Wear Ear Plugs

If you are a unexcited and reserved Presbyterian who regards clapping in the sanctuary as an abomination, or, if you are a empty-of-emotion Methodist who likes worship to be so quiet you can hear the deep snoring around you, or, if you are an unbendable wet-all-over Baptist who does not want anything to ever change, or, if you are one of those "I'm against everything that ain't old" Pentecostals who is uninterested in new ways to praise God,--if you are anyone of these, then you will need some ear plugs when you read the 47th Psalm. 

 

The 47th Psalm is a noisy and rambunctious piece of holy scripture.  It begins with "Clap your hands, all you people" only to be followed by "shout to God with loud songs of joy."   Already it is getting out of hand for those of who call ourselves Methodists!  But, there is more.  Verses 6-7 read, "Sing praises to God, sing praises, sing praises to our King, sing praises...sing praises with a psalm."  Sounds like a lot singing for those whose worship is musically limited!   Finally, the clincher comes with verse 5 which says, "God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet."   Must be true that heaven is a noisy place full of praises that would overwhelm human ears.

 

This Psalm is truly a Psalm of praise.  It is one that exalts God and anyone who truly reads it is left with no alternative but to join in the spirit of praise which leaps from its verses.  Like a mountain waterfall that noisily spills over the precipice and cascades down a sheer wall into a waiting tumultuous pool, so does the praise of God spill out of this Psalm into the heart of anyone who comes to it with a spirit of praise and worship.  But, be warned.  Either join in the stream of praise, or go buy yourself some ear plugs for there is nothing which can be done to stop the praise that is ongoing to this mighty God revealed to us in the Word.