Sunday September 23, 2007 | Greg Boyd
I will sing a new song to you, my God;
on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,
God delights in the praises of His people. The manner in which we worship is not important. God is only concerned with our hearts and desire to worship. There are many ways to express our love for God through praise and worship, and it is in this diversity that we see the full beauty of our God.
God delights in the praises of His people. The manner in which we worship is not important. God is only concerned with our hearts and desire to worship. There are many ways to express our love for God through praise and worship, and it is in this diversity that we see the full beauty of our God.
Worship can be expressed in many ways. There isn’t a specific one right way of doing it. Worship can involve singing old songs like hymns and spiritual songs or the singing of a contemporary or new song (Psalm 144:9). Worship can be expressed instrumentally (Psalm 150:3-5). As well, worship can be either quiet and reflective (Psalm 71:22) or it can be loud and celebratory (Psalm 66:8, 71:23, 98:4, 98:6). Our God is someone to shout about, and He is also someone to be in reverential awe of. All of these expressions are appropriate ways to worship and praise God.
Praising the Lord involves our hearts and minds, but it also involves our bodies. Praise can include the clapping of hands (Psalm 47:1) and the lifting of hands (Psalms 63:4, Psalm 134:2). Worship and praise can also include dancing before the Lord (Psalm 149:3, Psalm 150:4, Isaiah 30:11). Whether it’s with our lips, hands, feet, or even getting on our knees, we can express our worth to God with the use of our bodies.
God is also glorified in the diversity of musical expressions of worship represented in the many cultures of our world. God is establishing a Kingdom that one day will include all people coming together to worship him (Revelation 7:9-10). As Kingdom of God people our job is to manifest this now and be less concerned on personal musical preferences, and learn to appreciate that the beauty of God is expressed in the cultural diversity of worship.