Worship as response to God's Love and Faithfulness
Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2016 5:19 pm
I'm picking apart modern congregational songs to try and understand the frame of mind of the congregational singer and the song-writer.
These are some of the themes:
1. Worship and praise. Descriptions of God's attributes, giving him glory and honor.
2. Response to his love and faithfulness
3. Prayer for divine presence.
I'm trying to understand #2 and #3
Specifically, what does God's love and faithfulness look like? Those songs only make sense if someone has an experience of love. And an experience of faithfulness. These seem to be revelations. Especially the love one. We all know how worship songs can often replace "God" and "Jesus" with boyfriend, or girlfriend, and the songs still make sense. What is going on in the brain of someone who is "experiencing" the "love" of God.
#3 seems like it's the prayer for #2 to happen. A lot of songs are saying "come to me... I want to experience you... I want to be in your presence."
None of these seem biblical. Though I could be out to lunch on that. I know the church throughout history has tried to interpret Song of Songs as the relationship between God and the church, but that really doesn't hold up to good hermeneutics.
I don't see a problem with congregational songs being prayers. We've always called it "worship songs," and then been critical when they don't seem worshipful. That's solved by calling them prayer songs. But I just don't understand the epistemology.
These are some of the themes:
1. Worship and praise. Descriptions of God's attributes, giving him glory and honor.
2. Response to his love and faithfulness
3. Prayer for divine presence.
I'm trying to understand #2 and #3
Specifically, what does God's love and faithfulness look like? Those songs only make sense if someone has an experience of love. And an experience of faithfulness. These seem to be revelations. Especially the love one. We all know how worship songs can often replace "God" and "Jesus" with boyfriend, or girlfriend, and the songs still make sense. What is going on in the brain of someone who is "experiencing" the "love" of God.
#3 seems like it's the prayer for #2 to happen. A lot of songs are saying "come to me... I want to experience you... I want to be in your presence."
None of these seem biblical. Though I could be out to lunch on that. I know the church throughout history has tried to interpret Song of Songs as the relationship between God and the church, but that really doesn't hold up to good hermeneutics.
I don't see a problem with congregational songs being prayers. We've always called it "worship songs," and then been critical when they don't seem worshipful. That's solved by calling them prayer songs. But I just don't understand the epistemology.