Isaiah 12:6 Cry out and give a ringing shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
In 1954 I held a conference in Hong Kong. A Western missionary from the Brethren who was teaching in Japan had contacted the brothers. He was attracted by the brothers and therefore came to the conference. Afterward he said, “I really admire this conference. But there was one thing I did not agree with. In your meetings the prayer after the singing of hymns is too loud and noisy.” I said, “Brother, shouting is truly in the Bible. Please look at the record where the children of Israel rebuilt the temple after their return from captivity, when the foundation of the temple was laid. All the people shouted with a great shout and the noise was heard far off.”
Moreover, the book of Isaiah says, “Cry out and give a ringing shout, / O inhabitant of Zion,” and “With a voice of shouting declare” (12:6; 48:20). The New Testament also says that when the Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time, riding on a donkey, “the crowds who went before Him and those who followed cried out, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! And…all the city was stirred” (Matt. 21:9-10). The religious people such as the chief priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees held these things in disdain. They were indignant about what they saw, and said, “Do you hear what these are saying?” (vv. 15-16). The Lord answered and said, “I tell you, If these shall be silent, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40). This is the mystery of the Word of life. (Abiding in the Lord to Enjoy His Life, by Witness Lee, Chapter 1, Section 1)
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