. And the 
name will come up often in this disputation, or this part of 
the disputation. Namely, the name has to do with 
God's revelation. They saw God in a, once again, 
a special way. Yahweh, that special theophany, 
in that burning bush scenario in Exodus chapter 3, where God 
appears to Moses and said, I am who I am, I am Yahweh. He appears to them in such a 
special way. And even in this, it's not just recounting who 
He is, but what He has done for them. He brought them up out 
of the land of Egypt. He saved them from bondage. But 
he also has already engaged in a second exodus. He brought them 
up out of the land of Babylon, the land of Persia. He brought 
them up out of that place in a second restoration for them, 
yet they still forget it. Isn't that egregious? Isn't that 
a terrible thing that the people of Israel are doing? God has 
done these gracious things, but they do not see it. They don't recognize it. They 
think everything they're doing is just fine. They think everything's 
acceptable. They think God can't be mad with 
us. And as such, they do not see that they are defiling and 
profaning the name of the Lord God Most High." Oh God, that's 
a weird thing to think. We're just doing what we want 
to do. We do love you, God, but they're 
evidencing otherwise. Don't be so sensitive. God is 
perhaps what they're thinking. And yet you say, what way have 
we despised your name? But then God gives another assertion 
and question in verse 7, with respect to profaning that name. 
You offer defiled food on my altar, but say, in what way have 
we defiled you? Again, the idea comes up again. They still don't recognize what 
they are doing. They still don't recognize that 
they're defiling the altar of God. You offer defiled food on 
my altar, but say, in what way have we defiled you? There was 
the Old Testament regulative principle of worship. They had 
to worship God according to what he says with bulls and goats. They had certain things they 
had to engage in to make sure everything was right. And the language here you offer 
is language typically used, especially in Malachi, of drawing near in 
worship. You come in worship, you offer 
these things, you offer defiled food on my altar, you offer vile 
things on my altar. They do not do what God says, 
but they do what they wanted to do. And they think that what 
they're doing is just fine because their heart's in the right place. 
In what way have we defiled you? Again, they still do not see 
it. Twice they asked that question. According to Malachi, they do 
not see what is going on. Now, I do surmise in a modern 
context, People probably don't realize what they're doing. People 
don't see what they're doing. They have to be told what they're 
doing. They have to be told that what you're doing is an abominable 
practice. I don't deny that there are still 
good churches who have all the big bands and that sort of thing. 
They are more tame. They are true churches. But there 
are some churches that really do engage in idolatrous, wretched, 
vile, awful things. On a Sunday, they make this the 
place where everybody can do their special gift, and shine 
on the stage, and do their dancing in the aisles, and have their 
pottery, and want to show it at the front, and their paintings, 
and their sand art. I remember I went to a church, 
and on Easter Sunday, this lady was doing sand art while everybody 
played. That's not the place to do your 
sand art. If you want to do your sand art Monday through Saturday, 
that's fine. But it's not for Sunday. You see, people don't realize 
that what they're doing is actually defiling God's name. Again, perhaps 
because people have a low view of who God is. They don't see that he is the 
God of heaven and earth. And what they're doing is based 
on the way they feel, not based on what God says. So twice they question God, and 
he responds again in verse 7. The table of the Lord is contemptible. They consider God so low that 
they offer Him lowly things. They completely disregarded the 
Levitical laws on sacrifice. Leviticus, I know we get to it, 
we get bored in our devotions, and we start to glaze over when 
we read about the entrails and all that sort of stuff. But Leviticus 
is all about drawing near to God. It's all about God's holiness 
or God's holy otherness. And there are certain laws they 
had to engage in when they approached this holy God, and they had to 
approach God with the best, with the firstfruits, which is what 
the people in Malachi's time were not doing. Notice verse 
8. It shows how they are contemptible against the altar, against the 
table of the Lord. When you offer the blind as a 
sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and 
sick, is it not evil? Blind here does not refer to 
people. It refers to animals. refers to offering the blind, 
the lame, and the sick. The priests were supposed to 
know better. They were supposed to accept 
the best of God's people. Yet the priests accepted these 
ones. They accepted the ones they were 
not supposed to be accepted. Now, this isn't a clean versus 
unclean thing. It's a blemished versus perhaps 
unblemished type of scenario. They want to keep the best ones 
for themselves. They want to keep the best goats 
for themselves. They want to keep the best bulls 
for themselves rather than give the best to God Almighty. And 
so they said, we don't need the lame one or the sick one or the 
blind one. Let's not let it go to waste. 
