I've always joked that you can make a better case to play drums in worship than you can an organ. Not many people appreciated that as we went through the worship war years. But Psalm 150 backs me up.
No, I'm not suggesting the psalm is mandating what instruments we should use in our worship. That's not how I read the text at all. Instead, Psalm 150 seems to be a pull-out-all-the-stops approach to the worship of our good God. It's not an "only these" list, but a sense of "bring everything you've got."
Are there times to be more reflective and quiet in our sanctuaries? I believe so. Do we need less distractions and more meditation? Probably. And are some people looking to worship music to soothe a consumeristic itch? I'm sure.
But the surpassing greatness of God draws us to celebration. As one worship song asks, "How can I keep from singing?" So, we gather our instruments not for the hype, but for the hope. Our sanctuaries cannot always be silent places of praise. We must fill them with the sound of victory as we praise the God who raised Jesus from the grave and raises us with him.
As we do, we nurture the praise of our people. "Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!" the psalmist says. Is that not both an invitation and instruction? Who breathes? The selfless servant and the selfish saint. The overworked mom and busy single father breathe. The fully devoted and the barely involved breathe. The poor man has breath. The undocumented worker has breath. The disabled child, the wrongly incarcerated and the forgotten have breath.
Psalm 150, then, is an invitation for them to know God's goodness and respond in praise. But it's also a calling for us as God's people to ensure we "let" those with breath praise the Lord. To let people find their voice of praise.
Stay blessed...john |
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