Worshiping Christ Jesus week in and week out ought to fill us with even greater reverence and awe. Why? Because when we gather together on the Lord’s Day, we breathlessly behold the True Son of David, Prophet, Priest, and King! How do we recover a sense of awe in our worship? By focusing on Jesus Christ, one greater than Solomon, our King of kings and Lord of lords. You see, when He meets with us in Word, Sacrament, and Prayer, He’s guaranteed to take our collective breath away!

As part of my daily Bible reading recently, I came to the Queen of Sheba’s visit to King Solomon in I Kings 10:1-13 (also recorded in II Chronicles 9:1-12). It may not be obvious at first, but this narrative has much to teach us about the way we approach Christian worship. In the biblical account, the queen is left with a sense of awe after her encounter with the king, the son of David. In fact, she is left breathless!

“And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more breath in her” (I Kings 10:4, 5).

The word “awe” has lost its punch in our day and time. We’re so used to people saying, “Wow! That’s awesome,” whether attached to a one-handed catch in the end zone, or responding to an incredible piece of good news, or admiring a brand new pair of $200 sunglasses.  If you grew up in the 80s like I did, you remember the phrase, “totally awesome!” describing everything from an Orange Julius to “rat tails,” mullets, leg warmers, Billy Idol posters, or anything else you could find in the local shopping mall! But I digress….

The word “awe” has fallen on hard times.  It actually has as its sense something like “apprehending danger” (Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament). That’s why the writer of Hebrews tells us, “...let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:28, 29).  The idea is that we should be filled with awe when we approach our Lord in worship because He is holy, majestic, powerful, and weighty. In other words, our worship is no ordinary matter because our God is no ordinary Being.

To say that much of conservative Christian worship in the 21^st century lacks a sense of awe goes without saying. However, instead of offering obvious examples and cursing the darkness, let’s light a candle and point to the glory of Christ! When we think about it, all the things the Queen of Sheba heard and saw in Solomon, leaving her breathless, we hear and see in our King Jesus – only magnified 1000 times – when we worship Him in spirit and in truth.  Here are six things that filled the queen with awe during her visit.

Wisdom. True – King Solomon answered all of her hard questions with his wisdom (vs. 3). But don’t we have all of our questions answered as we hear from the One who is Truth through the preaching of His Word? Not only is He our King, He’s also our Prophet!

House. Yes – Solomon built a magnificent palace (I Kings 10:4), but it’s nothing in comparison to our Lord’s glorious building project, His church, of which He is the head and chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:20-22).

Food. I’m sure Solomon had a rich spread of food (I Kings 10:5) on display to impress the queen. But when we see the holy food offered at Christ’s Table, representing the body and blood of our High Priest, we’re overcome at the lengths He went to save us. We also delight that He continues to satisfy our souls with His rich, abundant spiritual food (John 6:55, 56).

Clothing. We can all imagine the bright, vibrant colors of the clothes worn by Solomon’s army of attendants (I Kings 10:6). Yet, when we come together as His living stones to worship, we’re clothed even more magnificently – in Christ’s perfect righteousness, dressed in spotless, white linen (Is. 61:10, Rev. 19:14).

Sacrifice. And though Solomon may have offered the blood of thousands of bulls, lambs and goats, when we joyfully offer our sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips (Heb. 13:15), to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we offer them through the blood of the Lamb who alone “takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29).

Gifts. Notice, too, that the queen presents precious gifts to Solomon (I Kings 10:10), but they’re nothing compared to the open-ended gift that he gives to her: “And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon” (I Kings 10:13). How well do we know this truth – that those who worship our Lord Jesus receive “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:3).  He holds nothing back from those He loves.

When we consider the majesty and glory of our Savior, how can we not respond to Him in reverence and awe? You see, our worship is no ordinary thing because our Christ is no ordinary King!  Isn’t it something for us to ponder that Jesus Himself tells the Pharisees that this same queen,

“…will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here!” (Matt. 12:42).

Yes, in every way, Christ Jesus, is greater than Solomon:  His wisdom, perfect; the splendor of His church, indescribable; the clothing of His saints, spotless; His sacrificial mercy on the cross, complete; The blessings of His table, eternally satisfying; the gifts of His grace, unending. How the queen’s song of praise to Solomon should be ours when we catch a glimpse of Christ’s glory in worship:

“Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel!” (I Kings 10:8, 9).

Therefore, worshiping Christ Jesus week in and week out ought to fill us with even greater reverence and awe. Why? Because when we gather together on the Lord’s Day, we breathlessly behold the True Son of David, Prophet, Priest, and King! How do we recover a sense of awe in our worship? By focusing on Jesus Christ, one greater than Solomon, our King of kings and Lord of lords. You see, when He meets with us in Word, Sacrament, and Prayer, He’s guaranteed to take our collective breath away!

Dr. Robert D. Cathcart, Jr., is a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and serves as Pastor of Friendship Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Laurens, S.C.