We'll bring it up to the altar of the Lord. And the priests 
just accepted it. They should have said no. Now, 
maybe they were bullied. Maybe the farmers were like, 
we eat the blind ones all the time. We don't want to let them 
go to waste. Maybe they bullied the priests. But I don't think 
that's the case. Verses one through nine, God 
really deals with the priests in that section, showing forth 
how awful and wicked they have actually been. So the people 
come, the priests receive it, they disregard God by giving 
their worst rather than giving God their best. And then God argues, Malachi 
argues, with respect to this scenario, once again, from the 
lesser to the greater. Offer it then to your governor, 
verse 8. Would he be pleased with you? 
Would he accept you favorably, says the Lord of hosts. There were governors at that 
time in the area. If you brought a blind or lame 
one to them, they would say, get out of here. They would say, 
this is unacceptable. Yet you would bring this to the 
God of heaven and earth. You would bring this to the Lord 
God of hosts. You bring this to God who saved you and brought 
you out of captivity twice. You did not love him and care 
for him. You bring these things to him. Would your governor accept 
such a sacrifice? The people do not worship God 
acceptably with what they're bringing. They think everything's 
fine, but you do not see, because that's what sin does. Sin blinds 
hearts. But nonetheless, brethren, in 
our day and age, we must worship God acceptably. When we say acceptably, 
we mean based on God's terms. That's the regular principle 
of worship. Just because it's not forbidden does not mean it 
is okay. We must do what God prescribes 
in His Word. And specifically in His Word, 
what He prescribes is just His very Word. We sing the Word, 
we pray the Word, we preach the Word, we partake visibly in the 
Word with the sacraments. Those are the Word and a means 
of grace for us that we get to enjoy. Be present, brethren, 
with the baptism that is coming up. It is not just for the party 
baptized, but it's for you as well. It is a sign and symbol. It is a blessed means of grace 
for all of us that we might see the way God stoops to our nature 
in these sacraments of dying and rising again. or with the 
Lord's Supper. Don't absent yourself from the 
Lord's Supper. God gives us a visible representation 
of the gospel. We do believe in visible things, 
don't we? Just what God says are appropriate 
for visible representations of what has happened. Worship must 
be done according to proper regulations, or John 4, in truth, according 
to his word, but we must also have a proper heart. We must 
also worship Him in spirit as well, quickened by the Spirit. Reformed people are not against 
the Holy Spirit. We believe very much in the power 
and the work of the Holy Spirit, but it's not always when we sing 
shah-dah-dah-dah-dahs, or it's not always when we spout off 
prophecies. It's not in those scenarios. 
That is wrong and not right. The Spirit works in ordinary 
ways in the midst of God's people, and He meets with us and we come 
and worship Him acceptably. So we must worship God acceptably 
and not questionably. So that's questionable worship. 
Let's then look secondly at Gentile worship in verses 9 through 11. 
Again, people have a false assumption of what they're doing. You see, 
the priests thought they were bringing blessing, and they thought 
they were seeking God's favor. They think what they're doing 
is acceptable, but God has other plans. Verse nine, but now entreat 
God's favor that he may be ingracious to us. He's taunting them. While 
this is being done by your hands, will he accept you favorably, 
says the Lord of hosts. Now even here, verse nine, God 
is the word El. It's probably in contrast with 
the governor. Now entreat, not the governor, 
but entreat God and see what you may receive. Entreat this 
one who is greater and see what shall happen, says the Lord of 
hosts. And he goes on to speak of their 
unacceptableness all the more in verse 10. Who is there even 
among you who would shut the doors so that you would not kindle 
fire on my altar in vain? Do you know what he's saying 
there? It's better to shut the doors of a corrupt church than 
to let it go on. It's better to shut down the 
church rather than to continue on in such blasphemy. It's better 
to close the doors of the altar than to continually offer the 
blind, the lame, and the sick. It's better to shut down those 
things than to let those things continue. Because it's true, 
many churches have degenerated into synagogues of Satan. And 
it would be better if they were shut down. It would be better 
if they were closed down, because they're bringing forth a false 
gospel with a false message, leading people to a false hope. It would be better if they were 
shut down, so the only options people had would be good churches. 
