"harp and frame drum, reed-pipe and lyre"
~ 1 Samuel 10:5
"trumpets of silver" ~ Numbers 10:1
"bells of pure gold" ~ Exodus 39:25
"cymbals for lifting up with the voice for joy"
~ 1 Chronicles 15:16
I had an interesting experience at church this weekend. Well, the past several weekends, really... Our church has been hosting a series of concerts designed to appeal to the early 20's crowd. We want to give them a place to hang out, and connect with one another, so the bands are of varying styles, but all of them are... well, loud. Several of them have been new to me, and more than one has been rap, or hip-hop, and I'm really not familiar with that style of music at all. Sometimes they have the lyrics up on the screen, so I know what they're singing, but other times they don't.
But what's been such a joy to discover is that I don't have to be familiar with the songs to find myself worshipping. And I don't have to know all the lyrics to leave feeling uplifted, and with my head and heart focused on the Lord. Because regardless of how everyone in the room might choose to worship, we all choose to. The lead singer will share Scripture verses and the ways God has been speaking to him, and it all rings true to me. There's just something about genuine, heartfelt praise that unites us.
As I got to thinking about this, I thought of the concert I went to a few months ago, that was all Gregorian chant. And I thought of all the different instruments mentioned in Scripture. God loves variety. Remember, this is the Creator responsible for the 900,000+ variety of insects on the earth ~ that we know about! This tells me that He loves our praise and worship, no matter the form ~ or volume ~ we prefer.
The time will come when we will give Him glory with one voice, but until then, I'm convinced He appreciates the variety and harmony we offer Him!
~ "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord...
make a loud noise, and rejoice
and sing praise" ~
Psalm 98:4
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