The Great Assembly
The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.
“In America, we shout for the ballgame and are quiet in church.”
It was a humorous but convicting statement from Pastor Zeb Mangistu. While there are many appropriate ways and postures to worship the Almighty God—kneeling, standing, silently, and loudly are but a few mentioned in scripture—I couldn’t dispute the accuracy of the statement. I am much more accustomed to yelling out (in either exuberance or dismay) at an athletic event than I am in worship to my God.
A quick lighthearted caveat: Our oldest son Jude regularly reminds me (and anyone else who will listen) that I couldn’t speak and instead fell completely silent when my Chicago Cubs finally won the World Series in 2016. So the full truth is that my vocal volume is dramatically impacted in both directions when I’m a spectator of a ballgame!
But there truly is something about being in a stadium full of fans—both for your team and opposed—that causes you and me to let our guard down and passionately express our support and loyalty.
This image gives vivid life to what we read in scripture about the “great congregation” or the “great assembly.” Here are a few examples:
“I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise you” (Ps. 35:18).
“My feet stand on level ground; in the great congregation I will praise the Lord” (Ps. 26:12).
“I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, Lord, as you know” (Ps. 40:9).
You may or may not enjoy large sporting events. Perhaps you are more into concerts, or theater, or some other form of entertainment. Or maybe you are more of a homebody and prefer the silence of solitude.
No matter your personality, you are a part of the great assembly!
You are among the throngs, and your proclamations will speak of something! Will they sing His praise and tell of His mighty acts? Will those with whom you are gathered know of the One who lives in you? Will you speak and even shout out, or will your lips remain sealed?
It is a convicting question to consider, but it also has the potential to radically impact your life. Why? Because your role is simply one of standing and speaking.
You do not have to gather the assembly or build the platform. You simply have to proclaim.
You do not have to possess all the answers. You need only to praise.
You do not need to worry yourself about who among the crowd will listen and who will scoff. Your only concern is that your lips not be sealed but instead tell of His goodness.
Perhaps the greatest treasure of this truth is that it is for an audience of One. What a priceless exclamation at the end of Psalm 40:9, when the psalmist tells God his lips are unsealed, “as you know!”
Is your habit of declaring God’s goodness in the great assembly so engrained that God already knows it? It should be! It can be! Let your posture at the ballgame or the concert remind you. Set your feet firmly and make some noise in the great assembly! Tell them of your great God!