"I can't stand worship songs that are repetitive"

Have you heard this before? Have you heard a zealous rant against songs that have the same chorus over and over and over? I have a couple times. For short time I even agreed, until I compared it with the Bible.

I won't spend much time rambling about why, but will just provide a couple of lucid examples of the Bible's repetitive worship. Before referencing those though, I think part of this whole situation is that we are addicted to novelty. Our new songs become older, faster and truly old songs are looked at with distaste by many just by virtue of their age and style. C.S. Lewis coined the term "Chronological Snobbery" with reference to the mindset that old books and ideas are lesser because of their age. I think the label can fit here too.

 When we can watch a new show every week and are barraged with new music on the radio, we start to expect and crave the entertainment of novelty. A question for you, would you make it as one of the 24 elders in heaven? Take a look at this job description in Revelation 4:8-11.

• "And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, 

                 'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!' 

• And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty- four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crown before the throne, saying,

      

                'Worthy are you, our Lord and God,to receive glory and honor and power,                                             for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.'"

You may say, "Ok, but that is dissimilar. They are in heaven which is qualitatively different." My response would be from Psalm 136. Stick with me here. This Psalm unequivocally illustrates that some repetitive songs are not a problem in worship.

Psalm 136:1-13 (ESV)

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

 for his steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

to him who alone does great wonders,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

to him who by understanding made the heavens,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

to him who spread out the earth above the waters,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

to him who made the great lights,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

the sun to rule over the day,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

the moon and stars to rule over the night,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

and brought Israel out from among them,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

to him who divided the Red Sea in two,

for his steadfast love endures forever..."

(Btw, that was only half the Psalm)

        

  Wrapping up, my concern is that the real reason we react so negatively to repetitive songs is that we are searching for entertainment. Are we bored with any song that repeats itself? I humbly suggest that the song is not the problem and that we are bored with the object of our worship because of our wandering hearts. If repetition characterizes parts of the inspired hymn book of Israel and is the picture of worship in the presence of God, then we better reassess our negative view of repetitive worship. The fact that our heart does not want to enthusiastically proclaim "his steadfast love endures forever" 26 times is a sin problem, not a song problem.

Afterthoughts:

1. I rejoice in song writers helping us "Sing a new song" (Psalm 49). We should actively find new ways to worship and rejoice in God's ongoing work.
2.  I do not think all our worship should be repetitive. Many of the Psalms are good examples of the freedom to not repeat yourself in worship. (Psalm 1, for starters)
3. However we are worshiping, repetitive or not, our content should be truth based on careful consideration of what God's word says. I intentionally chose not to write in response to comments like "this song is shallow in it's theology" because they are separate issues, although often talked about together.
4. Any idealistic vision that thinks "the older the song, the better" is just as poor of a guide as one's craving for novelty. Both of these mindsets push their own preferences.