CLAPPING OF HANDS A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE
Perth Fellowship
Singing Songs in Christian Churches – Biblical Perspective
Christian faith is the continuation of Jewish faith and the Lord our God commanded the prophets of the Old Testament to sing His praises. In NT too it is commanded to sing His praises. (Eph 5.19, Col3.16)
Every good gift comes from God (James 1:17) and music is one of God’s good gifts to humanity. God gave the gift of singing to both men and angels (Genesis 4:21; Job 38:7).Even God sings to show joy.(Zephaniah 3.17) The purpose of singing songs is to rejoice and to declare His glory (Psalm 95:1-3).
In the NT it is commanded to be filled with the Spirit. One of the signs of being filled with the Holy Spirit is the joyful singing of hymns and spiritual songs.
“Do not be drunk with wine but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:18-19).The Greek word for spiritual (pneumatic) means non-carnal that is humanly (ethereal).
Therefore Christians are to avoid carnal singing that is sensual, wild and without control, instead Spirit filled singing is to be encouraged.
In the New Testament, believers sang to the Lord (Acts 16:25). They were also encouraged to teach and admonish “one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16). “Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms” (James 5:13).Throughout the Bible, every song was sung to God in an intelligent, understandable, reverent, God centred way (Revelation 5:9; 15:3).
God desires that we should “sing praises with understanding” (Psalm 47:7,1Corinthians14:7-9)and“with thanksgiving” (Psalm 147:7).Therefore, while we find the human voice to be the primary means of singing, instruments were also used to express praises to our Creator(Ps150.1-3,1Chronicles 15.16,2Chronicles 5.12,13,Nb10.1,2). Instruments are used in the book of Revelation too (Rev 5.8, 14.2, 15.2). So it is advisable to use musical instrument if it can add to beauty and attraction. However in the New Testament, quite contrary to the Old Testament, singing from the heart is emphasized, which was never mentioned in the OT. (Eph 5.19, Col 3.16). Thus the singing in the OT and the singing in the NT are totally different in its essence. When you sing “All to Jesus I Surrender” it must be so in the heart lest you will be accountable on the day of judgement. (Mathew 12.36). In the OT there was a music leader and skilled musicians sang the songs. (Nehemiah 12.46-47, 1 Chronicles 25.6-7).The musical team was constituted by Levites. (2 Chron. 5.12-13, 7.6)
In NT, skill and beauty is not the primary criteria but it should come out of a Spirit filled life. Since these commands are given to the churches, (Ephesians, Colossians and James) singing must be by each and every one and not by any selected group. All the members of the church should sing from the depth of their hearts at the apex of their voice and nobody should be mere listeners. However there is nothing wrong if someone or a group guides the congregation to sing in an attractive way.
It is interesting to notice that among many places where instruments are used for the singing, nowhere in the Bible, it is mentioned that hands were clapped while singing praises to the Lord. (1 Chronicles 25.6, 2Chron 5.12-13, 7.6, Ps150.3-5,). However in many Christian congregations, the members are asked to clap their hands while singing songs, as if it is commanded by God in His Word. Those who are ignorant of the truth normally do it, as if they are obeying God while doing this unbiblical practice. Remember the apostolic burden, don’t go beyond what is written (1 Cor. 4.6)
Ps 47.1 “Oh clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! 2. For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth.”
In Israel clapping of hands was used to express different emotions like joy and mockery. In 2Kings11.12, clapping is used to express or proclaim the joy where as in Job 27.23, Nahum3.19 and Lamentations 2.15 it is to mock the defeated. In Ps 98.8 and Isiah 55.12 the floods and trees are asked to clap. So it can be clearly understood that the clapping of the hands is symbolic of showing an emotion and not as a support to singing. So Psalms 47.1 can, in no way support or justify the clapping of the hands while singing songs in the Church. There is nothing wrong in clapping hands in a beautiful way while singing. However this must be remembered that in the whole Scripture, nowhere hands were clapped while singing songs. Israelites never had such a practice. Here in Ps47.1 clapping is suggested symbolically to catch the attention of the world to the great king of the universe the God of Israel.
Clapping of the hands in an unattractive way gives the appearance of gentile orgies and is better to be avoided.
For our God to accept our singing, those who are singing should have the unity of heart and with a righteous life. (2 Chronicles 5:13; Romans 15:6). It should agree with God’s Word and be understandable to all (1 Corinthians 14:7-9, 14-15, Colossians 3:16, Revelation 5:12-13). It should bear the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace…gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). It should not violate Lords command to avoid vain repetitions. The same words should not be repeated again and again thereby excite the emotions of the flesh like the prophets of Baal (1Kings 18.26, Mathew 6.7).When Israelites sung in an unworthy way, without having a righteous life, Lord himself ask them to stop the singing. (Amos 5.23, 24)
Singing should not be so loud that it appears wild. The instruments should not overpower the human voices (Psalm 47:7). Music should not direct the attention to the individuals. “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31, 1 Corinthians 13:5). “You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve” (Matthew 4:10).
God desires that “all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40), because “God is not the author of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). Therefore the singing should not be chaotic or frenzied. In the Bible, God’s people sang with understanding. Therefore screaming voices, or unintelligible noise contradict God’s Word should be avoided
Satan desires worship. (Matthew 4:8-9) In the past, Satan used music to stir up people to worship him (Daniel 3:7-10). In the last days all the world will worship the beast (Revelation 13:3-4; 13:8; 13:12; 13:14-15; 19:20). It is quite likely that Satan will incorporate music in the worship of the beast. Interestingly, the devil used “all kinds of music” (Daniel 3:5; 3:7; 3:10; 3:15) to encourage pagan worship and idolatry, and the pagans leaped and cried out in a noisy frenzy when calling to their gods (1 Kings 18:25-29). And as Solomon warns, if it happened in the past it will likely occur in the future too. (Ecclesiastes 1:9; Revelation 9:20).So any singing if it is not exactly within the boundaries of the Word will automatically get directed to Satan (1Corinthians10.20, Exodus32.25).Unfortunately in many Christian churches, their singing will make the people remember the prophets of Baal.
Because music is such a powerful way to stir hearts and emotions, and deceptions will be paramount in the last days (Mathew 24:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:9), we as disciples of Christ must be extra careful to avoid employing music that contradicts God’s revealed will in the Word of God.