Worship Song Example: Wonderful, Merciful Savior

My second example of a fabulous *worship* song is Wonderful, Merciful Savior by Selah which focuses on the Trinity. 

• The first verse is about Jesus. 
• Jesus is wonderful and merciful, and our savior. 
• How have I noticed his wonderfulness? 
• How has His mercy been present in my life?
• What did He save me from? 
• Jesus is precious, our redeemer, and our friend. 
• How have I expressed to Jesus how precious He is to me? 
• What does it mean to be redeemed? 
• What are the qualities of being a good friend? Do I treat Jesus as a good friend? 
• Jesus is the lamb that rescued our souls.
• The next verse is about the Holy Spirit. 
• The Holy Spirit is our Comforter, our Counselor, and our Keeper.
• How has the Holy Spirit comforted me? 
• What counsel has the Holy Spirit given me? 
• What does it mean that the Holy Spirit is my Keeper? 
• The Holy Spirit is someone we long to embrace.
• Do I want to embrace the Holy Spirit? 
• The Holy Spirit offers hope when we've lost our ways. 
• When was a time that I lost my way? 
• How has the Holy Spirit given me hope? 
• The chorus tells God that we praise and adore Him. It identifies God as the source of healing and grace that we are hungering for. 
• God is the one we praise.
• What does it mean to praise God? 
• How often do I praise God? 
• God is the one we adore.
• What does it mean to adore God? 
• How often do I adore God? 
• God is the source of the healing and grace that we long and hunger for. 
• How do I show that I recognize God as the source of healing and grace?
• How have I longed and hungered for healing and grace? 
• The last verse is about God the Father. 
• God is Almighty and Infinite.
• What does it mean that God is almighty? 
• What does it mean that God is infinite?
• How does my life change because God is almighty and infinite? 
• God is our Father.
• What is a father like? 
• How is God a perfect father to me? 
• How do the errors and failings of my own earthly father color how I view God?
• God faithfully loves His people.
• How has God faithfully loved me and others? 
• How have I responded to God's faithful love?
• We are found by God in our weakness.
• How has God found me in your weakness? 
• How have I responded to God finding me in my weakness?
• We are falling before His throne. 
• What does it mean to fall before God's throne? 
• When was the last time you fell before God's throne? 
• I love the names and adjectives of God all throughout this song: Savior, Redeemer, Friend, Lamb, Counselor, Comforter, Spirit, Father Wonderful, Merciful, Precious, Almighty, Infinite, Faithful(ly)
• What names and adjectives of God especially resonate with me? 

This song does an amazing job of worship God as it focuses on each part of the trinity. Even though "we" slips in as the subject occasionally, God is clearly the object of this song's worship and is predominately the subject too.

Worship Word 2: H6087

Our second Hebrew word for worship is Strong's Number H6087.

It is a verb that is used to mean grieve (10x), displeased (1x), hurt (1x), made (1x), sorry (1x), vexed (1x), worship (1x), wrest (1x).

Overall, this word means to hurt, to be in pain, be pained, be grieved, to vex, to torture, to cause pain, to feel grieved, be vexed. Yet it can also mean to shape, fashion, make, form, stretch into shape, or worship. 

Out of the 17 times this word is used in the Old Testament, it is only translated as worship 1 time: Jeremiah 44:19. Furthermore, that one time describes worshipping the queen of heaven, not God.

So our second worship word has more negative connotations. There aren't any positive examples or descriptions to emulate.

In the wider context of Jeremiah 44:15-19, the people are rejecting what Jeremiah said to them. They are choosing to burn incense and pour out drink offerings, and make cakes to worship the queen of heaven. They think turning away from the queen of heaven has brought disaster on them. 

The commentary by David Guzik sends some additional light here. He notes that the women played a large part in worshipping the queen of heaven and other idols. The women noted that they acted with their husbands' permission. It's unclear if the husbands commanded their idolatry or permitted it, but they could have chosen to follow God and his commands instead of their husbands into sin and idolatry.