That would be far greater. Now that's not reality, but that's 
what God is saying here. it's better to shut down those 
doors, it's better to shut down the altar, because people kindle 
fire on my altar in vain. I have no pleasure in you, says 
the Lord of hosts, nor will I accept an offering from your hands." 
They knew the laws, but didn't practice them. They knew the 
truth, but did not keep them. Perhaps with the sick, we don't 
want to let them go to waste. We'll just bring him in. We'll 
take him. We'll accept him. That's probably what the priest 
thought. They're being pragmatic. They're being practical. Or perhaps 
even at this time as well, there were bribes. Here, we'll give 
you a lot of money. Just take this lame one. They 
were sinister people. Or perhaps as well, maybe they 
had a value deal going on. Three maimed ones equals one 
good one. They're engaging in pragmatism 
because they want to appease the people rather than appease 
the Lord God Himself. But God will not accept such 
an offering. God will not accept such a sacrifice. It would be better to shut the 
doors of the altar altogether at this time. Now, if Israel isn't going to 
worship a rite, God is still going to receive worship. Verse 
11. This is where we see the Gentile offerings coming in. 
For from the rising of the sun even to its going down, my name 
shall be great among the Gentiles. In every place incense shall 
be offered to my name and a pure offering. For my name shall be 
great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. There's going 
to be worldwide praise. God doesn't need just Israel 
to be praised. Yes, God can be praised through 
creation, but the Gentiles are going to praise him as well. 
Notice the name. The name, the name, my name, 
the revelation of God and who he is will come to them. Yahweh 
will come to the Gentiles. And how does that happen? How 
does God appear? How does God engage in a theophany 
with his people? You see, the people of Israel 
were wanting and waiting for Yahweh to come. In fact, the 
messenger in chapter three, verse one, I said, my messenger, he 
will prepare the way before me, before Yahweh. And then Mark 
comes on the scene, and he talks with the beginning of the gospel 
of Jesus Christ, and he brings Malachi, he brings Isaiah, he 
brings Exodus 23 all together, who will prepare the way of the 
Lord. John the Baptist prepares the 
way of the Lord. John the Baptist prepares the 
way of Yahweh. When Jesus comes on the scene, 
brethren, it is a theophany. And when we think of theophany, 
it just means God appearing, but it doesn't always refer to 
every time God appears. It has to have a sensibleness 
to it. The burning bush is a theophany. 
The Mount Sinai is a theophany. And Jesus coming is a theophany 
as well. Yahweh appears. Yahweh is here. Yahweh dwells among us. And because 
of Yahweh's dwelling, because of a pure and righteous priest, 
because of a pure and righteous messenger, the Gentiles shall 
sing his praises. The Gentiles shall offer pure 
worship in my name. Jerusalem, is no longer the place 
to worship. Great name, great God, great 
worship versus demeaning worship. Now, I should say this is not 
a section that's saying you can worship God in any way you want. 
It's not someone who's offering pagan sacrifices. I'm seeking 
God in my own religion. That's not what he's saying. 
What does he say? In every place, incense shall 
be offered to my name and a pure offering for my name shall be 
great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. True sacrifice, 
according to what God says, will be offered up in worship. Malachi is pointing ahead to 
spiritual gentile inclusion. Even the prophets are anti-dispensational. I need to throw that in there. 
The prophets are very much against dispensationalism. They're looking 
ahead to a time when Gentiles will be brought in singing the 
praises of God. They will be the true people 
of God who sing praises to His name. Philippians 2.10, when 
Paul goes into that great hymn of Christ, he drives to the point 
with respect to the Lord Jesus being raised from the dead. And 
what does he say? He says that at the name of Jesus, 
every knee should bow, of those in heaven and of those on earth 
and those under the earth, that every tongue should confess that 
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And many other places in the 
New Testament, with the Gentiles coming in and Acts, Revelation, 
shows forth the fulfillment of what Malachi says here in Malachi 
2.11. So they must worship God, and 
they must not worship Him acceptably, but we also must not worship 
God with false assumptions. The people thought everything 
was hunky-dory. The people thought everything was just fine. The 
people thought they were worshiping God. Oh, right, there is this 
prevailing thought in evangelicalism today, which we call the normative 
principle of worship. If it's not forbidden, it is 
okay. That's why you have people saying, 
I have a heart for God, and this is my gift, and this is how I'm 
going to glorify God on a Sunday. I don't like just standing and 
singing hymns and sitting there while this guy drones on for 
an hour. I don't like those things. I want to be involved, but I 
want to be involved in my way. I like my own program. I like 
a sewing program. I like a children's program. I like a this program. I like 
a social program. I want all these things to meet 
my felt needs where I can execute and exercise my gift. Let's just be honest. It's all 
about us in that scenario, isn't it? It's the place where I can 
do what I want to show forth how great I am, to show forth 
my gifting. Everybody wants a ministry for 
themselves, really not for the glory of God. We can couch things 
in holy language. We do this all the time. People 
always go, I prayed about it. I think this is the thing I should 
be doing. Well, I prayed about it too. And I know it's not the 
thing you should be doing. Please don't we use that prayer 
thing as a trump card. I prayed about it. Therefore, 
I'm right. Not according to what the Bible says. The Bible says 
we do what God says, and perhaps sometimes people might go, you 
know what? Your regular principle of worship infringes on my liberty. 
