Friday, August 18, 2006 AD
Praise God, because...
A post by Josh combines praise for the new Lutheran Service Book with a (deserved) sideswipe at the very-odd-verging-on-deeply-disturbing hymn, "Earth and All Stars" (check out verses 4 and 5!). In the comments, there is some discussion comparing "Earth and All Stars" with the (it is claimed) similarly doctrine-free Psalm 150.
But is Psalm 150 really an example of "never mind the doctrine, just feel the praise" worship that it is sometimes claimed to be? Is it the biblical standard-bearer for songs of the "I just wanna praise you, Lord, just praise you all my life" (x30, to fade) variety?
Well, one of the best points I've heard about Psalm 150 (sadly, I forget the source) is that the most important thing about Psalm 150 is that there are 149 other psalms preceding it. Psalm 150 is a response to all the preceding psalms, with all their doctrinal content about the God of Israel and of the nations.
And anyway, Psalm 150 does have doctrinal content. It does tell us something about God, and what it is about God that we are specifically praising in this psalm: "Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!".
That's the difference between even the "least theological" psalms and many contemporary praise choruses: the "because", the reason why we are praising God. Psalm 117 manages this while still being only 28 words long (in the ESV translation):
That's the difference between the psalmists and many (though by no means all) writers of contemporary worship songs: the psalmists were clearly obsessed with God, and with what he had done and would do for Israel, and couldn't even write a few lines of a psalm without their minds turning to these things.
The same spirit seems lacking in many contemporary songs, maybe because it is lacking in the contemporary church. We're satisfied with a song that makes us feel good and "spiritual", and sometimes we just don't notice if it's not saying very much about God, if it's lacking a "because".
But is Psalm 150 really an example of "never mind the doctrine, just feel the praise" worship that it is sometimes claimed to be? Is it the biblical standard-bearer for songs of the "I just wanna praise you, Lord, just praise you all my life" (x30, to fade) variety?
Well, one of the best points I've heard about Psalm 150 (sadly, I forget the source) is that the most important thing about Psalm 150 is that there are 149 other psalms preceding it. Psalm 150 is a response to all the preceding psalms, with all their doctrinal content about the God of Israel and of the nations.
And anyway, Psalm 150 does have doctrinal content. It does tell us something about God, and what it is about God that we are specifically praising in this psalm: "Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!".
That's the difference between even the "least theological" psalms and many contemporary praise choruses: the "because", the reason why we are praising God. Psalm 117 manages this while still being only 28 words long (in the ESV translation):
Praise the Lord, all nations!I went to a talk once by the English hymn-writer Christopher Idle (who I believe has at least one hymn in the new LSB), who pointed out that there is a praise chorus based on Psalm 134, which goes like this:
Extol him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
Come bless the Lord, all ye servants of the LordIt's a nice, jolly chorus with a catchy tune, and one which I rather like. But if you compare it with Psalm 134 itself, you'll see there's something missing from the chorus:
Who stand by night, in the house of the Lord
Lift up your hands, in this holy place
And bless the Lord, and bless the Lord.
Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,Spot the difference? Psalm 134, while being nearly as short as Psalm 117, still manages to squeeze in that "because". Why bless the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord? Because the Lord is "he who made heaven and earth", and who dwells in Zion to the blessing of his people. (Thus encapsulating in a single verse one of the central messages of the psalms: the creator of the world has become the gracious God of Israel.)
who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
Lift up your hands to the holy place
and bless the Lord!
May the Lord bless you from Zion,
he who made heaven and earth!
That's the difference between the psalmists and many (though by no means all) writers of contemporary worship songs: the psalmists were clearly obsessed with God, and with what he had done and would do for Israel, and couldn't even write a few lines of a psalm without their minds turning to these things.
The same spirit seems lacking in many contemporary songs, maybe because it is lacking in the contemporary church. We're satisfied with a song that makes us feel good and "spiritual", and sometimes we just don't notice if it's not saying very much about God, if it's lacking a "because".
