Is it OK to worship with Joy?—part 1

Is it OK to worship with Joy?—part 1

Psalm 34:2 “My soul (nephesh 5315) shall make her boast (halal 1984) in the LORD (Y@hovah 3068): the humble (anav 6035) shall hear (shama) thereof, and be glad (samach 8055).”* There are some well-meaning Christians that believe that our worship should be sedate and staid.  By the term staid I mean prim or self-resistant which goes along with the concept of the worshiper maintaining an attitude of quiet peace i.e. sedateness. 

            I do not promote an atmosphere of chaos in public worship, but I do believe that Psalm 35:27 teaches us to make a great acclamation unto the LORD when it says, “Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favor my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant” and Nehemiah 8:10 teaches us that we should worship YHVH with joy when it states, “Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

*We will deal with the original word meanings in the posts that will follow..

            Thought for the Day

Everyone that I have known in my life time who was extremely happy made some acclamation of joy.  So, I maintain that if a worshiper is happy in the Lord, it is appropriate for him or her to let others know it in public worship.  God wants to be a living sacrifice not a dead one.