Singing to the Lord!

While reading A. W. Tozer's "The Attributes of God", I came across this paragraph that made me chuckle.

"Do you ever stop to think about the rapture? It's going to be something that's never happened before. You might be walking around on the street and hear the sound of the trumpet - and suddenly you're transformed! You won't know what to do or how to act. And the people lying in their graves, what'll they do? I know what they'll do - they'll sing! There's going to be singing at the consummation, on that great day!

'Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou was slain, and hast redeemed us' (Revelation 5:9) - that's the theme of the new song. The theme of the new song isn't 'I am'; it's 'Thou art.' Notice the difference! When you look at the old hymnody of Wesley, Montgomery and Watts, it was 'Thou art, O God, Thou art.' But when you look at the modern hymns, it is 'I am, I am, I am.' It makes me sick to my stomach. Occasionally a good hymn with testimonies is all right, but we've overdone it. The song of the ransomed is going to be 'Thou art worthy, O God.'"

What made me chuckle was Tozer's strong words, "It makes me sick to my stomach." I can relate to his frustration. I have written a few posts on my preference for hymns. Because of my tendency to be self-righteous, I was once very rigid about the style of music I would prefer in a worship service, and I once shunned contemporary Christian music altogether. By God's grace, I have realized how arrogant and prideful my attitude was, and have come away from that stance. Everyone has his or her own preference for style of music. But that's all there is to it, it's just personal preference. Some are more inclinced to express their praises and thanksgiving to God through hymns accompanied by the organ or piano only. Some sing praises to the Lord with raising their hands, even clapping, with an ensemble of instrumentalists leading the music. My thinking on this subject will continue to be molded and changed, I know. For now the conclusion at which I have arrived is that the style of music is not essential and does not matter that much. It's the content of the songs/hymns that carries the weight. Like Tozer said, is it all "I am"? Or is it centered on the triune God, "Thou art?" Are we singing of God's attributes and praises to Him? Or are we exalting ourselves and our emotions with the words? I have to admit that I still have some disdain for some CCM songs because of their man-centeredness and emotionalism. But praise the Lord! There has been a wave of musicians who have brought back the God-centeredness and Scripture-filled content into the churches (Keith and Kristyn Getty, Bob Kauflin and Sovereign Grace Ministries, Indelible Grace, Red Mountain Music, just to name a few). It's very exciting to see how God will continue to teach His people to sing praises to Him. In the meantime, let's keep on singing to the Lord!