In churches today, we view worship as a positive activity, but the definitions of this of this word gets me thinking about how our actions might grieve the Holy Spirit. When we worship the wrong thing or person, worship becomes a negative thing that vexes God. 

Challenge of the Week: 

Take some time to consider how your actions, allegiances, and attitudes might be displeasing to the Holy Spirit.

Invite the Holy Spirit to reveal areas of your life that grieve or vex God.

Consider how you might rid yourselves of these hinderances. 

Worship Song Example: Holy, Holy, Holy

Many times, I feel that I am harshly criticizing most worship songs, but there are some songs that I feel are good examples of songs that are *worshiping* God. 

I view a "good" worship song as something sung TO God. Therefore, the pronouns used are "You" instead of "He". I think that a good worship song is as simple as telling God who He is (adjectives and names) and what He has done. 

The first example of a *worship* song is Holy, Holy, Holy. 

My natural worship style is very contemplative. When a song is sung, many times, I want to sit and journal through the lyrics. Below, I provided the reflections and questions that this song brought up in me. 

Holy, Holy, Holy is an old song (from the 1800s) written by Reginald Heber that focuses on the Trinity. 

• The first verse centers on the Lord God Almighty, yet also calls on believers to sing to God in the early morning. 
• God is holy. He is our Lord God Almighty. 
• Do I view God as Almighty? 
• Do I treat Him as holy? 
• Do I praise God in the early morning? 
• How might I adjust my morning routine to make that line true? 
• God is merciful and mighty. 
• How has He shown me mercy? 
• How have I seen His might at work? 
• God is Father, Son, and Spirt: the Trinity. 
• How do I interact with each part of the Trinity? 
• How are they at work in my life? 
• The second verse notes that the saints adore God and throw down their crowns before God. It also describes the cherubim and seraphim falling down before God. 
• The saints adore God. 
• Do I adore God? 
• What does adoration actually mean? 
• How might it look to adore God? 
• The saints throw down their crowns by the glassy sea. (The glassy sea is mentioned in Revelation 4:6 and 15:2 as being near God's throne in heaven). Throwing down my crown evokes an image of surrender to God. 
• What do I need to surrender to Him? 
• What things do I value and idolize that need to be thrown down before God? 
• The cherubim and seraphim fall down before God. 
• What does the Bible say about these beings? 
• If they fall down before God, should I do the same thing? 
• God was; God is, and God will be. This is a comforting statement. God won't be changing or disappearing on me. 
• How does this fact give me strength to face the day? 
• The third verse acknowledges that we can't always see God and sinners can't see God's glory. It acknowledges that only God is holy and He is perfect in power, love, and purity. 
• Sometimes it's hard to see God when circumstances blind me to God's presence. 
• When was a time I couldn't see God due to the darkness around me? 
• What did I learn about God in that season of darkness? 
• Sinful people can't see God's glory. 
• Can I see God's glory around me? 
• God is the only holy one. There is no one else besides Him. 
• Who or what do I tend to idolize as holy or pure? 
• God's power is perfect. His love is perfect. His purity is perfect. 
• How have I seen these in my life? 
• The last verse is highly similar to the first verse, but adds in that God's creation will praise His name. 
• God is holy. He is our Lord God Almighty. 
• How does worshiping, serving, and following a holy, mighty God change my life? 
• Do I treat God as sacred and unable to stand sin, impurity, or uncleanliness in His presence?
• His works will praise Him. 
• How often do I praise God? 
• What has He done recently that should be praised?
• God is merciful and mighty. 
• How has He shown me mercy? 
• How have I seen His might at work? 
• God is Father, Son, and Spirt: the Trinity. 
• How does the Bible describe each member of the Trinity? 
• Which names of each part of the Trinity resonate with me the most and why? 

This song is powerful as it focuses on God and His holiness. Even the second and third verses point us back toward God as the object of our worship, even as the saints, angels, darkness, and sinners slip in as subjects.