The Adonai or My Adonai

I started google-ing Hebrew lyrics for this blog. I know only a little hebrew. So i Google Adonai
I was shocked to see how many mainstream "christian" artist have songs titled "Adonai".
Adonai means "master or Lord". Correct me if i am wrong.

Lets all guess who Hillsong's Lord is:

I lift my voice
I lift my praise to You

I lift my hands
I lift my worship to You
And I love You more than I can say
Oh I love You more than I can say

Oh I love You always
Oh I love You always

Avalon's rendition of "Adonai" is:

Adonai, I lift up my heart and I cry
My Adonai
You are the Maker of each moment
FATHER of my hope and freedom
Oh, my Adonai
One timid faithful knock
Resounds up the Rock

of Ages
One trembling heart and soul
Becomes a servant bold and courageous
You call across the mountains and the seas
I answer from the deepest part of me
From age to age you reign in Majesty
And today You're making miracles in me

Brian "Head" Welch- from Korn:

Let your worries rest on Adonai -

Life is just a test from Adonai -

Make your escape from life with Adonai -
Everything in life depends on Adonai -
Lift all your worries up to Adonai -
You will all stop hurting come to Adonai -

The OC Supertones was too embarrassing to put up,
nah changed my mind....

Well I'm as ugly as sin, that is to say I'm not good lookin' who are we talking about?
But I can bust some ska, in fact the rhythm rhyme is cookin'
Brighten up your soul and loosen up your brain
Make my heartbeat all fast like rebecca st. james Rebecca is Lord?
Now please allow me to proceed and bust my rude boy flow
On the underground scene at the underground show
Grownups, kids and inbetweens I guess it takes all kinds
'Cause I guess we got true love, my blood, my blood true love is blind
One purpose is to worship and to make the body strong Worship? Exercise?
I don't care about your haircut, can't we all just get along?
Not just get along, but to really love and care
If your eyes are on the lord you can't see nobody's hair
Oh God isnt a picky hairdressor
thats a relief

Adonai adonai!

Well I don't claim to be a rhymin' apparatus
I don't want to be a gangster, I don't want to be the baddest
I ain't no al pacino and I ain't no al capone
I'm just a rude boy with a new toy
Add two speakers and a microphone
So listen up, listen up and make sure that you can hear me
I'm your brother and I'm your friend so come on and get near me
I'm a sinner just like all of you don't make me into an idol
I'm a preacher, I'm a saint and sinner, guess I fit the titles
Gotta keep a humble heart, because my good is not enough TRUE
Jehova jireh gotta give the glory up up up Finally
To y'shua me salvitore
Gotta give you all the glory god, I give you all my fears
God I give you all my years uh wait wait
You're my god and I will bow, I'll show all the proud people how
You're my god and I will bow, in fact I think I'll bow right now
so lost...who are we talking about again
Adonai adonai! Oh thats right, who's that again

Petra: I think petra is closer than hillsong..oh geez

This thirsting within my soul
Won't cease til I've been made whole
To know you, to walk with you
To please you in all I do
You uphold the righteous and your faithfulness shall endure
(Chorus)
Adonai, Master of the earth and sky
You alone are worthy, Adonai
Adonai, let creation testify
Let your majesty be magnified in me
Adonai, you are an endless mystery
Unchanging consuming fire
Lift me up from mud and mire
Set my feet upon your rock, let me dwell in your righteousness
When the storms surround me, speak the word and they will be still
And this thirst and hunger is a longing only you can fill

Now we All know THE CURE (adonais).

he breaks the spell still young
awakes from out this dream of life
and leaves us sleeping
storm racked blind consumed
by phantom pale displays of grief
he slips from out this shadow land of pain
where heads grow sorrow grey
and age destroys all hope
and spirits crushed
lament and hide away

but wordless watch the soft sky smile
and breathless hear the low wind sigh
"what death may join no more let life divide"

but wordless watch the soft sky smile
and breathless hear the low wind sigh
"what death may join no more let life divide"

"dream yourself awake" he calls
"eternity awaits us all
open your eyes and be with me
be with me... "

the cure lyrics seem a little more relevant and appropriate than our christian artist's.

Paul Wilbur (Baloche): Adonai
MY MAN!
Now thats Praise
Who is like Him
The Lion and the Lamb
Seated on the throne
Mountains bow down
Every ocean roars
To the Lord of hosts

Praise Adonai
From the rising of the sun
'Til the end of every day
Praise Adonai
All the nations of the earth
All the angels and the saints
Sing Praise

I may have sounded sarcastic in some of my comment. I dont write songs. I can imagine how difficult it must be to be correct 100% of the time. But you have too agree some of these songs are incredibly disrespectful to "Adonai" Lord and Master.

