“…not a lot of textual underpinning for clapping as an expression of praise.”
Scott AniolChuck King, music director at College Church in Wheaton, IL.
No, I am stuck with the feeling that people applaud because, as with so many other areas of public discourse, we have lost a greater vocabulary of praise. I don’t think we can convincingly argue that applause is a biblical response. The one – and I do really mean the only – biblical call to “clap your hands” is, famously, Psalm 47:1. Two other references are somewhat neutral, but specifically refer to nature anthropomorphically (rivers, trees clapping their hands). And these 3 references combined share a sense of God’s awesome might and judgment. All other biblical uses of the verb are in the context of war, aggression, and taunting. So, not a lot of textual underpinning for clapping as an expression of praise. Go ahead and play the cultural card, but I don’t think that gets us a whole lot farther.
Clapping can be very uncomfortable. I hadn’t thought about it in the baptism context as well. It usually seems to be done for music, thus making it feel like a performance piece instead of worship. I’ve heard people defend it, “We’re clapping toward/for the Lord!” but then…we don’t applaud the pastor’s sermon. We don’t applaud the ushers or the nursery workers for rendering their service/ministry. Just the music. And saying “Amen” or “Hallelujah” does have such strong cultural associations that their meaning seems lost.