Rapturous Enthusiasm: Why the Holy One Demands Our Loudest Cry

Isaiah 12:6 summons the inhabitant of Zion to cry out and shout—not in whispers, but in rapturous enthusiasm. The reason is absolute: "For great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee."

Exell observes that men have rightly been infuriated by earthly deliverances. Plutarch records that when Romans freed a certain people from Macedonian and Spartan tyranny, the cry of the delivered was so great it dissipated the very air—birds fell amazed across the hemisphere. Yet how often do we rent the air with cries of delight for Adonai's deliverance?

Our Christianity risks becoming formal, respectable, and thereby toneless. Sydney Smith warned that the Church dies of dignity; we risk falling into torpor through the opiate of respectability. Respectability cannot be earnest.

Consider those imprisoned during the Indian Mutiny, beleaguered within a hand-breadth of extinction. When deliverers approached and the pibroch and slogan reached their ears, could anyone have commanded them to restrain themselves, to maintain decorous composure? Their response would have scorned such inane counsel.

Deliverance demands vocal gratitude. The singing Church should be loud, joyous, and sweet—the clash of bells, the blare of trumpets, the lilt of lutes, the throb of drums. Strong men, gentle women, and merry children must unite their voices in one resounding testimony to the greatness of the Holy One of Israel in our midst.