A MIGHTY CELEBRATION - by Calvin
"David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD." Can you imagine how loud and raucous this time of worship might have been? The rest of verse 5 in 2 Samuel Chapter 6 tells us that God's people used harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals. They certainly followed the admonition to" love the LORD with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength!" After all, they were celebrating the presence of God in their midst.
We encounter God in such mighty worship today. Psalm 47:5 tells us, "God has ascended amid the shouts of joy, the LORD amid the sounding trumpets." If true worship occurs under the inspiration of God's Spirit, then great freedom is required for a mighty celebration such as this. I personally enjoy rich encounters with the living God when I celebrate in the congregation with all my might as David did.
On the other hand, I have also experienced the profound presence of God in the liturgy of the " Great Litany." I know the ecstasy of beholding God in silent contemplation. You see, we meet with God in a mighty way through all forms of worship when we approach him in Spirit and in truth. Liturgy is not dead but the Spirit may be lacking. Loud songs of praise are not irreverent but the Spirit may be lost in human emotion.
The same King David who danced before the LORD with all his might and even shed his clothes because of his exuberance, also knew how to seek the face of the Lord in silence and stillness. He not only wrote psalms but David and the whole house of Israel prayed them together liturgically.
My experience tells me that the God I worship, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is so great that no single form of human expression is adequate to know him fully. It is good to embrace all the styles of worship from all the Christian traditions through all the centuries of the Church. And by the way, many of these expressions date back to our Jewish roots before the time of Christ.
In all honesty, the inspiration for this entry came to me in the midst of loud and passionate praise. But I also seek the LORD in the ancient liturgies and in the ancient discipline of silent contemplation. The voice of the LORD is powerful and it thunders over the waters. But God is also found in silence where we hear his still small voice. We should be like him.
What is your experience? Share your thoughts with us by writing a comment.
At His Mercy,
Calvin
We encounter God in such mighty worship today. Psalm 47:5 tells us, "God has ascended amid the shouts of joy, the LORD amid the sounding trumpets." If true worship occurs under the inspiration of God's Spirit, then great freedom is required for a mighty celebration such as this. I personally enjoy rich encounters with the living God when I celebrate in the congregation with all my might as David did.
On the other hand, I have also experienced the profound presence of God in the liturgy of the " Great Litany." I know the ecstasy of beholding God in silent contemplation. You see, we meet with God in a mighty way through all forms of worship when we approach him in Spirit and in truth. Liturgy is not dead but the Spirit may be lacking. Loud songs of praise are not irreverent but the Spirit may be lost in human emotion.
The same King David who danced before the LORD with all his might and even shed his clothes because of his exuberance, also knew how to seek the face of the Lord in silence and stillness. He not only wrote psalms but David and the whole house of Israel prayed them together liturgically.
My experience tells me that the God I worship, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is so great that no single form of human expression is adequate to know him fully. It is good to embrace all the styles of worship from all the Christian traditions through all the centuries of the Church. And by the way, many of these expressions date back to our Jewish roots before the time of Christ.
In all honesty, the inspiration for this entry came to me in the midst of loud and passionate praise. But I also seek the LORD in the ancient liturgies and in the ancient discipline of silent contemplation. The voice of the LORD is powerful and it thunders over the waters. But God is also found in silence where we hear his still small voice. We should be like him.
What is your experience? Share your thoughts with us by writing a comment.
At His Mercy,
Calvin
Amen brother! That worship must have been awesome! Praising our King with all of our strength is the best thing we can do in any situation, he is most certainly worthy!
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Thank you Alan. To God be all glory.
At His Mercy,
Calvin
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