Why Do You Care About What People Think of You When Worship??

Psalm 47[a]

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

1 Clap your hands, all you nations;
    shout to God with cries of joy.
2 For the Lord Most High is awesome,
    the great King over all the earth.
3 He subdued nations under us,
    peoples under our feet.
4 He chose our inheritance for us,
    the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.[b]
5 God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
    the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises;
    sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the King of all the earth;
    sing to him a psalm of praise.
8 God reigns over the nations;
    God is seated on his holy throne.
9 The nobles of the nations assemble
    as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings[c] of the earth belong to God;
    he is greatly exalted.
The first thing you can see in this psalm, is that it is a call to worship God with all that is within us. The sounding of the trumpets, the shouts of praise, and the clapping hands all show that this is a meaningful, joyful experience and not inhibited.
Guzik says, 
"The note is strong and happy. The psalmist did not have in mind sleepy singing or whispered prayers. Most people are not against shouting or enthusiastic outbursts; they simply believe there is a right and wrong place for such shouting. Sadly, many who think a loud exclamation is fine at a football game think it is a scandal in the church."
When you read the Old Testament there seems to be an unhibited nature of praising God.  Like when David dances in the song of procession before the Ark of the Covenant.  He was crificized by Michal, daughter of King Saul, for drawing attention to himself but he said, "I will become more undignified than this!" 2 Samuel 6:22
It is true worship is not about drawing attention to ourselves.  But if somebody is so busy observing others, you wonder if they are observing the Lord.  When we are truly worshipping God our focus is on Him, not others around us.  It is helpful for me to close my eyes, so I don't get distracted.
The next time you are in church, praise God will all your heart, soul, strength and mind. If you feel like clapping, clap.  If you feel like shouting, shout.  Hey, it might even wake up few people.  Most of all may our worship come from a place of deep joy knowing the great God we serve who has saved us and made us His own. 

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