Human Response 461: Shouting, Noise, Music when the Lord Comes

1 Chronicles 15:28 This all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with osalteries and harps.

With David, all the people brought up the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. This was a big deal. God was coming to us to be with us! They pulled out all the stops to celebrate the coming of the Lord: shouting, noise, and all kinds of musical instruments. It must have been quite a scene.

It is similar to all the extravagant ways in which we celebrate the coming of God into our world during the Christmas season. And in fact it should be, for this is a momentous occasion, worthy of all the raucous celebrating we can muster. God Himself entered our world and our lives to bring life and salvation to all. No expense or effort is overkill when it comes to remembering the God-man, Jesus, coming for us.

Our weekly Divine Service celebrations also respond joyously to His coming to us in the Gospel through Word and Sacrament. And it is loud and raucous if we could only see and hear the angels worshipping with us. The sheer joy of the Lord produces an unbridled response in believers every time God’s people gather. The same uplifting response occurs whenever two or three gather in His name.

But more: this crazy kind of party goes on every day of our lives when we remember our baptism, repent and believe the gospel, and make melody in our hearts to the Lord. Praise and thanksgiving in the heart has no time limits or noise limits. Jesus is always coming; He is always here.