Really? It infringes on your liberty? You see, I actually think the 
regular principle preserves liberty. You want to know why? I used 
to go to many evangelical churches in the past. I'm sure many of 
you have as well. Do you ever feel like a jerk or feel like 
you didn't love God very much when someone was standing at 
the front dancing and all you were doing was just sitting down 
and just worshipping God in your quiet space? You felt, wow, I 
must be sub-Christian because I'm not dancing like that guy. 
They're not great at it, but at least they're dancing for 
Jesus. At least they're getting themselves out there. You felt 
like a terrible person, didn't you? See, the beauty of the regular 
principle, brethren, we stand together, we sing together, we 
sit down together, we pray together, we listen together, all together, 
so that our liberties might be preserved. You see, it's the 
point of the regular principle of worship that we get to preserve 
that blessed liberty that God has given us that we might glorify 
his name, and we must not have false assumptions about worship, 
but have right assumptions about it. What pleases God as we search 
the scriptures to understand what he says, and we should not 
relax the standards. Stuart says, when the inspectors 
relax their standards, the people can openly relax theirs, but 
God has not relaxed his. to defile worship is to defile 
God and is an evidence of a faithless people. That's harsh, isn't it? To defile worship is to defile 
God and is an evidence of a faithless people. Stuart goes on to say, 
disbelief, not accidental failure to maintain standards, was the 
priest's real fault. Tradition had replaced the word 
of God, an evolved system of worship had gradually replaced 
a revealed one. We've always done this. This 
is just how we do things. This is just the way it ought 
to be. That can still creep into Reformed churches, can it not? 
Brethren, I'm going to tell you something about Sunday school. 
You know when Sunday school started? 1800s. Do you want to know why 
it started? Just how it sounds. Sunday school. Not a religious thing, but a 
Sunday school for kids who could not go to school throughout the 
week because they had to work hard to provide for their families. 
And so what someone started, I can't remember the guy's name, 
but he started Sunday schools for that purpose. Eventually, 
pretty quickly, 50 years or so, it did become a religious thing. 
But it didn't happen until the 1800s. Yes, it's maybe not necessarily 
wrong to have Sunday school, et cetera. But nonetheless, we 
must understand its place and where it was. and how it started. Brethren, we must not keep tradition 
because we've always, or we must not always do things because 
we've always done them. Yes, we can think like that. 
We must take everything and test it with the Word of God. It must be a revealed type of 
worship. Because the beauty is, when Jew 
and Gentile rot together under the regular principle of worship, 
we can worship together without worry about what we're doing, 
without worry about offending anyone, knowing that we're doing 
what God says. So that's Gentile worship. Let's 
then look thoroughly and finally at profane worship in verses 
12 through 14. Profane worship, verse 12, but 
you profane it just means there's no consequences. We can do what 
we want. We're not worried about what's 
going to happen. But you profane it in that you 
say, the table of the Lord is defiled, and its fruit, its food, 
is contemptible. They hate the sacrifice, they 
hate the food, the evidence that they do not love what God loves. But notice verse 13, you also 
say, oh, what a weariness, and you sneer at it. They don't like 
the regative principle of worship. God, this doesn't work. Look 
at our surroundings. We've worshipped you this way. 
This isn't working aright. Our nation's in shambles. Why 
should we do what you say? Rather, let's do what the nations 
say instead. They became whiners, grumblers, 
and complainers. God, your way is just too hard. 