Songs of Procrastination

The following was written by Tim Challies, April 26, 2005. His origional blog can be found here.

Several days ago I posted an excerpt from an essay written by D.A. Carson that is published as the introductory chapter of Worship by the Book. Carson suggested that some Christians have come to worship worship instead of worshipping God through worship. He says, “This point is acknowledged in a praise chorus like ‘Let’s forget about ourselves, and magnify the Lord, and worship him.’ The trouble is that after you have sung this repetitious chorus three of four times, you are no farther ahead. The way you forget about yourself is by focusing on God – not by singing about doing it, but by doing it.”

Over the past days, these words have been playing in my mind, and have been causing me to examine every worship song I encounter. I listened to some of the worship albums I have accumulated over the past years and was struck by how true Carson’s words are. Carson also writes, “Despite the protestations, one sometimes wonders if we are beginning to worship worship rather than worship God. As a brother put it to me, it’s a bit like those who begin by admiring the sunset and soon begin to admire themselves admiring the sunset.”

This morning I thought of Sonicflood’s self-titled debut album. This one rocked the Christian music scene when it arrived a few years ago and immediately many of these songs went from nearly-unknown to exceedingly popular. Take a look at the lyrics for “I Want to Know You” (In the Secret):

In the secret, in the quiet place

In the stillness You are there

In the secret, in the quiet hour I wait only for You

‘Cause I want to know You more

I want to know You

I want to hear Your voice

I want to know You more

I want to touch You

I want to see Your face

I want to know You more

I am reaching for the highest goal

That I might receive the prize

Pressing ownward, pushing every hindrance aside, out of my way

‘Cause I want to know You more

I had to conclude that song really says nothing of substance about God. As the Christian sings this song he pleads to know God more, to hear His voice and to see His face, yet all this time he probably has the Bible sitting on the pew behind him. As Carson says, after you have sung this song through a few times you are no farther ahead. This song will not help you know Him, hear Him, touch Him or see Him. Consider another favorite from the same album:

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

Open the eyes of my heart

I want to see you, I want to see you

To see you high and lifted up,

Shining in the light of your glory.

Pour out your power and love,as we sing holy, holy, holy.

Holy, holy, holy Holy, holy, holy Holy, holy, holy

I want to see you
I want to see you

For sake of brevity I removed the portions of the lyric that are repetitive. This song is similar to the last in that it pleads what the songwriter wants to do (he wants to see God), yet it brings him no closer to doing so. Granted this song has at least somewhat more depth of theology to it than the first example, but it still does not bring the person any closer to what he desires. We can tell God that we want to see Him, but that does not make it happen! Allow me to provide one final example. Here are the lyrics for “You Are Worthy of My Praise” by David Ruis.

I will worship (I will worship)

With all of my heart (with all of my heart)

I will praise You (I will praise You)

With all of my strength (all my strength)

I will seek You (I will seek You)

All of my days (all of my days)

And I will follow (I will follow)

All of Your ways (all Your ways)

I will give You all my worship

I will give You all my praise

You alone I long to worship

You alone are worthy of my praise

I will bow down (I will bow down)

Hail You as king (hail You as king)

And I will serve You (I will serve You)

Give You everything (give You everything)

I will lift up (I will lift up)

My eyes to Your throne (my eyes to Your throne)

And I will trust You (I will trust You)

I will trust You alone (trust You alone)

Once more, the lyrics of the song do not express any worship to God. They talk about all the things the songwriter (and thus the person singing the song) intends to do, but does not actually do it. We do not worship God by telling Him that we will, at some point in the future, worship Him. It is akin to a husband heading to work and instead of telling his wife that he loves her, telling her that he will express his love for her at some other time. That is not an expression of love!

I wonder if we shouldn’t term these “songs of procrastination.” After all, by singing them we are procrastinating the very thing we claim to desire. Why not forget “In the Secret” and instead sing a song that will tell us about God and how we may know Him? If we want to know Him so badly, perhaps we should just end the song and open the Scriptures. Instead of telling God “I will worship you” and “I will bow down,” why don’t we just do it! Worship Him and bow before Him instead of just expressing the desire.

