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"Clap Your Hands", by Fred F. McKinnon | (more teachings)
"Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth." Psalm 47:1-2 (NKJV)
We have all heard these verses time and time again. We have probably even sung them in our services. All too often we seem to forget that this is the Word of God, a command to us, inspired by the Holy Spirit.
This particular psalm is addressed to the "Chief Musician" and is ascribed to the "sons of Korah." The "sons of Korah" are descendants of Korah who were appointed by David to be the Levitical choir. They were appointed to minister in the temple liturgy. With this in mind, one could conclude that clapping our hands and shouting to the Lord are appropriate forms of praise during congregational worship.
In verse one, the word "clap" is derived from "taqa" (tah-kah); Strong's Concordance # 8628. It means "to clatter, clang, sound, blow (trumpets), clap, strike." It occurs more than 65 times.
" . . . taqa' indicates energy and enthusiasm. Here all the nations are commanded to clap their hands and shout triumphantly to God. Formalistic religion seeks to discourage this kind of worship, although God has built into the human being an almost instinctive urge to clap and shout when victory is experienced." (quoted from Spirit-Filled Life Bible)
The second verse of this psalm gives us good reason to rejoice in this manner: " . . . the Lord Most High is awesome" and "is a great King over all the earth." Isn't this still true today? The devil's forces would have us believe that this type of praise is not appropriate. Don't we have just reason to rejoice? Let us cast off all restraint and truly rejoice in the presence of our King of Kings!
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(References and Quotes from the Spirit-Filled Life Bible: ©1991, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Used with permission.) |
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