God, it doesn't bring the result that we want. We want some innovation 
in worship. And really, the third disputation 
deals with the fact they marry pagan women. So they have these 
wives that come on the scene and say, this is how we worship 
Baal. This is how we worship Ashtoreth. This is how we worship 
Molech. This is how we worship these other gods. Let's bring 
a little bit of that into the worship in Israel. They worshiped 
God and viewed his worship as a weariness. God's ways are too 
monotonous, too mundane, and they won't work. Sound familiar? Why is it that people do certain 
things or add certain things? In fact, in this whole Sunday 
School historical understanding, do you want to know why they 
did it? It was to bring people in. It was for the purpose of 
the fact that they had not just their members engaging in it, 
perhaps it was a tool to bring people in. That's why they did 
Sunday school at that time. Now, I'm not necessarily saying 
Sunday school is necessarily a bad thing. You understand what 
I'm saying. It's a very, very recent thing. We must check that at the door 
with respect to what it is. is, but the point I'm trying 
to make with respect to the weariness, sometimes this can happen to 
Reformed folk. The regulative principle of worship, 
it is long, it is mundane, but it's also blessed and glorious 
because of the Word of God and what it says. But that doesn't 
mean our sinful minds don't start thinking, we're like, you know 
what, I kind of like kickoff Sundays. I think we always like 
something new, right? The rest of the life phrase scares 
us. You mean we're doing the same 
thing? I'm 30 for the rest of my life? Yes, for the rest of 
your life. You mean I have to marry this 
person for the rest of my life? Yes, for the rest of your life. 
You mean I have to do this job for the rest of my life? Yeah, 
to some degree, you have to do it for the rest of your life. 
That scares people. That's what the Bible says. Faithfulness 
is important. Faithfulness is key. And the 
people of Israel at this time wanted to do innovative things 
rather than what God says. Brethren, it is hard to be a 
confessional church. It's hard to be a confessional 
Christian in this day and age because of the long drawn out 
monotony that we emphasize, the ordinary that we emphasize. But 
brethren, even though it is monotonous, please remember it's what God 
says and God meets with us when we worship Him in such a way. But the people sneered. Oh, what 
a weariness, and you sneer at it, says the Lord of hosts. Mackay said it was their highest 
privilege to serve the Lord who had saved them. But because they 
had lost sight of His love and the blessings He had bestowed 
on them, They had no real desire to praise him, and their worship 
had become sterile and corrupt. And the false worshiper returns 
in verse 13. And you bring the stolen, the 
lame, and the sick. Thus you bring an offering. Should 
I accept this from your hand, says the Lord? But cursed be 
the deceiver who has in his flock a male and takes a vow, but sacrifices 
the Lord what is. Blemished. Verse 13, that's stolen 
there, another category. Probably refers to perhaps a 
goat or a bull that was actually stolen, or maybe it was mauled 
by an animal. They're like, ah, it's been mauled. 
We'll use it anyway. Let's burn it. Their worship, 
their pragmatic approach still arose. In fact, Nehemiah deals 
with this stuff in Nehemiah chapter 13. Because really what their 
worship is saying is it's saying that God is not a good king. 
It's minimizing who God is. You see, why are there blind, 
stolen, lame, and sick? when you have the firstborn male. Again, coming back to the idea 
that God deserves our best. And it's not like we don't have 
many good males here. They had many wonderful, big, 
strong male bulls that they could have given up to God. And what 
makes it worse is they vowed. We said, yes, God, we're going 
to give you this big, giant male bull for you. But they reneged 
on it. Instead, they gave the one that 
was awful, one that was blemished, one that was blind or lame or 
stolen or sick, rather than the one they said they would give 
to the Lord God Most High. Shouldn't God deserve our best? 
This is the problem with Cain and Abel. What did Cain do? What did Abel do? Abel offered 
the first fruits. Doesn't say that about Cain, 
does it? Cain probably did not offer the best to his God, and 
as such, God did not view his worship All right. These ones 
in Israel at this time of Malachi were reneging. Cursed be the 
deceiver who has this flock a male and takes a vow, but sacrifices 
to the Lord what is blemished. Doesn't this remind you of Ananias 
and Sapphira, Acts 5? What was their problem there? 
