Yesterday, we looked at the first attempt to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. In that effort, no attention was paid to God’s instructions about how to move the Ark. Because of this, Uzzah died when he touched the Ark during the move.
David was angry with God and fearful at the same time. He left the Ark at the home of Obed-Edom. Months later, seeing that God had blessed Obed-Edom during this time, David decided to bring the Ark to Jerusalem.
I love the description of David’s actions as the Ark was being brought: “David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.” (2 Samuel 6:14-15)
David laid aside his royal robes and put on common clothes, the clothes of a servant, somewhat similar to what the High Priest would wear when he entered the Holy of Holies. Chronicles tells us that the Levites and musicians wore the same clothes that David wore. They weren’t royal clothes, but they weren’t immodest, either.
I love the description of David’s worship. He worshiped with all his might. When was the last time I could say that? How often do I come away from a time of worship feeling tired?
This wasn’t prescribed worship. God didn’t tell David to dance, nor to surround the Ark with musicians and their instruments. The Israelites weren’t told to shout for joy. All of this was natural, spontaneous worship of God.
Last week, in the comments section, Jay talked about how the church has forgotten how to celebrate, how to truly rejoice. The Old Testament is full of calls to worship God through feasting and rejoicing. None of that changed in the New Testament.
David, the great king, humbled himself and joined in the celebrations with all the people. He worshiped God with all his might. It’s a beautiful image. It’s a beautiful example for us.
Sadly, I have approached worship services much like I have midterms and finals. I need to make a good grade to pass. I am so caught up in the right answers that I do not stop and appreciate what I have learned and how I have grown.
The only way I can celebrate is when my mind is consumed with what He has done, and is accomplishing today. I cannot do that when I am looking for legalistic land mines left and right. I know God cares about what I do in worship. I also believe that what some teach that God demands is not necessarily what He has had in mind at all.
To be free to celebrate in worship is something I cannot wait to experience one day.
It is hard to worship with all of one’s might when a passage like 1 Cor 14.40 has been erroneously employed to create a worship culture where almost emotive response is regarded as wrong (too charismatic); where an argument from silence has been erroneously employed to turn worship into a legalistic ritual of five acts because the New Testament supposedly does not prescribe any other acts – especially since the Spirit stopped giving the gifts of tongues and prophesy (tongue in cheek); when a worship culture has been created where the worships can only sit, stand, kneel, lifts hands, bow heads, etc… as they are told to do by the worship leader.
If you want to see people worship with all of their might, watch an October baseball game.
Grace and Peace,
Rex
James,
Reminds me of a discussion that I had with a brother in Argentina. I was trying to see if we could arrange the starting time for our assembly so that I could also attend another nearby congregation, which needed some encouragement.
This brother asked, “Why do you feel the need to go to both? Won’t you have fulfilled your obligation by going to one?” When we look at worship as “fulfilling an obligation,” it’s tough to really put ourselves into it.
Grace and peace,
Tim
Rex,
The old “decently and in order” card… how many times has that one been misplayed?
Grace and peace,
Tim
the decent and in order heresy drives me crazy, too.
I love that this shows we can (and really should) do more than what “God has written”
we gotta be careful about the “restrictive” nature of propositional statements
a good NT example is the woman “wasting” perfume to anoint Jesus’ body
Similar to what James says above; when I am consumed by what God did (and does) for me in Christ then my worship is heartfelt and honest. When I walk away from a worship assembly wishing I could stay longer but too tired (emotionally or spiritually) to continue then I know I gave my all in worship.
When I consider God’s gracious gift of salvation, I cannot help but praise Him. I will sing of His salvation to the congregation and to the nations. “Praise the Lord all you nations, Laud Him all peoples. For the steadfast love (merciful kindness) of the Lord is great, and His truth endures forever. Praise the Lord!” Ps 117.
I shared a song online with a brother in Christ. The song is Agnus Dei by Michael W Smith. This brother said he liked the song but he was concerned about the possibility of “vain repetitions” as we are warned against them. He did concede that it’s only a danger if the repetitions are vain.
How sad that some are afraid to worship God in a song that has repetition in it for fear they might be guilty of “vain repetitions”. I ached for those whose upbringing and training has restricted them in their worship of our awesome God.
We will be singing a lot of repetitive Holy Holy Holy’s in heaven.. and none of them will be “vain repetitions”.
Tim,
Don’t you think it’s possible for some individuals to worship “with all their might,” but simply not do so in the manner that David did? i’ve heard several people over the years say, “if we really loved God more, you’d see more passionate, emotional display when we worship.” Well, maybe that’s true for some individuals. But how do i know the person hanging their head in prayer *isn’t* worshipping with all their might? Not everyone expresses emotional depth in the same way.
