Wednesday, July 15, 2015

True Worship is "Worshp In Spirit And In Truth" - John 4:24

The Bible says: "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." - Colossians 3:16

I like to think of these three categories of Christian songs in this way:

Psalms are paraphrases of the Psalms set to music:

 Psalm 48,  Psalm 103,  Psalm 72, Psalm 51, Psalm 148, Psalm 32, Psalm 27, Psalm 125, Psalm 9, Psalm 90, and Psalm 1Psalm 145.

Hymns are, generally speaking, what you find in a hymn book of say 100 years ago:

  There's Power in the Blood (Medley), Be Thou My Vision, O Perfect Love,  His Name is Wonderful,  Great is Thy FaithfulnessImmortal, Invisible, Holy, Holy, HolyAmazing Grace, The Old Rugged Cross, At The CrossAt The Cross (Medley),My Jesus I Love Thee, Standing on the Promises, Day of Judgment, Day of Wonders, Just As I Am, Crown Him with Many Crowns, The Church is One Foundation, Guide Me O Thou Great JehovahI Know Not Why God's Wondrous GraceLittle Drummer BoyHow Deep The Father's Love For Us, Jesus Shall ReignWhen I Survey the Wondrous Cross, What A Friend We Have in Jesus, Battle Hymn of the Republic (English) (Korean?)   How Great Thou Art, For All the Saints, Silent Night (English), Silent Night (German), Tell Me the Old Old StoryHe Arose (sung in English and, I think, Japanese!)The Great Judgment Morning, This Is My Father's World, Joy to the World, I Love to Tell the Story, It Is Well With My Soul, I Must Tell Jesus, Savior Again, To Thy Dear Name We Raise, Like a  River Glorious, Tell Me The Story of Jesus, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say,  By The Sea of CrystalHe Leadeth Me, Have Thine Own Way, Lord, and Hark the Herald Angels Sing (sung in Lakota, a Native American language), Spirit of God Descend Upon My Heart, O  Holy Night (Sung in Navajo, a Native American Language).

And Spiritual songs refer to much of what we call today, Contemporary Christian Music:

Please Search the Book AgainBecause He LivesMy God and I,  Meeting in the AirThere'll Be Joy in the Morning On That DayThere is Coming a Day, Awesome God, Above All Powers, He's Alive, Mary Did You Know?, Are You Washed in the Blood of The Lamb & I'll Fly AwayThey Baptized Jesse Taylor, Plenty of Room in the Family, If That Isn't Love, El Shaddai, He Giveth More Grace, It Is No Secret, This Old House, There is a Redeemer, This World is Not My Home, Lord I Lift Your Name on High, Days of ElijahAnd the Gift Goes On, Alabare A Mi Senor (Spanish), Please Don't Send Me to Africa, My God Is RealI Saw the Light, and Jesus Take the Wheel (See my post Why Jesus Didn't Take the Wheel!).

I don't know what the Apostle Paul would think of the way I categorized Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual songs, but I have a feeling he would say "That's close enough!" I'd like to recommend to you one of the best books I've read on Worship and Christian music:

A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God - Centered Worship, by Dr. Michael Horton




How I Found Christ?

 How I Found Christ? by Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)