Thankfully, there are many songs that do this. Last week I purchased the new album by Jars of Clay. I have never been a great fan of Jars of Clay, but I do admire their musical ability, and realizing that their new album was recordings of traditional hymns, I could not resist. The album is excellent and you really ought to buy a copy for yourself. I can’t imagine anyone regretting it. But I digress. The first track of Redemption Songs is “God, Be Merciful to Me” which was penned by Jo­seph P. Hol­brook. It is an adaptation of Psalm 51. I can hardly imagine a better song to lead an album or a worship service.

God, be merciful to me,

On Thy grace I rest my plea;

Plenteous in compassion Thou,

Blot out my transgressions now;

Wash me, make me pure within,

Cleanse, O cleanse me from my sin.

My transgressions I confess,

Grief and guilt my soul oppress;

I have sinned against Thy grace

And provoked Thee to Thy face;

I confess Thy judgment just,

Speechless, I Thy mercy trust.

I am evil, born in sin;

Thou desirest truth within.

Thou alone my Savior art,

Teach Thy wisdom to my heart;

Make me pure, Thy grace bestow,

Wash me whiter than the snow.

Broken, humbled to the dust

By Thy wrath and judgment just,

Let my contrite heart rejoice

And in gladness hear Thy voice;

From my sins O hide Thy face,

Blot them out in boundless grace.

Gracious God, my heart renew,

Make my spirit right and true;

Cast me not away from Thee,

Let Thy Spirit dwell in me;

Thy salvation’s joy impart,

Steadfast make my willing heart.

Now this songwriter accomplishes what he sets out to do. He does not merely tell God that he is sorry for his sin, but he asks God to cleanse and forgive him. He admits his sinfulness and his brokenness and acknowledges that God’s judgment is just. He expresses confidence in God’s grace and forgiveness. It is a powerful and moving song. It is a fitting song to begin a worship service so the believer can acknowledge his unworthiness, plead God’s mercy, and rest in the acknowledgement of God’s pardon. Do not think that I am denigrating contemporary music in favor of hymns. There are many contemporary songs that likewise express depth and go far beyond mere suggestions.

Returning to Worship by the Book, Carson makes an analogy between a person who watches a sunset and another person who stands before the same sunset but becomes fixated on watching himself watch the sunset. The first person delights in the beauty of Creation, while the second person can see no further than the act of watching it. In this way he misses the sunset altogether. What folly it is to miss the beauty of the sunset by fixating on ourselves. And what a tragedy it is if we go no further than asking God to touch us or speak to us, but do not use what He has given us to accomplish that end.

Here I Am To Worship

Light of the world
You stepped down into darkness.
Opened my eyes, let me see.
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with You

So here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me

King of all days
oh, so highly exalted
Glorious in heaven above
Humbly You came
To the earth You created
All for loves sake became poor

So here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me

I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross

I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross


Well, I'm going to get yelled at a lot for this one. I've seen hundreds of posts all over the net with people praising this song and saying how "I could finally hear from God after singing this song", and "I had amazing personal revelations of God while hearing Tim Hughes sing this in concert". How about, "The writer of this song is highly favored by the Almighty God. It is a song from God which i believe God Himself really loves it so much.I love it so much,it always inspires me to worship God and makes me have the revelation of who God is.", and "I really love this song! I kept listening to it over again and again because it touched my heart. Try listening to it while thinking of the sin that we do and yet GOD still loves us. I am proud to sing this song to God. I am very proud to be a Christian."

That's it isn't it. We are so proud of ourselves and who we are and what we have become in the kingdom; super-Christians per se. God, You are sovereign and have done amazing things and have shown remarkable acts of mercy. In light of these facts, I, super-Christian, am here to worship. If You hadn't done all of these things then being God of the Universe is not enough to get me to bow down and call you my God, but since You have made Yourself worthy then here I am! Super-Christian!

Your altogether? This is another word I have a hard time with. To say altogether is to say entirely, utterly, with all included or counted, on the whole; with everything considered. God, on the whole and with everything considered, You are wonderful to me. Sounds weird huh? Not to mention that 'altogether' is a common term meaning 'a state of nudity'. Makes it really weird now huh?

I'll never know how much it cost? I have read that Ron Kenoly has said he couldn't sing this Bridge to the song. He didn’t agree with the lyrics “I’ll never know how much it cost to see my sins upon that cross”. He felt like Scripture has made the cost clear - John 3:16. So, he changes the lyrics to some way of thanking God for the price that Jesus paid. I have also read the cross examination of this saying that emotionally we will never be able to fully comprehend it even though we can read what Jesus did in the Word and be told about the price paid. I'll never know the cost reminds me of the great mysteries that the Catholic priests talk about when you ask them about their theology. I have to side with Ron Kenoly.

