Worship and liturgy not only involve the use of the fine arts but may themselves be understood as art forms within the broader category of dance and other movement arts. These arts contribute to the worshiper’s awareness of something “happening” in the corporate celebration of the people of God.
Biblical worship always involves orchestrated movements, whether of gesture (bowing, kneeling, lifting hands), procession and pageantry, festive dance, coordinated movements of worshiper and priest involved in offering sacrifice, or the order for the administration of the Lord’s Supper. Even the verbal worship of antiphonal statements and response may be understood in this way so that all worship becomes a form of choreography.
There is an ebb and flow in worship, times of solemnity alternating with times of abandon, as the congregation responds to the presence of the holy. Effective worship builds to a climax or central event. In ancient Israel it was the theophany or appearance of the Lord, the manifestation of his glory or “heaviness” in the sanctuary: “From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth” (Ps. 50:2). This occurred not through spontaneous eruptions of the overwhelming presence of the Lord—how could these be timed to coincide with important festivals?—but probably through the solemn recitation of the laws of the covenant. There are indications in the Psalms that this took place (Pss. 50:16; 81:10), and many of the covenant laws, including the Decalogue (Exod. 20:1–17), are arranged in metrical groupings that render them appropriate for recitation in worship (Exod. 22:18–22; 23:1–9; 34:11–26; Lev. 18:7–18; Deut. 27:15–26). For the Christian worshiper, the Lord’s Supper is the climactic event of worship, when the risen Lord is revealed in the corporate action of distributing and receiving the symbols of his life and of his sacrifice, which has activated the new covenant. Failure to understand liturgy as an art form, requiring skill and insight in its choreography, results in “meetings” that are flat and unsatisfying because nothing happens.
The movement arts, in particular, contribute to the sense of something happening in worship. Processional pageantry, the movement of choirs and other leaders and worshipers into or around the worship area, contributes to the sense of the glory of the Lord filling the sanctuary, especially if banners or other visually effective symbols are included. The use of the various biblical gestures of worship involves the whole person—not just the mind and the voice—in submission to the majesty of God; such gestures are therefore an important statement about the philosophy of worship.
Dancing before the Lord makes a similar statement and serves also as a powerful symbol of the worshiper’s abandon before the holy, as the creature forgets self in the presence of the Creator. Orchestrated dancing by specially trained groups supplies an element missing from spontaneous, individual dancing; the coordinated movement of many worshipers expresses the corporate nature of covenant worship, in which the individual is part of a larger community that has entered into a common bond in the Lord. The expression of praise and adoration by solo dancers is an effective testimony, as the example of David reminds us; to reflect the biblical philosophy of the worship arts; however, it must always be balanced by worship activities involving the entire assembly.