11-18-13 Shouting and Thanksgiving

1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2     Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Thoughts: Singing and thanksgiving seem to go together.  When we are grateful we want to sing, give thanks, praise and yes... even shout.  We are at the end of American football- but it also applies to soccer.  People get excited scream and shout.  There seems to have to be some venue to do this.   I have heard many shout at marathons, at rallys for various causes, in bars, or even sales parties.  I remember sitting in the waiting room waiting for my grandchildren to be born (different occassions).  Each time I would hear a shout and "Yes!" from family members.  I knew the baby was born.
    The NIV translates 100:1 as "Shout to the Lord all the earth."  If we can shout about football, surely we can get excited about our relationship with God.  God has put shouting inside of us.  Every bet of good-natured excitement is a gift from God.  He makes the heights from which we jump (and the gravity and the risk of injury).  He makes the sinews and muscles and DNA that enables the best of us to break the record, to do the unthinkable and push the limits.  

    However, being Presbyterian I keep my shouts a bit muffled about God.  But I am still reserving a shout for the really grand occasions of answered prayer.  I struggle with how shouting and good manners go together.  For I do not want to draw attention to myself- only to God.  

Scripture gives no boundaries of when we are to shout or not.  Perhaps we should go to our prayer closet, close the door and shout at the top of our lungs to Him who is unseen (Mt. 6:6).  On the other hand- to only praise God in private is to tell the world we may get excited about football but not about God.  The Psalms and Chronicles speak of people shouting from rooftops and walls.  Some things are worth shouting about- so yes- "Shout to the Lord!"  But use your cultural mores in doing so.  Yet, push the boundaries of these.  Let your excitement about God overflow.  Thanks expresses itself the best in shouting and in song (which we will look at tomorrow).  

Prayer:  Lord, use my lips, my voice, my gutteral cry and exclamation to bring you honor and praise.  You are worth my attention and excitement.  May my heart as well as my my mind and strength praise and grow in love for you!