–guy
Guy,
I think that’s very possible. My grandmother was hardly expressive during church, yet she cried every time she took the Lord’s Supper. There was passion to her worship that didn’t express itself in the way we see in other people.
Sometimes physical exuberance is a mask for a lack of passion rather than an expression of passion.
Grace and peace,
Tim Archer
Now you’re getting into heart languages and cultural expressiveness – which is part of the reason freedom in Christ is SO important! Our hearts don’t express themselves in the same ways! (although I do struggle to understand people whose hearts express joy and excitement one way when their team wins a game and another way – usually “decently and in order” – when God wins another soul at a baptism)
While we are free to express ourselves in our own languages, we are not free to submit to fear. Yes, I know my message on this, over the course of the last few posts, sounds very conflicted. But that’s because it is.
I agree with Guy that its possible for people to worship God with all their might in various expressions, ranging from the very charismatic to the very tranquil. But I also think in our fellowship, few were given the freedom to express in any way but tranquil…as they were groomed to believe anything else was unbiblical, to worship God in vain. And I’ve seen some of these people become very enlivened and passionate about other things (nation, family, sports, etc…) but not for God because that would have been wrong.
Thankfully things have changed in some places. In other places, the shackles still need to be unlocked.
Grace and peace,
Rex
And still, we need to be aware that there is a reality of giving only your emotion without giving your intellect (or vice-versa!, liked what K. Rex said about only being able to follow the leader). The Israelites were warned NOT to be like the peoples around them whose worship of their idols was very emotional (perhaps because their idols were so obviously without intellect?). I want to worship with my whole being – or as Paul said it: “So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.” (1 Cor. 14:15).
Yes, the Israelites were warned NOT to be like the peoples around them.
No, they were not warned not to worship emotionally.
How anyone can read the Psalter and come to that conclusion is beyond me. Just try to convince a Semitic worshipper not to be emotional about the worship of their god.
i believe that a persons emotionally expressions can be forged not only in their personal life and immediate family and friend circles, but also in their broader cultural contexts. And i don’t see why their church can’t be a part of that broader cultural context. It may very well be that their church has erroneously forced “tranquility” as the only proper posture for emotional expressiveness on the congregants. But that doesn’t change the fact that many of those congregants *developed* a tranquil mode of emotional expression in the process. Even if you told those people they were free to engage in other modes, it may just be too late in terms of development. They are simply tranquil expressers. And i don’t see how there’s anything wrong with that. But i’ve met a great number of religious people (even in my own CoC congregation) who think that if you don’t jump up, shout, clap, cry, wave your hands in the air, etc.–you are doing something wrong. You are lying or not being yourself or not really being joyful for God. That seems to me to be every bit as judgmental and repressive as those who force tranquility on others. Even if an entire congregation came to the opinion that, yes, other modes of expression are perfectly acceptable, it may still be the case that the entire congregation chooses to remain tranquil, and they aren’t any less joyous or emotionally engaged than a congregation down the street doing cartwheels and hurdling pews.
What i find slightly more puzzling (but not entirely surprising) is why there is an emphasis these days on emotional expression. What if i’m simply “not in the mood”? Is it impossible for me to still worship even when i’m cranky? Even when i’m just feeling “blah”? It seems to me that i could be in some kind of bad mood and yet still meditate on God’s goodness, sincerely speak and express praise and joy to Him, and still choose to find Him worthy of adoration and reverence. So why this obsession with the need to *feel* something? There are times when i’m not in a particularly good mood or *feel* very loving toward my wife. That doesn’t mean i can’t love her, adore her, and express that to her.
i bring up the puzzle also for another reason. i remember growing up in a youth group and feeling guilty at just about every other youth event i ever went to if i wasn’t “feeling” something. Like if i wasn’t crying, then i wasn’t really worshipping or something. (it wasn’t ever put quite so bluntly, but i remember sensing that the message was clear.) i found that same emphasis even when i was a youth minister and took my kids to youth gatherings. The event was significantly and obviously designed to elicit a feeling and mood. And the success or quality of the event was often judged by how evidently that feeling or mood was produced. To what degree can a feeling or mood be genuine when had under so much pressure to have it? i’ve had friends visit congregations and later tell me they hated it because they frankly felt manipulated.
–guy
Guy,
Like many things, I think that there has been a pendulum-type reaction to the anti-emotion sentiment that has so long been expressed in the churches of Christ. My wife was present in a ladies class where the statement was made: “Emotion has no place in our worship.”
I don’t want to say that you have to dance in the aisles every worship service. But I don’t believe that the Old Testament worship with shouts and cries of joy suddenly became a funeral atmosphere in the New Testament. Even if you don’t clap and cheer, shouldn’t you feel like it at times?
My wife doesn’t care much for football, not having grown up with the game. But she told me that she actually jumped to her feet and cheered a few weeks ago when a receiver made an incredible catch in the endzone. She said, “I just couldn’t help it, it was such a great play.”
