Psalm 149a "For the Lord takes delight in His people..."
A number of times in the Bible, the Word makes it clear that God enjoys us. I know we put a lot of emphasis on accountability for our sin and for being humble about anything that we do right and/or well. This focus is for a good reason. Our sinful nature plus our proclivity for getting out of control are a combination for trouble and it is better to exercise our spiritual freedom from a starting point of some restraint than to try to corral our tendency towards wantonness at the beginning of our expressions of freedom.
This need for restraint though is a bit of a straightjacket for 'letting go' in order to demonstrate our passion for God. This Psalm is a wonderful example of how we should consider more unbridled zeal towards God and be somewhat more un-tethered in our worship and praise. In these verses there are a few words that should open us up to some fresh possibilities for how we could be more creative. I believe that God would enjoy that. My thought is that we should enjoy a whole lot more God enjoying us.
The words are... 'new song', 'rejoice and be glad', 'dancing and making music', 'tambourine and harp', 'sing for joy on their beds'. What this implies is some unrestrained freedom in expressing our honoring of and praising God. First of all, we must keep singing new songs, even though we know the old ones and there is definitely deep value in the songs we know, but there is something unique and special about 'new songs', that God enjoys. Our worship and praise should be joyful and happy. Not just reflective, but full of great exaltation. Worship should be inspirational and enjoyable.
Uh oh, dancing and music-making are next. Yes, we must find a way to dance to the Lord and to make music, not just in our hearts and with our mouths, but with our feet too. I'm not suggesting that we break into break-dancing or the waltz either, but there does need to be some movement, after all, God enjoys that. We need to learn how we can dance for the Lord in some way that is both meaningful and that He enjoys.
Next comes the tambourines and harps. These two instruments conjure up for us almost opposite pictures. The tambourine nowadays symbolizes an almost old-time religion that at its extreme could include snakes and scorpions. On the 'other hand' (harps may take two hands to play huh?) the harp signifies angels floating on clouds in the afterlife, with an almost surreal serenity. Interesting huh? I know these are limited views of the two instruments, but you get the picture. So get the message. There must be time for candles and quiet with harps maybe..... and time for tambourines and dancing, maybe with banners and streamers. Am I making plans for Grace Harbor? Maybe, as the Spirit leads with some restraint.
Last is this picture of God being glad and enjoying when we sing on our beds. For me this simply means that we should praise Him from one end of the day to the other. We talk a lot about waking up with Him and making Him our first thought, but how about our last thought too. Not a bad way to frame your day. God would enjoy that.
So here is my recommendation. God enjoys it so let's dance and sing and shout for joy and be glad with all kinds of instruments and expressions giving Him the glory for all of it at all times, but especially in worship.
With joy, Pastor Fred
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