The Physiology Of Praise Series

It was before my time, but I remember my parents talking about

going to see silent movies. The movies made no sound, but according

to Sam Levinson in his book Everything But Money, the audience

made plenty of sound. As the hero and the villain shot it out, each

firing two thousand shots without loading, the audience would be

providing the sound effects.

When the hero appeared everybody cheered, and when the villain

came on everybody booed. When the hero kissed the girl 400 kids

would kiss their elbows and fill the theatre with kissing sounds. He

made it clear that silent movies were far from noiseless. He goes on,

"We screamed warnings, we screamed approval, we screamed at

each other. Fights broke out, We stamped, we whistled, we wept

when the faithful dog whined over his master's wounded body." The

point is, it was by making noise and movement that the people

entered into and participated in the drama unfolding on the screen.

This is the same idea that we see in the worship experience of the

Old Testament. It was not a passive experience, but one where the

people participated and became very active by adding sound and

movement of the body. There was also a place for silence and a quiet

worship experience where the people would be still and sense the

presence of God. Most of the songs of the Old Testament, however,

were songs calling for sounds of all kinds. Psa. 47 for example begins,

not with quiet meditation and prayer, but clapping of the hands and a

shouting to God with cries of joy.

The noise level was likely something like that of the old theatre

where people got their body involved in the experience. Body

involvement in worship is a subject we do not often think about, but

the Bible is full of it. It is of interest that most of the hand clapping in

the Bible is evil. That is, it is of the wicked clapping and rejoicing at

the suffering of the people of God. Clapping was an expression of

delight and approval, and evil people clap at evil for they approve of

it and get pleasure in it, just as people today clap for comedians who

use the foulest of language and ridicule God. But in contrast to man

who claps more for evil, the world of nature is always pictured as

clapping its hands for the glory of God.

In Psa. 98:8 we read, "Let the rivers clap their hands, let the

mountains sing together for joy." In Isa. 55:12 we read, "You will go

out in joy and be led forth in peace. The mountains and the hills will

burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their

hands." Nature makes a lot of noise in praising God. The bottom

line is, where there is a lot of noise, there is action and involvement,

and so worship was noise oriented because man was to make sounds

to express his praise of God, and joy in the Lord. Nature joins him,

for nature by its very being and beauty praises its maker, just as any

work of art is the glory of its creator. The Bible answers the age old

question: "If a tree falls in the woods, and there is no one there to

hear it, does it make a noise?" The answer is yes, because there is

always someone there to hear it-God. He hears every clap of every

tree in the forest.

This Psalm was part of the New Years Day celebration in the

synagogue where they sing it 7 times and then blow the trumpets.

The same Hebrew word for clap here is used over 40 times for

blowing the trumpet. The idea is to make a joyful noise. In order to

do that you have to go beyond the heart, mind, and soul, and love God

with all your strength. That means with the instrument by which you

produce energy, which is your body. You can pray silently but in a

public expression of worship praises are to be fairly loud, for they are

symbolic of enthusiastic thanksgiving. What if you went to a Fourth

of July celebration and they said that this year we are going to have a

quiet celebration and just light candles? The protest would be wild

because noise is necessary to convey the joy and gratitude for our

freedoms in this land. How much more should there be noise of joy

when we celebrate the grace of God?

The volume that comes out of the mouth seems to be a Biblical

issue. Listen to these verses:

Psa. 98:4, "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth; make a

loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise."