God should not only be the object of worship, but also the subject.
In other words, our songs should not just worship God, they should be about God. Our inspiration should come not from our own actions, but from the person and work of Christ.
As a rule, this leads me to distrust "I tunes": worship songs centered on man in the act of giving praise. I rather prefer songs centered on the activities of God that inspire praise in us. Old standards like "O For a Thousand Tongues" and "Come Thou Fount" reflect on God's work as our redeemer and how he called us from darkness to light—and they do it without resorting to navel-staring at our own act of worship.
Songs that describe God in nebulous terms or that mitigate the force of his will and the power of his working bespeak a troubling trend in the modern Christian's perception of his Maker, Redeemer, and Friend. Losing such elements substitutes God with a feeling and reinforces, I think, the natural self-inclination of man. That is to say that man-centered worship really only caters to our depraved natures; it is perhaps one of the most subtle attacks by the enemy.
Some old hymns are much worse than praise songs you know. SO much worse.
ReplyDeleteThe last 150 years of hymnody are pure sentimentalist twaddle. Praise songs look like puritan hymns next to some of them.
The worst most irritating hymn for this: I Love to Tell the Story.
It seems strange that since it is so loved, the song NEVER TELLS THE FRICKIN STORY.
E, I think you're right. I see a lot of songs that call God a God of wonders without being specific. Enumerate, people!
ReplyDeleteE, do you have a link or something to the Bible in a year dealy you were referring to previously? I think I'd like to attempt to do that.
ReplyDeleteI guess I have found the true reason everyone hates me. And here I thought it was my personality.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you are correct. But only because the sentiment of the hymns is so utterly mawkish.
Then perhaps a generation from now they'll be saying the same thing about Praise music-and really that is all most of it is, the latest version of saccharine drivel that's been around for years.
I am not much familiar with praise music admittedly. I am still stuck with the cloying hymns however and I can't see how praise music really could be much worse.
The verification word is ywoad. Because blue is a pretty colour.