It was that they made a vow. We're going to give this lump 
sum. And they said, we're not going to do that. We're going 
to keep some back. If they hadn't made that vow, things probably 
would have been fine. The New Testament doesn't give 
a number on how we ought to give. It just says be generous. They 
said, here's the number. We made a vow. Now we're taking 
it back. False, wretched, awful worship 
that they did not truly engage in. Cursed be this one. Oh, what a weariness, verse 13. 
You profane it, verse 12, against God, the great king, verse 14. For I am a great king, says the 
Lord of hosts, and my name is to be feared among the nations. God is not just any God. He is the God who commands angel 
armies. But that's not how Israel saw 
it. They saw God as a puny little God, because Judah was a puny 
little nation. They forgot Psalm 47. They forgot 
Psalm 48. They forgot the fact that the 
Lord God Almighty is King over the earth, and His graciousness 
chose the people of Israel, not because they were wonderful, 
not because they were great, but because He is good. because 
He is gracious. He chose them as a special people 
to where the Messiah would come. The loins of the Messiah would 
come from Israel. Yet they forgot that. They forgot 
all His goodness and mercy and kindness and graciousness, and 
they still worship Him in a wicked way. Sometimes crises don't always 
shock people into doing what is right, does it? The people 
were vomited out. They forgot it. They forgot who 
God was. They don't see with a bigger 
picture. They don't cling to the Word of God. They don't go, 
OK, God, Jerusalem's in shambles. I still see it. But Nehemiah, 
we know Nehemiah's on the way. But nonetheless, it's still not 
its own nation. Hmm. But your word says. But your word says, but the Bible 
says. Bill Hughes says murmuring is 
a sign of a defective memory and defective sight. That is 
the same thing that we see with the people of Israel. They had 
defective memory, what God had done for them twice, Exodus, 
Exodus 2, as well as the many other things he's done for them. 
And they only saw with their eyes rather than looking with 
Faith at the God of heaven and earth, the Lord of hosts, my 
name is to be feared among the nations. See, brethren, we must 
not just worship God acceptably. We must also worship him with 
right assumptions. We must also worship him for 
who he is. Again, the main idea, the reason 
people worship God poorly in our day is because they have 
a low view of God. God is like us. That's how they 
view God. He's got emotions like we do. He needs to be stirred up like 
we do. He needs to be entertained like 
we do. We need to worship him like the 
world. We need to entertain this God. 
We need to be entertained by God. He loves the things that 
we engage in. Brethren, God is wholly other 
than you and I. God is a wholly different being 
than you and I. We must just start there. God 
exists differently than you and I do. When we think about the 
Trinity, how is it one God, three persons? We can't. We don't know, 
but we can say that God exists differently. And how He exists 
blows our minds because we cannot comprehend who God is. The only 
way we know God is when He reveals Himself to us in His Word. And 
the people of Israel had a first-row seat to all the blessings that 
He engaged in with them, and the evidences of who He was. We view God in our day and age. 
Israel viewed God in their day and age like He was like us. He was an idol made with hands. 
He had eyes that can see, ears that can hear. He has emotions 
like we do. He grows and increases. God doesn't 
grow and increase, brethren. God is love. God is wrath. He doesn't grow or decrease in 
them. We think God changes like you 
and I do. But the true God, the God of 
the Bible, deserves and demands that acceptable worship. Jesus 
deserves and demands acceptable worship. John 4.24, we worship 
Him in spirit and in truth. Isn't theology proper, very practical? Sometimes we go, oh man, theology, 
big words, I can't understand it. Simplicity, impassibility, 
what? Brethren, study them and learn them. Read good books. God Without Parts, Dolezal, God 
Without Passion, Sam Renahan. That'll be a good starting place 
with respect to the doctrine of God. Sometimes we feel like 
we have to water down everything and have to have an analogy for 
everything. Not in the doctrine of God. Just please learn it. 
