Psalm 132 tells of God’s promise to dwell among his people in Zion, and how King David promised to build a worthy dwelling place: “I will not enter my house or get into my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
In recent years, some non-Catholic Christians, especially at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City (IHOPKC), have developed an elaborate theory of “Davidic worship” based on David’s words and actions. David promised to build a dwelling place for the Lord, and followed through by establishing a tabernacle staffed by many singers and instrumentalists who offered ceaseless worship, night and day — this was something new (see 1 Chronicles 16, 25).
Promoters of “Davidic worship” claim that God has begun a “revival” in our time, leading to the restoration of the kind of worship David established, including expressive worship, dancing, uplifted hands, clapping, shouting, and spontaneous praise and singing. Some say this worship should continue around the clock, as in David’s tabernacle, and that the restoration of Davidic worship needs to happen before the “Church God wants” is restored and the end times come. In the meantime, “Davidic worship” will “bring heaven to earth.”
Some Catholics have adopted these beliefs, teaching that we are currently in a time of revival leading to a restoration of Davidic worship, including praising God unabashedly with our bodies, shouting, clapping, spontaneous praise, etc. One Catholic worship leader writes, “We have been promised by our Father that one day the Tabernacle of David will be rebuilt (Acts 15:16) and we will worship the Father the way He wants us to worship Him.” Recent Catholic events that feature prolonged adoration with praise and worship music and reference “Zion” may be inspired by “Davidic worship” concepts as well.
What should Catholics think about “the restoration of Davidic worship?” The claim that God is now reviving the kind of worship he really wants implies that Catholics, along with the Eastern Orthodox, Lutherans, Anglicans and other Christians who practice liturgical worship, have for centuries failed to give God the kind of worship he really wants but that we are now in a “season of revival” during which Christians will finally start worshiping God correctly after centuries of doing it wrong.
It is instructive to study the worship of the early Church. The first Christians adapted the structure of Jewish worship, preserving its liturgical structure, including specified days and times for prayer, a lectionary with pre-selected scripture readings, worship led by a hierarchically ordered clergy, incense and pre-composed prayers. Contemporary descriptions of the earliest Christian worship do not mention dancing, clapping, shouting or spontaneous praise. Most early Church leaders refused to allow newly composed songs or hymns and frowned on dancing. In short, early Christian sources offer no evidence of a commitment to “expressive Davidic worship” as it is presented today.
St. Cyprian of Carthage (d. 258) wrote:
“When we pray, our words should be calm, modest and disciplined. Let us reflect that we are standing before God. We should please him both by our bodily posture and the manner of our speech. It is characteristic of the vulgar to shout and make a noise, not those who are modest. … The same modesty and discipline should characterize our liturgical prayer as well. When we gather to celebrate the divine mysteries with God’s priest, we should not express our prayer in unruly words; the petition that should be made to God with moderation is not to be shouted out noisily and verbosely. For God hears our heart not our voice. He sees our thoughts; he is not to be shouted at.”
Because Jesus said, “the Spirit blows where he wills,” some might conclude that spontaneity and a disregard of established forms of worship are sure signs of the Spirit at work. Catholics believe that the Church’s liturgy, with all its structure and rules, was established under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Even liturgical silence, Pope Francis noted, “is a symbol of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit.”
The Second Vatican Council taught that, in the sacred liturgy, “the work of our redemption is accomplished” and that participation in the liturgy is “the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit.” It also taught that Christians have the duty “to make known the worship of the one true religion which subsists in the Catholic and apostolic Church.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says the liturgy is an action of the “whole Christ;” that is, the whole mystical Body joined to Christ, its Head. The liturgy of the Church, as it is officially constituted and practiced right now, expresses the truth about the mystery of Christ and the nature of the true Church. Those who sincerely participate in the liturgy of the Church can be certain that they are worshiping the Father in spirit and in truth, already offering God the kind of worship he wants.