Worship Questions Part 1 - How Loud is too Loud?

Ok, so it seems that the first issue we need to tackle is the volume of worship. How loud is too loud?

The main problem we run into when we start talking about volume is that the arguments usually head toward worship style and instrumentation. It seems that in our minds we see things like piano, organ and strings as quiet and guitars and drums as loud.

If you've ever heard a real pipe organ with all the stops pulled you know that this is not the case!

So, in order to talk about this topic we're going to ignore style and instrumentation and do our best to talk about volume and attitude.

What does God think is the perfect volume for worship?

When we look at the Biblical accounts of corporate worship we see that God likes exuberant and elaborate praise with lots of dancing and excitement!

Take a look at this...

So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn. As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.

2 Samuel 6:15-16 (ESV)

...and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 priests who were trumpeters; and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever," the house, the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

2 Chronicles 5:12-14 (ESV)

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created."

Revelation 4:8-11 (ESV)

So there are just a few examples of worship as it it is shown in the Bible. Take a bit and think about each of those passages. In the next couple days we'll unpack them and look at a couple others so that we can get a good view of how people in the Bible worship God.

Stay tuned for part 2...