I’ve been exploring some of the very modern worship songs as an old guy 😀. But now, I’ve decided to alternate between very modern hymns, old hymns, and in-between hymns, namely the worship songs from the 60s to the 90s that feature in hymnbooks such as Mission Praise. Today it’s the turn of the very modern hymns.
Today’s song is Made to Worship from 2006.
It’s an interesting title. When you look across the world and down through history, it does seem like people were made to worship. It comes very naturally to us. In Romans 1, Paul acknowledges the fact that God reveals himself to all humanity, even apart from the specifics of the gospel message:
Romans 1:20
20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
People are aware of God and of the fact that he wants us to be holy like He is, and to love Him and love each other. People are also aware of the fact that we fall short. We sin, and we need to appease him and be forgiven. But what exactly does God want? What does He require for reconciliation, and when we are reconciled, how should we worship Him?
If you’re buying a birthday cake for your child, would you buy their favourite cake or your favourite cake? I’d hope that it would be the former. So, we want to worship God in the way that He has specified. And we discover that in His word, the Bible.
Of course, different cultures have different spiritual books, and various prophets and teachers make different claims about what God has revealed to them. I myself am convinced in the truth of the Bible and of Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life. Was that just because I was just following my own culture? Well, I was taught that the Blessed Virgin May was conceived without sin, that she was sinless, that she was assumed, body and soul, into heaven, and that we should pray to her. That’s cultural, but I don’t believe any of it. I investigated the truth for myself. I don’t trust in legends, speculations, or traditions outside of the Bible. And the Bible isn’t an Irish thing. It started in Israel, but it has spread around the globe.
Another thing about my culture is that people would rarely show any enthusiasm about God or talk about God in their social interactions. It would be so uncool to be a “holy joe”. You would get little old ladies praying to statues, and that kind of thing, but generally speaking, people wouldn’t want to be seen as religious. So, it’s amazing now to look at that video and see all those young people celebrating God. When I was a teenager, one of the most popular punk songs started with the line “I am an antichrist, I am an anarchist”. I would think that Johnny Rotten was a nice guy really, but it was typical for everyone, particularly males, to show how “bad” they were. And in the 1980s, Michael Jackson sang about being bad. Maybe he meant “I’m cool”, but the very fact that “bad” was seen as “cool” shows what attitudes were like 😀.
Well, let’s get back to the hymn anyway. It’s basically about mutual encouragement to worship. Even as a believer, you can get so distracted with the pleasures and challenges of life that you put God out of the picture. But this one encourages us to delight in God.
Of course, within evangelicalism, people have their own preferences for worship too. When I watched the video that I included above, it felt a little like a pop concert. I’d have hated all that before recent times. In the last few years, I’ve just come to realize that different styles develop in worship. I shouldn’t assume that we should stick to the 19th or early 20th century styles. God looks at our hearts. For some, it might seem irreverent, but there was a time when all hymns were frowned upon. Some say that we should stick to what they did in New Testament churches, but do we really know precisely what they sung back then?
Col 3:16
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
I don’t see any specifications on which instruments should be used or beats per minute (BPM). I used to think that all the people who sang modern Christian songs were superficial and were just doing it for fun. But why should I believe that? Couldn’t I say that people who sing the old hymns are doing it out of resentment towards all things modern? Doubtless, not everyone who sings hymns is deeply spiritual, but surely I should be delighted with any worship, particularly when it references God’s word.
Anyway, here are some other versions of today’s hymn:
Hibernia Gospel 