“Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!” (Psalm 47:1)

God is our king, and because He is, we should sing praises in songs (vs. 7). We should sing, and our songs should be the songs of joy. They should be loud songs, filled with happiness. Such happiness that we want to clap our hands. What joy that makes us clap our hands. It is the Christian joy that does that.

The joy that we are redeemed by the blood of the lamb. The joy that our sins and wrongdoings are not counted against us but are taken away not even to be remembered by the judge of all the earth. The joy that revels in the destruction of Satan and his evil. Joy in the realization that we have life eternal; that heaven is our eternal dwelling place.

It’s enough to make one clap their hands, isn’t it? Bursting out in a song is a characteristic of the Christian who knows he has been made righteous through the cross of Christ. There are those, of course, who are opposed to loud, boisterous singing; they think hymns should be solemn and hushed. There are those who also oppose hand clapping in worship thinking God never authorized it.

On the other hand, the psalmist, writing by inspiration said to do both. Clap with joy, shout in song with joy is his admonition. Real joy can’t be hushed; it can’t be shut down to slow, solemn, quiet tones. Not Christian joy.

Task for Today: Express your joy in the Lord. Clap your hands, jump for joy, sing with gusto and happiness. Praise the Lord for what He has done for you; what He has done should feel your heart to the bursting. Let it go!