and also help define the relationship between imperfect humanity and that of holy divinity. Since songs about repentance require an internal change that many people resist, songs in this category are not wildly popular or available. Still, teshuvah must precede worship. Pleading with God for mercy and forgiveness for the ways that we have been unholy and offended Him aligns us with God’ s will and informs our proper perspective. If we don’ t come before Him with fear and trembling, with a willingness to change our behavior to please Him and with a desire for Him to change our hearts, we may miss His voice. An example of a song of teshuvah is Yaron Cherniak’ s“ Ashuv Eleicha”(“ Coming Back to You”).
Worship is the last type of song I will call out and has two subcategories. For this discussion, worship is two-way communication between the worshiper and the one who is worshiped. The relational aspect is person to God and back again. When worship goes out, Adonai’ s heart and power come in. Fear-based adoration is one subcategory of worship. An example, within the Siddur’ s“ Atah Gibor”( You Are Mighty) liturgical prayers are set to music by Alexander Kuzovyakin. Lovebased adoration is another subcategory. Examples are Shilo Ben Hod’ s“ Dai Li”( Enough for Me) and as seen with Miqedem’ s“ Dodi Li”(“ My Beloved”).
Songs not grouped as“ worship” above can prepare us for worship. But if we never get to worship, we will never know God’ s heart. Often songwriters say,“ These lyrics come straight from the Bible.” But not all biblical passages are worship. If we recognize the differences, we can choose how we engage with God and then start to notice the outcomes. If congregational leaders and worship team leaders are able to explain the relational nature of the songs we express communally, they can help ordinary attendees in their own lifestyle of worship- as they model their personal prayer times on corporate worship services, and in becoming more aware of the nature of their personal interactions with Adonai.
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