![]() This is true whether I watch them live at a stadium or, perhaps even better, in a room with family and friends. Similar to laughing, and to some extent singing, shouting seems to be designed primarily as a corporate expression of strong emotion, something we find most enjoyable or helpful or needful when we do it with other people.įor example, I’m a shouter when I watch the Minnesota Vikings play football. Certain strong emotions prompt us, any of us, to shout.īut we rarely shout alone. We’ve shouted in the explosion of hot anger. We’ve shouted in moments of great danger. We’ve shouted in the tumult of controversy and argument. We’ve shouted in the tension of competition. We’ve shouted in the exultation of victory. We’ve shouted in the overflow of great joy. If we have voices, we’ve all shouted many times, and for numerous reasons. I wonder if biblical shouting is not only an expression of joyful worship but also a way of experiencing dimensions of joyful worship that we don’t experience otherwise. So, he clearly wants us to do something regarding these references to shouting. He has included everything intentionally. What do we do with these statements? God doesn’t waste his breath in Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16). Psalm 71:23, “My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you my soul also, which you have redeemed.”.Psalm 66:1–2, “ Shout for joy to God, all the earth sing the glory of his name give to him glorious praise!”.Psalm 47:1, “Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!”.Psalm 33:3, “Sing to him a new song play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.”.Psalm 32:11, “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”.Psalm 27:6, “I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy I will sing and make melody to the Lord.”.And so, we need to ask ourselves whether or not it matters to God if we actually do what these psalms commend or command us to do. I think it is relevant, regardless of our style and tone preferences, because we find clear examples and exhortations regarding shouting in the Bible, particularly in the Psalms. Is this even a relevant question? Or is it just a foray into the “worship wars” that devolves into debates over style and tone preferences? Do you ever shout in church as an expression of exultant, exuberant worship? If not, why?
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