Jason Silver

Friday, May 4th, 2018

City of the Great King

I remember when I was in college, there was another song based on this Psalm - I wonder how many other people remember it?

The lyrics, as best as I can recall, are:

Great is the Lord,
And greatly to be praised
In the city of our God,
On the mountain of His holiness.
Beautiful for situation,
The Joy of the whole earth
'Tis mount Zion on the sides of the north,
The city of the great king...
'Tis mount Zion on the sides of the north,
The city of the great king.

Do you remember that one? It has the typical bounciness of worship “choruses” that we used to sing in the 70's and 80's. It seems a tad “trite” to my ears, nowadays.

It's interesting to note that every era, every decade even, has it's own style of worship song. The chords, the melody, the structure of the songs, the types of lyrics -- it all seems to change from one year to the next.

There are some who feel like giving in to this cultural shift in worship music is somehow akin to backsliding, but for me personally, I find it helps to keep my attention to the subject matter. Once a song is known by heart, it's a lot harder for me to connect to it emotionally, or to rediscover things about the words and meanings that will break through my crusty exterior.

I realize it's not true for everybody. Some people still tear up when they hear “How Great Thou Art” for the 500th time. Some songs do have amazing staying-power, and I love that hymn. But for most of us, we need to change our perspective, to take a look at those words, those ideas from another vantage point from time to time.

Thanks to all who support my ministry! Much love to you!