Saturday 15 July, 2017

For the director of music. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. 1 Clap your hands, all you nations. Shout to God with cries of joy. 2 Do this because the Lord Most High is wonderful. He is the great King over the whole earth. 3 He brought nations under our control. He made them fall under us. 4 He chose our land for us. The people of Jacob are proud of their land, and God loves them. 5 God went up to his throne while his people were shouting with joy. The Lord went up while trumpets were playing. 6 Sing praises to God. Sing praises. Sing praises to our King. Sing praises. 7 God is the King of the whole earth. Sing a psalm of praise to him. 8 God rules over the nations. He is seated on his holy throne. 9 The nobles of the nations come together. They are now part of the people of the God of Abraham. The kings of the earth belong to God. He is greatly honored.

“…5God has ascended amid shouts of joy,

the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets.

6Sing praises to God, sing praises;

sing praises to our King, sing praises.

7For God is the King of all the earth;

sing to him a psalm of praise.

8God reigns over the nations;

God is seated on his holy throne.”

The Psalmist here speaks of very passionate, strong and vibrant celebrations of God. God being Lord. God being on His throne. God being in charge of everything. God being in control.

If God is Most High (there’s no one higher), and He is the great King, and He is able to take on and overcome whole nations that oppose Him, and He loves His people and gives them an inheritance, is that not a reason for passionate, strong and vibrant celebrations?

Sometimes, I can find myself almost feeling apologetic for the way we as a church worship God. It can seem foreign, strange, or even a bit too exuberant for some. But if God is who He says He is, and He truly is the Highest One, and He loves and gives good gifts to us His people, then there is absolutely no good reason to apologise for my passion, my joy, my hope. In fact, the passion, strength and vibrancy of my celebrations demonstrates how real, how true, how present He is to me, and how strong His promise is in me.

Lord, fill me with joy in you – in who you are, and what you do for us, your people. May the overflow of my heart and life be strong, passionate, and vibrant celebration of you. Amen.

Written by Ps. Rob Waugh