And I need to keep learning it. That sounds arrogant. I know 
I'm an arrogant guy, but we still need to learn those things. The people back in the 1600s 
just knew this and understood it and had it part and parcel 
for their own parlance with respect to theology. Proper, study it, 
love it, learn it, and glorify the God that we study. When we 
think about His attributes, His infinity, His eternality, His 
unchangeableness, the fact that He is Trinity, Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit, the fact that there's not three gods but one God, yet 
there are three persons, that the Father is not the Son, and 
the Son is not the Spirit, and the Son is not God, all those 
things, that's difficult for us to comprehend, but it calls 
us to what? Stop and worship. And if we have 
a big view of who God is, a theological view of who God is, a right view 
of who God is, hopefully we'll have a right view of what worship 
is as well. How we worship, what we think 
of worship, says a lot about what we think of the God of heaven 
and earth. Because sometimes for us, brethren, 
familiarity breeds contempt. Same thing I've already been 
saying, familiarity breeds contempt. We do the same thing, same thing, 
same thing, same thing, and we get bored. We must read, study, 
be reminded, study God, study His Word, and ask Him to meet 
with us in this place when we do worship Him in such an acceptable 
way. Mackay says, such honor and respect 
were missing from the worship of Malachi's day because there 
was no true appreciation of what the God they professed to worship 
was really like. Judah's not big. There's no more 
king. God ain't big nor worthy of true 
worship. Let us not have that mindset. 
When we see the world around us, we see difficulties around 
us, let's come back to the Word of God and recognize who He is, 
that His ways are not our ways, that His plans are not like our 
plans, that He has everything under control as the God of heaven 
and earth. And thankfully, the God of heaven 
and earth does meet with us, brethren. The flip side of everything 
going on here, yes, they worship God in an improper way, but the 
beauty is, and the promise is, God does meet with his people. God does dwell with his people, 
especially when we worship him on his terms. Again, we freak 
out about Leviticus, and it isn't just about how we worship God, 
brethren, it's about how God dwells with us. It's about how 
God meets with his people. It's about how this holy other 
God condescends in these bulls and goats. Thankfully, we live 
on the other side of Christ's coming, that he condescended 
in the Lord Jesus Christ, that that second person took on human 
flesh. Not the first, not the third, 
yet there's no mixture. There's no mixture between the 
divine and the human, yet that second person still took on human 
flesh, is like us in every way, yet without sin, as He dwells 
among us. And the beauty is, because He 
dwells among us and dwelt among us, we can dwell with God. And 
we can dwell with God now. Yes, we can do it throughout 
the week through prayer and reading, etc. But the beauty is, there 
is a special sense when we gather together as God's people. God 
does meet with us in His Word. It might not all be bells and 
whistles and razzle-dazzle and dancing and all those things, 
but what God meets with us according to what His Word says as we approach 
Him and worship Him in an acceptable way. How we worship, what we 
think of worship, says a lot about what we think of the God 
we worship. Well, let us pray. Our Lord God, we are thankful 
for true worship, that we confess, O God, sometimes we do grow weary, 
but we ask, O God, that we would always take every thought captive 
and make it obedient to your word, that we would follow what 
the Bible does say concerning who you are and concerning your 
worship. We're thankful, O God, for your 
promises that you do meet with your people. We're thankful, 
O God, that you're with your church even to the end of the 
age. Christ is with his people even to the end of the age. And 
we're thankful, O God, when we gather together in a special 
way with worship, we're thankful that you do meet with us. We 
pray, O God, that you would have met with us this evening, that 
you would speak to us concerning who you are, concerning what 
worship is and what true worship looks like. Help us, O God, to 
cling to worship. Help us to love right worship. 
And help us to never grow tired and weary of true worship. Help 
us to be faithful, O God, in this life. Help us to be faithful 
to the things that you've called us to. Help us to love the things 
that you love, and to worship you in an acceptable way, for 
you are a consuming fire. We're thankful, O God, that you 
encourage us. It is a means of grace. It is for our growth that 
we get to gather with you. Help us to remember, O God, that 
we are singing with the saints of heaven. We are singing with 
the saints throughout the world as well, that we get to gather 
as your church and come and get a glimpse and foretaste of what 
heaven will be like. We long, O God, for that new 
heavens and new earth when Christ comes back and ushers it in, 
where we get to sing your praises, world without end. But we're 
thankful, O God, for the glimpses and foretastes we see now. Thank 
you for your dwelling. Thank you for your love. Thank 
you that Christ dwelt among us and Christ loved us and died 
for us. And we're thankful, O God, that 
we can dwell with you. So we ask, O God, that we would 
worship you aright. We ask, O God, that we have a 
right view of worship. And we ask, O God, we have a 
right view of you. And we're thankful for your word that you 
reveal these things to us. May these things be an encouragement 
to our souls as we go into the world. Help us, we pray, in the 
name of Christ, amen.