Tahiti Waves – Living a Life of Praise – Jeremiah Was a Bull Frog!
Photo by John Jackson, taken at Point Mugu on July 23, 2009 ©
Psalm 31:1-3
I will praise the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boats in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.
O’magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
There is a anatomically incorrect praise song that goes like this…”Open the eyes of my heart Lord, open the eyes of heart…”
Okay, I have a little problem with praise music and I am not sure why I feel this way. I have complained about the syrupy lyrics (and thus weak theology) and simple melodies, and yet I gladly listen to “bad” 70s Rock Music - even today! I often will be driving through Malibu Canyon with the top down and the car stereo belting out – “Southern Cross”
Plus I sadly know that many of the great hymns of the faith are “un-singable” to many today because these hymns were written for a musically educated/talented public (four part harmonies, ability to read music, sometimes a difficult melody) that does not exist today. Sadly most of the art programs in schools have been sacrificed in our schools to the idol of outcome based education and thus people today only know how to sing unison songs with simple melodies.
So why am I on this rant? Is it just a sign of “getting older?” I have sadly noticed that one of the signs of “getting old” is going on rants and complaining about how things were better in the “old days.”
Perhaps the key lies in the scripture, I need to have a “humble heart.” Thus I need to realize that “good old days were not always good and tomorrow is not as bad as it seems.” I will always prefer some of the wonderful old hymns, and I love classical music, but I need to make room in my life for different tastes in music and be humble enough to realize that my musical tastes are not always so “refined.”
After all I could sing in my teenage years ”Joy to the World” because ”Jeremiah was bullfrog, and he was a good friend of mine” – so I can I make room for others. Maybe God is calling me to do a little less ranting and more praising?!
Peace,
Pastor John