Shouldn’t we feel a bit of that from time to time?
Grace and peace,
Tim Archer
Tim,
i certainly don’t find your post mistaken that some people who are naturally expressive in the ways you mention can find themselves quite suppressed in our fellowship. i’d agree with that.
What i disagree with (not saying this is your position, i just think it is a related position, and one i’ve encountered with some frequency): i don’t think anyone should be made to feel (by whatever means) as though they *must* or *ought* be expressive in the ways you mention.
First, as i said before, some people just aren’t naturally expressive in the ways you mention. i’ve been to rock concerts with people who never sing along or dance or hoot or holler. ROCK CONCERTS, mind you. And yet at the end of it they exclaim that they had a great time or it was one of the best shows they’ve ever been to. Why, then, should i expect such a person to be exuberantly expressive in worship?
Second, even if a person does hoot and holler at a rock concert (much like myself–just went to a Flyleaf concert with friends not but two weeks ago), i still don’t see why that necessarily suggests they would feel and act the same way in worship. Even though i am elated and excited in a rock concert, i don’t personally feel precisely the same way when i’m in worship. Not because i’m not elated and excited when i’m in worship sometimes, but because elation and excitement are not the only things i feel. Even when i feel elated in worship, i also feel at the same time awe, reverence, conviction, contrition, humbling gratitude, etc. i am not feeling that whole mix at a rock concert. And if i did feel that whole mix at a rock concert, i would personally act very differently than i do when i’m there. And frankly, sometimes in worship i’m really not feeling much of anything because i’m just experiencing a numb, blah sort of day.
Third, shouldn’t i sometimes feel like clapping and cheering? No, for two reasons. I think it’s one thing to say i should rejoice and revel; it’s another thing to say i am obligated to feel something. Obligation to ‘feel’ seems to presuppose i have some direct control over my emotions. i simply don’t think i have that kind of control. i do believe i have indirect control, and i think my indirect control is sometimes efficacious and sometimes not. But i believe “rejoice” and “revel” can refer to attitudes and dispositions over which i do have control. Thus, Job can still exclaim praise and worship for God even in the midst of his suffering. But i really don’t think Job felt happy or elated nor like clapping or cheering–and i don’t think God expected him to. And again, even if i do feel happy, i don’t think that necessarily means i feel like clapping and cheering because i may just not be a clappy, cheery sort of person. Perhaps when i’m happy, i feel like smiling and that’s all. Perhaps when i’m really happy, i feel like crying tears of joy, or maybe i just feel like singing louder than usual.
i think you’re right–i don’t think worship became a funeral setting in the NT. That is a mistaken characterization, and i believe it is wrong for churches to force that kind of ambiance on their worship gatherings. People in our fellowship have treated “funeral-appropriate”-like emotional expressions as though they are a correct or privileged class of expressions in worship contexts; in other words, people who don’t behave in funeral-appropriate ways somehow ‘don’t get it’ or ‘don’t really know what worship is about.’ (Haven’t you encountered that attitude or teaching? i certainly have–years ago i’ve, regrettably, even heard things similar come out of my own mouth.) i think it’s equally mistaken (and frankly can become just as suppressive) to suggest that people who don’t behave in “concert-appropriate” ways somehow ‘don’t get it’ or ‘don’t really know what worship is about.’
Do you really think otherwise? If so, why?
–guy
Guy,
No, I don’t think that such people “don’t get it.” It’s as wrong to force expressiveness on anyone as it is to forbid it.
I just feel that people should feel the same need to celebrate that they do in other settings. The person who isn’t particularly expressive at the rock concert shouldn’t be expected to show much emotion in church, either. However, when people exuberantly sing their school’s fight song, then halfheartedly sing “How Great Thou Art,” something’s not right. That’s what I’m getting at.
Grace and peace,
Tim Archer
Tim,
i think there is a difference in saying a person is obligated to celebrate, and a person is obligated to feel like celebrating. i can definitely have a party even when i don’t feel like it. In fact, sometimes i need to celebrate even when i don’t feel like it. i think i can honor, adore, praise, revere, and rejoice in God even when i don’t really feel like it. And i need to do such things whether i feel like it or not.
Now when people have more willingnesss or natural inclination toward celebrating, say, their patriotism or their son’s birthday or their favorite sports team’s victory than they do Jesus’ resurrection, then yes, i think we are in complete agreement–this speaks to poorly ordered priorities. (But i’m not sure that style or degree of expressions necessarily reveal these priorities in every case.)
–guy
Tim,
i know i argue a lot sometimes, but i hope i don’t even for a minute come across as not appreciating your blog and your thoughts. i think you talk about very pertinent issues that not many talk much about, and i deeply respect your perspective on them.
–guy
Thanks Guy. The respect is mutual.