Voiceless Worship

Voiceless Worship In The Time Of Covid-19 Safety Measures

By Paul Seow

As we prepare to come back for onsite services, we are told that we are not allowed to sing during worship. While singing is the most common way of expressing our love and worship to God, it is not the only way. Firstly, worship is not about songs, it is not even about music. These are mere vehicles for us to express worship. At the heart and core of worship is your love relationship with God and expressing that love relationship in Spirit and in Truth. A study through the Bible shows us many other ways to express our worship to God, and the Hebrews have 7 common postures of praise that we could use and grow in this season:

Worship that involves our heart and body postures:

Yadah – To Throw out or lift up our hands in victory or as a sign of surrender to the Lord. Ps 107:15

Towdah – Lifting of hands to the Lord in adoration, has a faith element to it. – It is apparent in the Psalms and elsewhere that it is used for thanking God for "things not yet received" as well as things already at hand. Ps 42:4

Barak – To Bow, To kneel in reverent awe. 1 Chronicles 29:20

Zamar – To pluck the strings of instruments in worship, to sing, to praise. 2 Samuel 22:50

Halal – To rave, to laud, to be clamorously foolish. Abandonment in worship where you are not concerned with other’s opinions of you…eg. David, when he danced in worship and led in the procession of bringing back the ark to Jerusalem. Ps 113:1-3

Worship that involves Singing:

Shabach – To Shout, to command, to triumph…shout of victory, declarations of faith and victory. Ps 47:1

Tehillah - Derived from the word halal and means "the singing of halals, to sing or to laud; perceived to involve music, especially singing; hymns of the Spirit or praise.” Ps 22:3

So while the current circumstances do not allow us to sing, let us continue to worship deeply from our hearts and with our bodies, in spirit and in truth. This is a great opportunity for us to express our worship through our physical actions and posture. May we grow in this season into more expressive lovers of God!