Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary;    praise him in his mighty firmament!2 Praise him for his mighty deeds;    praise him according to his surpassing greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound;    praise him with lute and harp!4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;    praise him with strings and pipe!5 Praise him with clanging cymbals;    praise him with loud clashing cymbals!6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Psalm 150

For those of us who are instrumentalists, Psalm 150 reinforces the idea that the praises of G-d’s people are meant to be sung to the accompaniment of musical instruments. Our liturgical tradition continues this practice. We try to encourage as many instrumentalists as possible to participate in the liturgical life of the church. Yes we hire professional musicians to be leaders of worship and developers of musical gifts and talents, but the more people who are willing to offer their musical gifts, the better the praises we lift up to G-d (at least that is what this pastor thinks). We are reminded of the dance by Miriam with tambourines once the Israelites had passed through the Red Sea – worship accompanied with instruments of various kinds has a long tradition in our worship life. As Psalm 100 reminds us: “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.”

Pastor Dave