Isaiah 55:12 says, "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands."
I do not see anything wrong with clapping hands DURING worship, along to the beat of the music. What I do not feel comfortable with is clapping after each song.
We have already sung glory to God. What is the clapping for?
The church I attend during the school year tells the congregation, after each song, to clap for Jesus.
It is not that I don't want to give credit to Jesus for dying on the cross for my sins. It seems like clapping for Jesus after singing to God is a little redundant.
Growing up in the Presbyterian church, I have not been exposed to very much enthusiasm during worship. At summer camps, during chapel at college and at the church that I attend during the school year, we bop around to the beat of the music, clap during songs, and we raise our hands and sing our heart out. I enjoy both of these worship experiences equally and I am not saying that one is better than the other - but it is nice to have a balance of the both.
I am fairly sure that the Presbyterian in me is what makes me cringe at the thought of clapping after a worship song.
Someone once told me that you should clap for the people who are in front of the congregation leading worship; for their musical talent and to thank them for leading worship. I am totally against that statement. Worship should not be a performance. It is a gathering of the church to sing glory to God - not to glorify the musical talent of the people playing the music and leading the congregation in song and reverence to God.
That brings me to my next point. Worship is something that is between an individual and God. It is not something to be flashy or showy. It is not to have attention from others. Leading worship is not so that others can see you and hear any talent that you have. It is to give glory to God. That is the single reason that worship is in existence.
Worship at church is not a group of people giving glory to God. It is a individual action that we all do together. We are giving glory to God in whichever way we do in a common place and with a common purpose.
At the end of the day, worship is worship. Everyone worships differently and no way is better than the other. I want to keep my worship in the spot which I see that it fits. That spot is by itself, with no other noise, such as hands clapping, hanging on to the end of it.
