Questionable songs

I have really enjoyed a lot of modern worship songs beginning with Graham Kendrick, and Bob Fitts, Don Moen and others.. so I have no specific "hatred" for them...

But some of the songs that are sung in many many churches today lack a direction or meaning in songs, at least that is my view...

Here goes one from 'My redeemer lives':
I am dancing on this mountain top
To see your kingdom come

From 'Shout to the Lord:
Mountains bow down and seas will roar
At the sound of your name
I sing for Joy at the works of your hands
Forever I'll love you forever I'll stand
Nothing compares to the promise I have in you

The last line doesn't seem to synchronize with the rest.

Not trying to be judgmental... A poorly worded song can have an impact when it is well-known

You may find the [url=http://www.cgmusic.com/workshop/smp_frame.htm]Scottish Metrical Psalter (1650)[/url] beneficial.

Grace to you,
Taylor

Hello Wesley,

This thread seems to be a good subject to consider.

"Here goes one from 'My redeemer lives':
I am dancing on this mountain top
To see your kingdom come"

Too much there brings to my mind the 'High Places' that were used for worship and never done away with.

The second song seems to not scan or rhyme in any way. The thoughts are not harmonious: shouting,
bowing, singing and comparing. However, I am more comfortable with the content than with the other.

I am going to visit the link provided and see what is there.

Kind regards, white stone

Dear Taylor,

This a a very good site to receive, Thank You!

I have been puzzling how we are encourage to sing Psalms when I get tongue tied trying. This should be a great help.

Thanks, also, to Wesly, for starting this thread.

Kindest regards,
white stone

There's another great site with free .mp3s, called [url=http://www.reformedpraise.org]www.reformedpraise.org[/url]. The man who runs it has simply reset or modernized hymns by Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, John Newton, and others to new, but simply music. The theological content is preserved.

One issue I take with a lot of newer music is a near obliviousness to personal weakness and sin. I find it difficult to sing along honestly with phrases like, "With all my heart, I live for you," or "You are my only desire," though I wish to and shall in heaven. I would rather sing about the Lord than spend three minutes describing my self (I love you, I this, I that to you) since His own attributes, combined with our adoration, are more precious to Him. The angels are content to sing of His holiness, why should we not be?

"(I love you, I this, I that to you)"

Dear theopenlife, thank you for the link and most of all for your illuminating observation. I am going to give that much thought while going through all the songs I find myself singing.

It is chilling to find what I imagined to be worshipful could actually be just a cover for yet more selfcenteredness. God forgive me.

Regards, white stone

In the song Amazing Love it states: “In all I do, I honor You.” If this song does not distort and pervert who God is and who we are I don’t know what does. I hate this song. It’s so sad when you hear a whole congregation just belting it out. Even the thought of saying something like that should cause fear in a believer’s heart, unless they are already in glory.

I agree, there has been a huge shift in contemporary worship songs to a me focus and we have truly lost sight of God in a lot of it. Also, it has been suggested that the amount of times we repeat the choruses we sound more like Buddhists than Christians. I am not against people writing new worship songs, but I think, in many cases, our worship songs reflect the spiritual climate of our age, and unfortunately we seem to be at an all time low.

On a more positive note, all will change if revival comes!
May God give us much grace

You've touched on one of my pet peeves with 'contemporary christian music'; this obsessive desire to speak of our selves while 'trying' to worship the Holy One of Israel.
As per the song, 'My Redeemer lives', it's the second line that really does it for me:
'His has covered my sins'
My sins are not covered, they've been washed away. It may seem like mere semantics to some but I'd rather sing the Word and songs based on it than what seems musically cool. Bah!

Lest I get on a soap box...and have to repent later,

This is my $0.02.

PS: If some words are blanked out, it's probably my internet filter that's working extra hard.

I understand where you all are coming from. I do sympathize with your statements as I too have had enough of canned, nonsense words set to G D Em C switched around 4 different ways. I do only agree to a certain extent when it comes to the usage of personal pronouns in worship songs. If you notice many of the Psalms are a man saying many, many times words like me, my and I. As for repetition, the Seraphs in Isaiah 6 are only quoted as singing one thing, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the Lord Almight, the whole earth is filled with His glory." Much of the Psalms are also based on repetition and were sung in rounds. Were we to hear the Psalms as they were actually sung, no doubt we would pass them off as the chants of middle eastern mystics - that my friends is just a fact. This is not the vain repetition that Jesus warned against. Vain repetition is repeating onesself as a result of a lack of trust in Him - thinking that by your many words you will be heard.

I think that as much as God wants to hear His people praising His wonderful attributes, sometimes He would like to hear the heart of His people as well. When listening to someones heart they must inevitably use personal pronouns. There is nothing wrong with this when done correctly and in moderation...

Just my thoughts...
God bless!

Jeff

Thank you for all the comments.

As someone said, "Christians dont tell lies anymore, they sing lies"...

Few other songs come to my mind...
"Every step I take I take In you"

'As the deer' says,
"I love you more than any other so much more than anything"

I definitely don't question the integrity of the song-writers, but in a church environment, when these songs are sung, not everybody has the conviction to say this from the heart and this can lead people into having a false analysis of themselves. Also over the time the deeper meaning of the words can be lost...

I have read somewhere that Paul Baloche was closely associated with Keith Green and Leonard Ravenhill...

Hope he is carrying on their legacy

Otherwise generally I have not seen much issues with Graham Kendrick, Bob Fitts, Don Moen and other
Integrity artists, there are exceptions though

I think it is good to ask ourselves who is being worshipped in the songs we sing? In alot of songs there are indeed alot of "I's" and "We's". It really begs the question, to whom is this song sung? And who is being worshipped?
Us or God?

Yes,I understand what you mean.Many of our modern worship songs lack anything of substance.They sound like the one who wrote it may have spent all of 5 minutes writing it.I often wonder if the congregation is really thinking about what they are saying.

I have a real problem with singing to God that "I'm on my face before you" or "I'm falling to my knees"if that is not literally the case.And not that I have a problem with lifting up my hands to God,but I hate being told to do so,because if I do,I feel like I'm just doing it because someone told me to,and if that is the case,then it is a sorry offering to God.If it doesn't come from the heart,it means very little,right?

We did one song that just repeated for about 5 full minutes at least the phrase "I'm coming after You".It was all I could do to endure.

It is not my intention to slam the church I belong to,and if it sounds that way,I'm sorry.I just needed to vent because it really bothers me,I wish we would simply start seeing God as He is,put some thought into our worship,and stop acting like children saying "Look at what I can do!".