Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: Sing forth the
honour of his name: make his praise glorious. (Psalm 66:1-2)
I almost laugh out loud when I
read this first verse. This is why: years ago, our little church wasn’t exactly
blessed with people who could carry a tune. Those who could sing sang softly,
so you could only hear those who belted it out loudly—and badly! We were in the
process of starting the new church, and most of our people weren’t from an
evangelical background, so the songs were new to them. One of our ladies wanted
us to tape the singing so that she could take the tapes home and learn
the choruses. Oh, it was awful! You can’t imagine how awful. At the time, my
husband and the other pastor said, “At least we’re making a joyful NOISE.”
Well, it was that!
Today, the church has grown; the
congregation has changed. We have quite a few African believers with wonderful
voices who love to sing. Congregational singing actually sounds lovely! It’s
not only “making a joyful noise,” it’s one step closer to “glorious praise.”
What a blessing!
But, you know what? I think God
was also pleased with the joyful noises we made years ago, with the same heart
of praise.
I think probably so. :-)
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