Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! Psalm 47:1
I hope you had a merry (joyful) Christmas!
Think of a child opening a big brightly-wrapped Christmas present. There’s something inside them that needs to be expressed as they discover what the gift is. You can see it when the young kid claps with glee as they discover the exciting gift inside. That’s the idea behind today’s verse: That spontaneous, joyful response.
Everyone clap your hands, (All people)
Everyone shout to God with loud songs of joy!
It sounds like the Sons of Korah (who wrote this psalm) were familiar with exuberant displays of worship. And part of that exuberant display were loud songs of joy. The biblical concept of clapping to the Lord includes more than keeping time to music. When God’s children drink from the river of His delights (Ps 36:8) or discover the gifts of His grace, we can’t help but respond in joy.
How do we get that kind of joy? Joy is a fruit of the Spirit… God gives joy… we can’t manufacture true joy. As we walk in union and communion with the God of all joy, His joy springs up within us; along with His peace, His grace, and His truth. Somehow Korah had instilled this in his children and they instilled it in their children…and so on until the ‘Sons of Korah’ were writing God-inspired scripture-praise.
We can manufacture happiness by controlling our circumstances to some extent, but when we can no longer control our circumstances and our happiness runs out, will we still have joy? We will if our lives are rooted in God.
I see this behind Mary’s quick acceptance of the impossible promise she was given by the angel. I see this behind the shepherds’ race through the early-morning haze to a stable in Bethlehem to see a baby that some angels told them about. I see this in some Magi who came later bringing expensive gifts to a toddler who they knew little about.
What propelled them? They were propelled by joy in the Holy Spirit. What propels us today? Presents? Visiting with family? A festive meal? All these are good. I wouldn’t want to remove any of them from my Christmas celebration.
But these wonderful festivities we have just celebrated (like the feasts and festivals God provided for the Old Testament Israelites,) are just a picture… a foreshadowing of the Kingdom of Heaven. A Kingdom we Christians are citizens of… A Kingdom Jesus declared that is ‘within’ us already. A Kingdom of Joy we share in the Holy Spirit.
Be blessed as you reflect on the meaning of Christmas this week… and clap for joy.