02/09/2021 - GOD OF OUR APPLAUSE

• 
• 
• 
• 

Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! Psalm 47.1

To applaud is to clap as a form of approval, worship and acknowledgment that the person being honored deserves our praise; so, it must be done to God. We applaud Him for being the Creator, thanking Him for having made us in His image and likeness. Now, the fact that we acclaim His ability proves that we believe He did the best in creating us. This also exalts us, tremendously.

However great the tribute to the Lord, we will never be able to give Him true retribution for His greatness. This act is more beneficial than we think. Just as the food we eat strengthens us to do the works and keeps our immune system functioning perfectly, praise fills us with divine authority.

When a child is born, it doesn’t need to be taught to seek the beak of its mother’s breast to feed itself. They instinctively seek for what it has never been taught to them, which will make them grow and become strong. Likewise, when we acclaim our God, we do something good and productive, which will give us the strength to face the hosts of evil and guard ourselves.

All peoples should proceed in this way. However, even amongst traditional religious men, this is not well regarded. Actually, they are dominated by traditions and not by God’s love. The guidance is for people to applaud the Almighty, the heavenly Father. Those who claim it doesn’t look good for a gentleman to act like this, don’t know how much they lose by letting shyness take hold of them. Don’t be ashamed of God!

The verse also states: Shout to God, for this will make us be accepted by Him. But note that the singing should be in a voice of triumph, to show how much we love Him. Now, that doesn’t mean standing out from the rest. It is not the pitch of the voice that proves triumph, but the attitude of the heart that we do it with satisfaction. To God be the glory!

The Master said that if we are ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of us:  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels (Mark 8:38). For your own sake, watch and pray – that this never happens!

At the rebuilding of Jerusalem, those who saw the first house of God wept, and the others rejoiced. This is how we should act with the renewal of the Gospel: so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people; for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off (Ezra 3.13).

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares