Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp. – Psalm 149:3

Today's Scripture Reading (October 26, 2025): Psalm 149 & 150

Many years ago, I attended an interdenominational worship event designed for young adults (even then, I was too old to qualify, but I went anyway). Worshippers of every stripe gathered in the sanctuary of a large inner-city church to worship God. The worship at these events tended to be a little varied. The people who came were from many different worship traditions. Admittedly, my worship tradition was a little staid. In my tradition, we didn't dance in worship, and if we did, our feet definitely did not come off the ground. It might be better to say that we swayed with the music. But at this event, everyone came; those who swayed, those who jumped, and those who danced to the music. Everyone had gathered in this place with the sole purpose of worshipping God.

But on this night, what drew my attention were some dancers in the front row. They came equipped with their own tambourines (effectively what the psalmist calls a timbrel), and they were ready to dance. My brother-in-law would have probably called them the "Vestal Virgins" of the event, tasked with keeping the fire of worship burning through their dance. And dance they did. On this night, I watched more of the dance than I usually would have as the crowd worshiped God. Okay, I was laughing at the dance as the rest of the gathered people worshiped. It wasn't that they were bad dancers; they were great. But they had long ribbons tied to the end of their tambourines that would whip around as they danced. What I found so funny were the worshippers standing behind the dancers. I have a feeling that the worship environment to which they were accustomed was very similar to mine, but on this night, even they danced. They had no choice but to dance. With each beat of the tambourines, the ribbons from the dancers in front of them whipped back, threatening to hit them in the head. And so, the dancers danced, and the worshippers in the second row dodged the ribbons of the dancers in their own awkward kind of dance.

I am not sure that the psalmist really imagined either the conservative worship that I was accustomed to growing up or the "Vestal Virgins" of the interdenominational worship service. The Bible says that David danced. I am not sure that he cared overly much what the other worshippers were doing, nor did he impose his dance on others. He simply responded to the dance of God happening in his life. True worship is like that. Just us and God, involved in our shared movement. Sometimes the timbrels are beaten, sometimes the feet are lifted, but other times it is nothing more than a gentle sway to the music with the feet firmly planted on the ground. What matters is that we respond to God moving in our lives, and that we let him take the lead in the dance.

That is what I really want my life to look like. God and I, dancing together, oblivious to what others might think. Just moving to the God-music that he has placed on the inside of my being.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 21

See also Psalm 150:4