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Even so is it written of the "man of sin", the "son of perdition":
"who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or worshipped, so that
he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (II Thess. 2: 4).
We have a foreshadowing of this blasphemous worship in Dan. 3: 1, where we read
of the image made by Nebuchadnezzar, whose height (rum) was three-score cubits. The
same word is repeated in Dan. 4: where the figure changes to a green tree. Its "height"
(rum) is spoken of in verses 10, 11 and 20, its "height reached unto the heaven". It is
comforting to remember the sequel, however. Nebuchadnezzar was brought to recognize
the truth, for he said after his restoration:
"I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol (rum) and honour the king of heaven" (Dan. 4: 37).
Belshazzar is reminded of this by Daniel:
"When his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from
his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him . . . . . And thou his son, O
Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; but hast lifted up
(rum) thyself against the Lord of heaven" (Dan. 5: 20, 23).
Worship, false or true, is never far from the record of Scripture, and, here, worship
and "exaltation", both false and true, are what is stressed.
Leaving such extreme cases, let us look at one or two references in the Psalms that
may help us to see the way in which the exalting of the Lord in His varied relationships
with the redeemed is related to worship.
1. Worship and a sense of utter need.
"Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry
unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher (rum) than
I" (Psa. 61: 1, 2).
Here all ground of boasting in self has disappeared. Prayer is a "cry"; the place of
prayer is "the end of the earth"; the condition in which prayer is made is a heart
"overwhelmed"; the one desire is to be led to the Rock that is higher than man. There
follow words like "shelter", "strong tower", "abide" and "refuge" (margin) which show
that the prayer has been answered. After the pause, "selah", comes worship. Instead of
"Hear my cry", the Psalmist now says, "Thou hast heard my vow" and the Psalm finishes
with the words, "So will I sing praise unto Thy name for ever; that I may daily perform
my vows" (Psalm 61: 5-8).
2. Worship and deliverance.
"O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together" (Psa. 34: 3).
This exaltation of the name of the Lord is called for because of the deliverance
experienced by the Psalmist.