Today, I am talking about two important things in life; joy and praising God’s Name with dancing. Oh dear, that might seem like a strange thought for Christians, who live in Western countries. But as I am always looking to the Bible for instructions, this is one of those “hard to relate to” topics. Last week, I mentioned the command from Psalm 149, verse 3, that says,”Let them praise his name with dancing, and make music to him with tambourine and harp.” This encourages God’s people, to express their joy, through music and dance. Since we read this in the Old Testament, it would have been normal for God’s people in Israel. That’s why we can learn now, from their example.

When Thomas and I, came back to Germany, one of the first praise songs we learned, was written by a musician that we met in Hannover. It is a joyous song from Psalm 150 in German. It's the last song in the book of Psalms, and it’s all about praise and the instruction to use every kind of instrument, loud cymbals, and to dance with timbrels. Even the last five Psalms, are about the command to praise, to sing a new song, to rejoice in God our maker, and His greatness and His mighty deeds. Writing these Psalms, and directing the choirs, was a part of God’s peoples’ way of expressing high praise, to the King of Kings. The team we came with from California, included Jackie, who was actually of Jewish background, and she had come to faith, in the Messiah Jesus Christ. Somehow, our friendship led to dancing together for special occasions.

Here are two links to Naomi's song that I used on this podcast. You can watch the video clip, both in English (Garden of Love), and in German (Winterhart)

https://youtu.be/ijnMiR18fMw?si=Ah27BRgVemQpW1wv 

https://youtu.be/fcTNGQ3LjdM?si=6EyVf_tvL2Qou8JS 

Listen to all of her songs on Spotify under: Naomi van Dooren!