That’s the title of the anthem our choir sang recently.  Sydney Carter wrote the words in 1963, using a tune from an 1843 Shaker composition, “Simple Gifts” (‘Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free).

After church I learned that the words to that anthem “Lord of the Dance” were unsettling to some.  Does Jesus dance?  Does the Bible permit us to use that language?  Here are the words to the song.  The text imagines Jesus to be the one singing, describing His own dancing through the varying stages of His work, from creation to His earthly ministry to the cross and to His resurrection.

I danced in the morning when the world was begun,

and I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,

and I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth.

At Bethlehem I had my birth.

I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee,

But they would not dance and they wouldn’t follow Me;

I danced for the fishermen, for James and John;

They came to Me and the dance went on.

Dance, then, wherever you may be;

I am the Lord of the Dance, said He,

And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,

and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said He.

I danced on the Sabbath when I cured the lame,

The holy people said it was a shame;

They whipped and they stripped and they hung Me high;

And they left Me there on a cross to die. (Refrain)

I danced on a Friday and the sky turned black;

It’s hard to dance with the Devil on your back;

They buried My body and they thought I’d gone,

But I am the dance and I still go on.

They cut me down and I leapt up high,

I am the life that’ll never, never die;

I’ll live in you if you live in Me;

I am the Lord of the dance said He.

So, does the Bible allow us to sing this?  I answer enthusiastically, “YES!”  Many of the Psalms command us to dance for joy before the Lord (e.g.: Psalm 150:4).  David danced for joy before the Lord when He brought the ark into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6).  His wife Michal was even condemned to a life of barrenness because of her contempt for David’s public display of what she wrongly regarded as irreverent.   In the Parable of the Prodigal Son’s Father, Jesus described the father running (a culturally inappropriate thing for such a man to do, akin to dancing for joy) to greet his returning wayward son (Luke 15:20).  And Jesus also told us heaven is filled with joy over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:7).

Even more dramatically, we read of God’s joy over the salvation of His people in Zephaniah 3.  “Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!  The LORD has taken away your punishment.”  The prophet goes on to say of this God who “is mighty to save,”  “He will take great delight in you … He will rejoice over you with singing.”  The Hebrew word translated “rejoice” is a word full of the overtones of dancing and celebration.  It has led another to translate it as “He will dance over you with joy.”

If you are bothered by the imagery of a God who dances for joy, then I fear your image of God is too narrow!  Our covenant Redeemer is not one who sits in impassive stoicism on the throne of heaven, arms folded and eyes squinting like a policeman looking for people who are breaking the law.  No, ours is a God who rejoices over His works in creation (Genesis repeatedly tells us God saw all that He had made and it was good).  Jesus shared in the joy of the wedding at Cana where He performed His first miracle (John 2).  If there is joy and laughter and dancing anywhere in the universe, it is because God made us in His own image with the capacity for such joy.  His dancing and singing for joy must be infinitely greater than ours!

So I hope when we sing this anthem again, it will lead you to a more complete and Biblical view of a God who does indeed dance with joy before His people in the work He is doing to make them His own.