Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!
Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
Praise the Lord with the harp;
make music on the ten-stringed lyre.
Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, shout for joy.
For the word of the Lord is right and true;
He is faithful in all he does.
The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
[Psalm 32:11-33:5]
On Wednesday night I had the privilege to attend a percussion & vocals worship night. Everyone sat in a circle and those who had drums began a simple beat. There were extra drums, maracas, & all kinds of percussion instruments in the middle for anyone to pick up and use if they wanted. The simple beat would always grow & grow until it turned into an orchestral wave of rhythm. Most of the time I just closed my eyes and meditated on the rhythm, but the best part was when we would sing to it. Our voices were the instruments that claimed and maintained the key. I thought it might be awkward to sing along to only percussion, but it was surprisingly easy, & freeing. I found the music to be freshly raw and thus more authentic than worshiping along to an entire band. It was an experience I hope to have again in the future.
Worship is honoring and praising God. I find the most genuine type of worship is that which we do with our lives. But when we're able to connect with God through music, by singing to him from our innermost being, creating melody for him by plucking or bowing some strings or banging on a drum... I just know that's what music was meant for. I feel an awesome sense of God when I'm praising him with music, different and more real than anything other type of love. I guess it's because I know I'm worshipping a Love that will never fail.
