![]() The Book of Psalms recognizes that suppressing feelings of anger and rage in situations of extreme violence does more harm than good. Protesting to and even raging at God about injustice is central to the hymnal God himself gives his people (Ps. Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor. By contrast, prick the Psalter and it bleeds with the cries of the oppressed, pleading for God to act. ![]() When we sing the Top 25, we don’t ask God anything. Maybe most devastatingly, in the Top 25, not a single question is ever posed to God. By contrast, the psalmists constantly pray to God about the way the wicked prosper by exploiting or betraying their neighbors (Ps. When they are mentioned, they appear to be enemies only in a spiritual sense. References to enemies are rare in the Top 25. By contrast, these victims of injustice are everywhere in the Psalms. The widow, refugee, and oppressed are completely absent from the Top 25. ![]() Psalm 146 declares that the Lord deserves praise because he is the one “who executes justice for the oppressed who gives food to the hungry” (v. But Psalms uses varied language to describe the poor on nearly every page. There are zero references to the poor or poverty in the Top 25. The Psalms shout for joy to the “Mighty King, lover of justice,” who has “established equity” and enacted “justice and righteousness in Jacob” (Ps. The oldest title for the Book of Psalms is simply “Praises.” When you ask what the Psalter says we should be praising God for, though, the Lord’s justice stands at the top of the list. By contrast, just one of the Old Testament’s words for justice ( mishpat) shows up 65 times in 33 different psalms. There is only one passing mention of the word justice in the Top 25. And because the book offers us prayers and songs, it doesn’t just tell us how to think about justice-it offers us scripts to practice shouting and singing about it.īut when I recently took a quick look at the lyrics of the first 25 songs listed in the “ CCLI Top 100” worship songs reportedly sung by churches and compared them to the way the Psalms sing about justice, I realized that we don’t necessarily follow that script. Yet upon closer inspection, Psalms is obsessed with the Lord’s liberating justice for the oppressed. But why did the creators of the “Slave Bible” cut out the Book of Psalms? After all, the portions that tend to be well known and well-loved draw our minds toward well-tended sheep sitting by quiet waters. If you want a pro-slavery Bible, it’s unsurprising you’d get rid of the exodus story or drop Paul’s declaration that in Christ “there is … neither slave nor free” (Gal. ![]() The editors presumably cut out parts of Scripture that could undermine slavery or incite rebellion. Published in 1807, the so-called “Slave Bible” offered Caribbean slaves a highly edited edition of the KJV. This is a song for a season such as this.In 2018, an unusual Bible made national news. The power is in the person of Jesus Christ who is behind the blessing. Remember, the power is not in the words of the blessing. It is a vision of God's very best for you. Looking back, perhaps this song was a gift from God to the world, right on the heels of the virus outbreak. The lyrics come straight out of the priestly Blessing in Numbers 6:24-26. Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes visited the Elevation songwriting team a few weeks ago, and together experienced a unique moment of inspiration. In fact, it is so hot that it hasn't even been released on an official album yet. Here is a list of eleven modern worship songs that can truly minister to you and the people you lead in this time of chaos and uncertainty. During times of chaos, these songs take on new meaning as a lifeline to calm anxiety and help us fix our eyes on things that are true. During good times, these songs are lovely to sing together. Somewhat oblivious to the virus, we have seen a host of incredibly powerful worship songs rising to the surface in churches all around the world. Authentic worship leaders, this is your time. ![]() Songs put words of truth on the crest of melodic waves, triggering emotion and piercing our hearts. We need you to bring us songs of hope, comfort, perspective, and truth. In all the seasons of life, this is a time for worship leaders to stand strong. How can we survive this? We need each other. Social distancing has become the new buzz word of our day. It's a global crisis, for sure, but the effects are also very personal. COVID-19 has sent our world into a tailspin. ![]()
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