The LORD is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident . . . For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. Hear my voice when I call O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me . . . I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27: 1-3, 5-7, 13, 14, NIV.
Gracious God, in the perilous times in which we live, we ask that Your Holy Spirit will descend upon us and prepare us to stand firm for what we believe. May we be completely surrendered to You as we study Your Word. In the precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
“At his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.” We have heard it said, that every action brings as a result a reaction. I believe that is true, The reaction can be direct, or, indirect; it can be positive or negative. It seems to me, that we usually look at reactions as negative. But depending on the stimulus that we are reacting to, they can also be positive. When God saves us from our enemies, especially, when it is done in a miraculous way, that action could produce a delightful reaction, which is usually in accordance with the personality of the individual, effusive or solemn.
We read in sacred Scripture, “Daniel then said to the king,” in response to the king’s question, if he was all right; ‘O king live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.’ ” We may perceive this answer from different perspectives. Some may perceive it as a very sober response (quite serious). Others could even perceive it as a somber response (dull, grave). I hear it as a shout of triumph! “O king, thank you very much for your sincere concern; but, my God is able! Hallelujah! All creation still obey His command! The lions could not hurt me because they heard the voice of the Creator saying, ‘Sit!’ ‘Stay!’ and the only thing they could do, was obey!” Praise the Lord!
You wonder why some of us cannot worship silently? First of all, it is because that is our personality. Everything we do, we “do it with [our] might,” as unto God, and not to humans (Ecclesiastes 9: 10), I am a believer that we worship God according to our personality type. And even though I think of Daniel as a very sedate, and composed individual, I BELIEVE THAT DAY, HE ACTED JUST A LITTLE, “OUT OF HIS CHARACTER!” My friends, when by God’s mercies and grace, you have been granted a new lease on life, I really do not know how you can ever be the same again! To some it may be “too much,” to others it may be perceived as “a performance,” but to God who sees the heart, it is nothing but praise – pure, unadulterated praise, that ascends before His throne as sweet incense! Glory to His name!
The second reason some of us are vocal in our worship is because we have something to shout about! God is good and the world needs to know it! When the religious leaders of Jesus’ day tried to quiet the children and the other people who were praising Jesus in the temple, Jesus reminded them that if the people, the creatures created in His image, did not shout, inanimate creation would – “the stones would immediately cry out” (Luke 19: 40)! Hungry lions had acted as if Daniel did not even exist! That is completely out of the norm! Proof of that is found in the record of what happened to the enemies of Daniel, “Before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces” (6: 24b, NRSV)! Daniel had witnessed what could have happened to him, “but for the grace of God” (John Bunyan)! How could he not get excited and shout the praises of Almighty God?
The third reason (there are many more), and by far the most important! If there was no other reason, we would still praise the Lord, with everything we have, because we love Him so! He is the air we breathe! He is the joy and rejoicing of our souls and lives! He is the One who gives us a reason, and a desire, to live! He is our Sustainer! He is our Deliverer! He is our Provider! He is our Healer! He is the Rock on which our lives are built! He is the Lover of our souls! He is our Alpha and Omega; without Him we would have no beginning, and we would have no end worth looking forward to! He is our Life! He is our All!
I am a firm believer in decency and order in our worship services. And when worshipers are under the control of the Holy Spirit, everything will be done in just that manner! So when God does something for you, tell whosoever will listen to you; and tell it as the Spirit impresses you! Your testimony might be just what someone is needing to find hope; to find the strength to go on in this valley of tears. So do not keep it to yourself, “[S]acrifice with shouts of joy . . . sing and make music to the LORD.”