The high praises of God in our mouth . . .
8. MAY CAUSE US TO SHOUT
Is Heaven quiet? Revelation 14:1, 2 says: “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion . . . And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne . . .”
The picture of Christ in Revelation 1:15 describes “His voice as the sound of many waters.”
If you have visited Niagara Falls on the border of USA and Canada, you cannot help but be awed, not only by the magnificence of the falls, but also by the enormous roar of the sound of many waters.
We would do well to ask ourselves: why is the church in general so quiet? Don’t we have anything to be joyful about? The enemy of our souls doesn’t mind us getting excited and shouting at a great football event where we have fleeting joy. But he wants to keep us quiet in church where we worship Jesus Christ who is the “joy of the whole earth.” Everything has to be hush-hush, sedate, and prim and proper.
The early church endured many trials and persecutions. And yet at Stephen’s death he must have been loud and excited when he exclaimed: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord” (Acts 7:56-59). Why would they stop their ears? Obviously he was not quiet.
When Paul and Silas were thrown into prison, Acts 16:25 tells us: “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” They did not sing quietly. All the prisoners heard them praising God.
The Old Testament saints, before the infilling of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, got excited about God. They shouted. Here are just a few examples:
When they dedicated the tabernacle in the wilderness, Leviticus 9:24 tells us: “And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat; which when all the people saw, they SHOUTED, and fell on their faces.”
When King David brought back the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, they brought it back “with SHOUTING, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.”
During King Asa’s reign, he and the people of Judah made a covenant with the Lord to seek Him with all their hearts and souls. They did this with “A LOUD VOICE, and with SHOUTING, and with trumpets, and with cornets” (2 Chronicles 15:12-15).
When they laid the foundation of the temple in Ezra’s time, “They sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a GREAT SHOUT, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. . . . for the people shouted with a LOUD SHOUT, and the noise was heard afar off.”
God’s Word is full of His people SHOUTING FOR JOY (Psalms 5:11; 32:11; 35:11; 47:1; 132:9, 16; Isaiah 12:6; 42:11, 12; Jeremiah 31:7; Zephaniah 3:14; and Zechariah 9:9.)
I think we are much more likely to shout the high praises of God when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and joy. Fathers, it is important for us to pray for our families to be filled with the Holy Spirit and joy.
Acts 13:52 says: “And the disciples were FILLED WITH JOY, and WITH THE HOLY GHOST.” When we have joy, it’s almost impossible not to express it.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell