Day #114 | "Why Worship Lyrics Are Important"

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

The importance of getting the words right. Both the Psalm and the reading from 2 Samuel are parallel songs, with slight differences between them. For example, upon further reflection, David's final written version adds at the start: "I love you, O Lord, my strength" in Psalm 18:1 for a more devotional focus. There is also some theological reflection, as the more poetic line "the foundations of the heavens trembled" (2 Sam. 22:8) is changed to the theologically less problematic "the foundations of the mountains trembled" (Psalm 18:7). It's not that the original version was wrong (after all, it's part of sacred Scripture), but when we bring songs into our worship times together, the content and how it's put is important.

The importance of finding good inspiration. David's worship lyrics were drawn from the greats that came before him. Where David wrote "He made the darkness around him his canopy, thick clouds... fire flamed forth" (2 Sam. 22:12-13; Psalm 18:11-12), he was drawing on Moses' description of how God revealed himself to Israel: "These words the LORD spoke... out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness" (Deuteronomy 5:22-23). David also drew from the Book of Job when he wrote "smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth" (2 Sam. 22:9; Psalm 18:8), seemingly drawing on the line "Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke... a flame comes forth from his mouth" from Job 41:20-21. Sometimes we can find words to worship God in the present by drawing on the language of the past.

The importance of using the words as we go about life. Both Isaiah and Jonah seemed to draw upon the language of 2 Samuel 22/Psalm 18 during their own lives. Isaiah wrote "Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake in your presence" (Isaiah 64:1) centuries after David, clearly having been impacted by David's "the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked... He bowed the heavens and came down" (Psalm 18:7,9). Jonah clearly drew upon Psalm 18 after his experience with the fish: David's "In my distress I called upon the LORD... from his temple he heard my voice... the foundations also of the mountains trembled" (Psalm 18:6-7) seem to be reflected in Jonah's words "I called to the LORD out of my distress, and he answered me... weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains... my prayer came to you, into your holy temple" (Jonah 2:2,6-7). When they were expressing their longing, or dealing with hard situations, they found the language of Psalm 18 ready at hand to help them express their thoughts to God. We can benefit in similar ways!

DO | HOW DO WE RESPOND?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? IN OUR ACTIONS, we can work to find good worship songs with lyrics that will give us a framework and language for how God wants to work in our lives. We can share these songs with others. In fact, I'm going to do that last part right now: lately, I have very much been enjoying this new version of the old hymn Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. I highly recommend it to you.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US TO GOD?

Whether in response to anything pointed out here, or to something else in your Bible reading time, take a few moments before you close up your Bible to pray in response to God. If you need a format for prayer, both the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication), CALL (Confess, Ask, Love, Listen), and PRAY (Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield) methods are helpful ways to stay consistent.

-Sean