Words Fail Me
I will also praise You with a harp, and Your truth, my God; I will sing praises to You with the lyre, Holy One of Israel. Psalm 71:22 NASB
Harp/ sing – Music is emotional catharsis. It doesn’t take just words to move you. The sounds of the instruments, the percussion, the rhythm is enough—to move you to tears or to laughter. Every good musical director knows this. Mood can be managed. Play the right song, get the required response. Purple Rain, The 1812 Overture, a national anthem, I Will Always Love You, Breathe (I’m Desperate for You). You can add yours. Don’t you suppose those ancient worshippers felt the same way, had the same needs, responded the same way. Don’t you think that these psalms we read should really be sung? Shouldn’t they be heard with instruments? Shouldn’t they have an overwhelming orchestra? What is Purple Rain without the weeping guitar? The 1812 without canons? Whitney’s words without her voice? Michael W. Smith without piano and violins? No, these aren’t theological homilies. They are the lyrics of emotionally-laden release. We need to remember that—and feel them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEDcKZB7r2A Michael W. Smith
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvnYmWpD_T8 Purple Rain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JWTaaS7LdU Whitney Houston
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGPqtXv72Wg 1812
We’ve been robbed of a vital, critical element of the psalms. They have become spoken prayers, encouraging mottos, theological proof texts. But that wasn’t their original purpose. They were supposed to move you to agonizing repentance, to explosive anger, to hopeless fear, to exuberant joy. They were for dancing, shouting, weeping, laughing, gasping, hurting. Forget the grammar, the etymologies, the doctrines. No one ever wept over transubstantiation. No one jumped up and down for joy over preterist theology. What a waste of human experience!
Let’s meet at the Kotel on Friday before sunset and dance and sing praises to our King.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwTwkwTZQ4I Clapton Running on Faith
Topical Index: song, music, Psalm 71:22
