Oh, I do think a lot of modern music is man-centered. I also think a lot of it is God-centered. And a lot of it has a good balance depending on what it’s trying to say.

Scripturezealot, if your point is that many of the psalms are “me-centred”, you are of course correct. But there are much better examples of it than the ones you quote. Look for example at Psalm 26. Perhaps this can be a lesson to us not to be afraid of using lyrics of this kind, as part of a proper balance in out worship.

O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying to me, “There is no help for youin God.”
But you, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
I cry aloud to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy hill.
I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the Lord sustains me. I am not afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
Rise up, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.
Deliverance belongs to the Lord; may your blessing be on your people!
Psalms 3:1-8 NRSV

Psalms 4:1-8 NRSV
1 Answer me when I call, O God of my right! You gave me room when I was in distress. Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.
2 How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame? How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies? (Selah)
3 But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.
4 When you are disturbed, [3] do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent. (Selah)
5 Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.

6 There are many who say, “O that we might see some good! Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!”
7 You have put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and wine abound.
8 I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.

I don’t have the book yet but have printed these out:
http://www.eternallifeministries.org/prayers.htm
and pray though one of them every now and then. I never get tired of them. They are very Scriptural. As I understand it these are from the book.

I generally don’t like any music with words. I prefer classical, electronic and a few other genres that I sometimes listen to while reading. However I’m buying this CD.

They also have some free Scripture memory songs that are available taken from their Scripture memory CDs:
Free Scripture Songs
In general I don’t want to memorize Scripture to music but these are nice supplements and they get in my head and replace all the other crazy stuff that goes on in there. (smiley would go here)
Jeff

Er… not quite. Or otherwise I’m definitely in the wrong church. [The curse of being emerging, but not emergent. Most will think I'm in the wrong church anyways, and lump me in with the rest of the guys.]

I’m not sure why you would make such an assumption because I like the puritan prayers and ideas. I could do the same and say maybe you just have an aversion to what is old?

I was just asserting that those lyrics/word/poem/prayer were in fact God centered. I said nothing of newer music. I like a lot of newer music. My church records a lot of their own newer music, and old hymns.

I’m honestly a little confused.

I am sure your wife wants you to tell her how wonderful she is. Similarly God wants us to say that of him, surely.

Exactly. And my comment on “Let my words be few” is that I am missing the lyrics that describe “how wonderful God is”. All I hear is “I love you, I love you, I love you”. To which, God, if He is like my wife, will have one of two responses: “tell me more!” or “show me”.

But what sort of answer to your wife’s question “Why?” would please her? Surely not you reciting a list of the things she does for you. So, since you seem to admit that human love for God can be likened to human love relationships, should we expect God to be pleased by us loving him simply because of what he has done? I am sure your wife wants you to tell her how wonderful she is. Similarly God wants us to say that of him, surely. So, I suggest, “we worship God for who we have discovered Him to be”.

But on “Let my words be few”, although I have some problems with the idea of being “in love with” Jesus, surely these words are “Christ-honoring and glorifying”?

I guess, for me, this starts to have some of the John 3:16 issues… is it “Jesus, I am **so** in love with you…”, i.e. I love you lots, or is it “Jesus, this is how I love you…”, i.e. focusing on why we love Jesus – what is it about Jesus/God that we love. And if it’s the latter, than I’m missing the “what” in the lyrics.

It’s like when I tell my wife, “I love you” and she responds, “why?” “Because I do” usually doesn’t get a warm reciprocation – it comes off as formulaic and me-centered, as opposed to digging deeper and putting the focus on what I love about her. Which, as a selfish fallen wretch, is hard for me to do consistently.

We have a wonderful balance here of love and awe towards Jesus.

Can mankind be proactively expressive of love and awe toward Jesus? Or do we fall mostly responsive to what we perceive around us? Do we worship God for who we have discovered Him to be, or do we worship God for what he has done in our lives? Is there a difference?

(I’m just vamping questions now, so feel free to ignore anything that just seems trite.)

Steve, the negative comments about modern worship songs seemed to be a suggestion that we should restrict our worship to older ones, as in fact happens in some churches, or to new ones based on old words. But why do you suggest that I was turned off by the poem ElShaddai quoted? It is beautiful and speaks to me. My only criticism is that it is very me-focused and so gives precisely the opposite message to what ElShaddai was saying in the original version of the post.