I am the recently-elected pastor of Coit Community CRC in Grand Rapids. Firstly, I thank you for delving into this matter. I have written and preached a plethora of sermons on halal and the different words for praise and how we glibly ignore them in the church. It is important; it is how Yahweh wishes to be acknowledged to the rest of the world. I do not think it is coincidental that when Yahweh shows up to reveal Himself to those outside the circle of faith, He does so in loud ways (thunder rolls, a sound "like" a mighty rushing wind, etc.).
Some things cannot escape our attention:
1) There is no condition or adjetive of any sort used in the admonition of Psalm 150 other than "everything that has breath." Since we have breath, all of us are to use it to sing and shout highly of Yahweh, regardless of our skin tone, or typical volume level.
2) I believe you hit the nail on the head when you stated "We have no problem cheering and shouting out loud at a concert or a match-up of some of our favorite sports teams..." In fact, I would point out that the context of Psalm 100 is the coronation of Yahweh as King upon the return from exile. Worshipping a deity with loud sound was not esoteric to Israel by any means. That is just like worshipping our favorite teams, artists, and musicians (and even politicians-Yahweh help us!) with loud sounds seems normal, but how much more should that type of emotion be reserved for our King?
3) Ancient temple/synagogue worship was in no way quiet. Those worship services were quite loud-even with the congregants responding to and queustioning the ones preaching WHILE they preached. Paul addressed this in 1 Corinthians 14.
There is more, and I do have sources if requested, but I must go now. I am certainly trying to get the membership of Coit to be more expressive but not because that's my Baptist upbringing, but because it is biblical AND practical. A good shout is cathartic. A good shout alerts others for battle. A good shout is the best type of advertisement. I encourage us all to enter into worship with a free spirit, and remember WHO we worship. How dare we ever withhold what He wants from us because of who we are or how we feel. May it never be!
Posted in: What Exactly is High Praise?
Good morning family,
I am the recently-elected pastor of Coit Community CRC in Grand Rapids. Firstly, I thank you for delving into this matter. I have written and preached a plethora of sermons on halal and the different words for praise and how we glibly ignore them in the church. It is important; it is how Yahweh wishes to be acknowledged to the rest of the world. I do not think it is coincidental that when Yahweh shows up to reveal Himself to those outside the circle of faith, He does so in loud ways (thunder rolls, a sound "like" a mighty rushing wind, etc.).
Some things cannot escape our attention:
1) There is no condition or adjetive of any sort used in the admonition of Psalm 150 other than "everything that has breath." Since we have breath, all of us are to use it to sing and shout highly of Yahweh, regardless of our skin tone, or typical volume level.
2) I believe you hit the nail on the head when you stated "We have no problem cheering and shouting out loud at a concert or a match-up of some of our favorite sports teams..." In fact, I would point out that the context of Psalm 100 is the coronation of Yahweh as King upon the return from exile. Worshipping a deity with loud sound was not esoteric to Israel by any means. That is just like worshipping our favorite teams, artists, and musicians (and even politicians-Yahweh help us!) with loud sounds seems normal, but how much more should that type of emotion be reserved for our King?
3) Ancient temple/synagogue worship was in no way quiet. Those worship services were quite loud-even with the congregants responding to and queustioning the ones preaching WHILE they preached. Paul addressed this in 1 Corinthians 14.
There is more, and I do have sources if requested, but I must go now. I am certainly trying to get the membership of Coit to be more expressive but not because that's my Baptist upbringing, but because it is biblical AND practical. A good shout is cathartic. A good shout alerts others for battle. A good shout is the best type of advertisement. I encourage us all to enter into worship with a free spirit, and remember WHO we worship. How dare we ever withhold what He wants from us because of who we are or how we feel. May it never be!