Definition of praise

This is in response to the letter in the Aug. 18 issue regarding “praise songs” that were referenced in the “Passing the Baton” (June 23) article. I do not claim to be a Bible scholar, but I can say with a reasonable amount of certainty that my Bible does not have a verse where God told us we have to sing the hymns out of hymnals that were not even in existence at that time. And surely the people who sang psalms and hymns and spiritual songs in David’s time did not use our hymnals either.

I wonder why the writer was not among the saved when he came home from the war, since he refers to it as a time when the greatest number of people were ripe for evangelism. Maybe if the church had been using the music of his day, he would have been saved then too. And if it was “feel good” music, then he would have felt good while worshipping the Lord!

The “praise songs” of today, he says, are “nothing more than a few phrases put to music and repeated over and over and over and over again.” What about the Hallelujah Chorus by George Frederick Handel (written in 1741)?

Other songs that would fall under that description would include Only Believe written in 1921, and Do Lord, Peace Like a River, Deep and Wide, He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands, Old Time Religion, When the Saints Go Marching In, Blessed Be the Name and Oh, How I Love Jesus, just to name a few. Should we stop singing these?

I believe a “praise song” should be defined as any song which offers praise to the Lord. The praise songs that we sing regularly in my church include Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name and Holy, Holy, Holy to name a few. We also sing praise songs written within the last 20-30 years, which include Think About His Love, Above All, Give Thanks, He Is Exalted, Worthy of Worship, Majesty and more.

I think part of the problem is that people tend to lump any and all Christian music written today into one heading of “Praise & Worship Music,” when, in fact, there are as many different musical styles as there are flavors of ice cream. The “traditional” hymns and choruses still have their place as do the more contemporary hymns and choruses. Styles include pop, rock, country, jazz, bluegrass, southern gospel, rhythm and blues, black gospel and more. There are also more extreme styles of music which include rap, heavy metal, and alternative rock. Every style reaches somebody.

Perhaps, for once, rather than bickering among ourselves about styles of worship and the music we use, we should consider the huge mission field on this planet, and concentrate on reaching others for Christ. This, of course, would mean singing songs in other styles, languages and cultures, but I believe God would smile.