“Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.”
~ Psalm 47:1
Hi James and Ellen,
Can you keep a beat? Can you sing? Can you play a musical instrument? Your grandpaa cannot clap to the beat of a song. Your grandpaa’s ability to sing is so bad that a gal who was looking for guys to sing in the church choir that she directed asked the guys and gals who were at the party where your grandmaa, grandpaa and the choir director were at to all sing off tune so that they would all be singing in tune with your grandpaa. Your grandpaa has never tried to play a musical instrument. Your grandpaa does like to listen to choirs and instrumental arrangements. God – as God the Spirit, breathed on guys psalm songs to scribe. Psalm 47 was scribed as a chorus psalm song. This psalm song is a chorus which celebrates the reign that God – as God the Father, has over everything in His creation. This psalm song is a chorus for the psalm song that is before it and after it. This psalm song chorus has been used in liturgies. A liturgy is how a temple or a church service takes place week after week. This psalm song chorus was used for special temple feast days during Solomon’s lifetime. This psalm song chorus has been used to celebrate the Jewish New Year – which is called Rosh Hashanah. This psalm song chorus is being used today by Christ-follower communities to celebrate Jesus Christ’s ascension into heaven on Ascension Day. Do you like choruses? A chorus is a song or tune that is sung over and over again. Do you like to clap when you sing? When God the Spirit breathed God the Father’s words on this psalm’s psalmist to write, God the Spirit had this psalm’s psalmist write down in verse 1 “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.” Did you know that a nation can clap its hands and cry for joy? God wants every guy, gal and kid who is living on planet Earth to know that He is Who has created everything and every guy, gal and kid. God wants every guy, gal and kid who is living on planet Earth to know that He is Who is reigning over everything and over every guy, gal and kids who He has created.
If God really wants to be praised by having His specially chosen and elected guys, gals and kids singing praise songs to Him, why do you think that God hardwired your grandpaa in a way that your grandpaa is unable to keep a beat, sing and play a musical instrument? Do you feel sorry for your grandpaa? When your grandpaa was a student at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois, your grandpaa had to take two basic music classes in order to graduate. On the first day of the first music class that your grandpaa had to take at Moody Bible Institute, your grandpaa’s music teacher wrote a single music note on a blackboard and asked the students in the class to name the title of the song that began with the note. The music teacher added another note and then another note. Just as the music teacher wrote the third music note on the blackboard, the guy who was sitting next to your grandpaa to your grandpaa’s left raised his hand to tell the music teacher the name of the song from the three notes that the teacher had written on the blackboard. Your grandpaa could not have told the music teacher the name of any song no matter how many music notes that the music teacher wrote on a blackboard. The guy who was sitting next to your grandpaa who knew the title of the song after just three notes had been written on a blackboard really helped your grandpaa to make it through the first music class that your grandpaa needed to attend. The very last thing that your grandpaa had to do in this music class – as part of the final exam, was to play a couple of notes of a song on a piano. After your grandpaa finally got the nerve to go upfront to where the piano was to play a few notes of a song that the music teacher had selected, your grandpaa was not able to play the notes. Your grandpaa after several seconds looked up from the piano keys and told the music teacher ‘I don’t know who is trying to fool who here but . . .’ the music teacher just looked at your grandpaa with a great big smile and told your grandpaa that it was okay – to not worry about it.
The second music class that your grandpaa had to take at Moody Bible Institute was an easier class. In the first music class that your grandpaa had to take, your grandpaa had to learn how to write music notes. In the second music class that your grandpaa had to take, your grandpaa had to learn to keep a beat. Part of the final exam for the second music class that your grandpaa had to take at Moody Bible Institute was for each student to begin to direct the song that the music teacher would begin to play. The music teacher had his students stand – in groups of three, in front of all the other students – where this group of three students were to direct with their arms and hands the song that he would begin to play. Your grandpaa waited and waited and . . . to go upfront to direct the song that the music teacher would begin to play. Your grandpaa finally had no choice but to go upfront – to try to direct the song that the music teacher would begin to play. Your grandpaa did everything that he could do to not to end up in the middle of his two classmates in the front of the other students in the music class that your grandpaa had to take but . . . when the music teacher began to play the song that your grandpaa was to use his arms and hands to direct, the guy on your grandpaa’s left threw out his right arm right in front of your grandpaa. Your grandpaa totally lost his concentration. Your grandpaa could only flap his arms and hands – hoping that he did not look really stupid, as the music teacher finished playing the song that he had begun to play. Your grandpaa’s two music teachers were really kind to your grandpaa. Both of your grandpaa’s music teachers gave your grandpaa good grades. Your grandpaa did learn a lot from both of the music classes that he had to take in order to graduate from Moody Bible Institute. Praising God is not just using music to praise God; praising God is also always thanking God for giving you a life that is joy filled.
Psalm 47 (287)