Praise Him with...a shout?

This blog may get me in trouble. I'm ok with that. I'm not sure anyone actually reads this, so perhaps I won't actually get into any trouble, but even if I do, I'm ok with it.

Last Sunday morning was fantastic. My wonderful pastor has been preaching a message on Psalm 23. I never ever knew there was so much information in Psalm 23. I think he should write a book on it. (hint hint) During this message a visitor, who happened to be sitting close to me, was very...vocal...about her opinions on the message. To be a little more clear, she shouted. Not just arbitrary loud noises, but encouraging affirmations of joy about God's word. I thought it was fantastic! Apparently not everyone shares my opinion. I understand that there are those who seem to think a church service should be somber, quiet and "sacred." Who am I to disagree with adults who must know more than I? So I won't just give my opinion, I'll do what makes people rreeeaaaalllly angry and give God's opinion. Let's start with Psalm 150.

Psalm 150

Let All Things Praise the LORD

 ¹ Praise the LORD!
        
         Praise God in His sanctuary;
         Praise Him in His mighty firmament!
        
 ² Praise Him for His mighty acts;
         Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
        
 ³ Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
         Praise Him with the lute and harp!
 ⁴ Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
         Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
 ⁵ Praise Him with loud cymbals;
         Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
        
 ⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
        
         Praise the LORD!

Does that sound like a somber worship service to you? Yeah, me either. In 2 Chronicles the Bible speaks of the children of God praising Him with voices loud and high. (2 Chronicles 20:19 if you don't believe me) Psalm 98:4-6 says, "⁴ Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.⁵ Sing to the LORD with the harp,With the harp and the sound of a psalm ⁶ With trumpets and the sound of a horn; Shout joyfully before the LORD, the King." Sounds like a lot of shouting going on.

The woman in church was not shouting to be disruptive, she was doing so to praise the God of her salvation! It didn't bother the pastor. In fact, it got him pretty fired up about what he was preaching.

So here's where I'm really going to get in trouble. Shame on you people who try and quench the Spirit of the most high God. Shame on you for supposedly praying for new visitors and then staring at the visitors when they display something you aren'y accustomed to. Shame for not making her feel most welcome. The church service isn't about your likes and dislikes, it should be about God. She was praising God and you want to stop her? She has a faith that she will unabashedly share! We could all learn something from that sort of "reckless abandon."

Let's praise Him with a SHOUT!