The only redeeming quality I can find is that it is reformed theologically with that line "Opened my eyes, let me see." It doesn't hold enough weight to redeem the song though. I'll throw that baby out with the bathwater.

I Repent

I regret the hours I have wasted
and the pleasures I have tasted
that you were never in.
And I confess that though your love is in me,
it doesn't always win me
when competing with my sin.

I lament the idols I've accepted,
the commandments I've rejected
to pursue my selfish end.
And I confess I need you to revive me,
put selfishness behind me
and take up my cross again.

And I repent, making no excuses.
I repent, no one else to blame.
And I return to fall in love with Jesus.
I bow down on my knees and I repent.

Lyrics by Steve Green

Well if there ever were a reason to have a man-centered song, this would be it. If I am going to sing about me the topics should be: God, I see the sin and depravity of my actions, and I repent! I repent making no excuses! No one else to blame! I confess that I don't always choose God when He is competing with my sin!

Kudos to Steve Green for singing lyrics that many Christians have a hard time saying in their prayer life. He however could have left out the "return to fall in love with Jesus", as I feel it gives the wrong impression of our relationship with our Creator. I cannot find that terminology or reference in the Bible used toward God. To me, to say "fall in love" would include feelings of infatuation and that elated, "high" feeling that accompanies it. This kind of "love" is something that lasts typically a short time and, unless replaced by true love, results in broken relationships. When I think of the love I have for Jesus it is not that high, elated, infatuation I experienced 2,384 times before I graduated high school. It is for that reason that this song creeps it's way slightly into the "Jesus is my boyfriend" category.

As for the rest of it, again, kudos!

To the Ends of the Earth

To the Ends of the Earth by Hillsong United
(Listen on Youtube/ Lyrics below)

When I was a young Christian, I refused to sing this song because I felt it was out of touch with reality. After all, the world is round and has no ends. Noticing this, a brother helpfully suggested that I worship by singing it without the S.

"to the end of the earth"

Years later, I was horrified to realize that the Bible uses the expression "ends of the earth" 46 times in the NIV. This forced me to recognize my pride. I had felt that I worshiped better because I did not allow any overstatement.

Often we look to find the most theological by going to hymns, the relevant to culture from our favorite vocalists, and only recognize the presence of God in our appreciated styles of music. We have no room for anything else because we claim to offer God only the best. But the reality is that a true worshiper lifts up holy hands... without anger or disputing (1 Tim 2:8).

***

Lyrics:
Love unfailing
Overtaking my heart
You take me in
Finding peace again
Fear is lost in all you are

And I would give the world to tell your story
'Cause I know that you've called me
I know that you've called me
I've lost myself for good within your promise
And I won't hide it
I won't hide it

Jesus, I believe in You
And I would go, to the ends of the earth
To the ends of the earth
For you alone are the son of God
And all the world will see
That You are God
You are God

Our Great God

Eternal God unchanging
Mysterious and unknown
Your boundless love unfailing
in grace and mercy shown
Bright seraphim in ceaseless flight
around your glorious throne
They raise their voices day and night
in praise to You alone

Lord we are weak and frail
helpless in the storm
Surround us with your angels
Hold us in your arms
Our cold and ruthless enemy
his pleasure is our harm
Rise up oh Lord and he will flee
before our Sovereign God

Let every creature in the sea
and every flying bird
Let all the mountains, all the fields
and valleys of the earth
Let all the moons and all the stars
throughout the universe
Sing praises to the Living God
who rules them by His word

Hallelujah! Glory be to
our great God

Hallelujah! Glory be to
our great God


I heard this song again today and marvelled at it's vivid descriptions and lyrical awe of the Creator. It gets better then this I'm sure.....but not much.

You Are Worthy Of My Praise

I will worship, with all of my heart
I will praise you, with all of my strength
I will seek you, all of my days
I will follow, all of your ways

I will bow down, and I'll hail you as king

I will serve you, I will give you everything

I will lift up my eyes to your throne

I will trust you, I will trust you alone

I will give you, all my worship
I will give you, all my praise
You alone, I long to worship
You alone, are worthy of my praise


It never occurred to me until I typed this song out how many times it says "I will". If you think about it, by singing this song we are merely telling God what our future plans are. Then there are the unrealistic promises we are making. They are ideal, yes, but to say we can make them is to say we have some power or skill. The truth is it would only be by God's grace that we could worship with any of our heart and strength, follow any of His ways, serve and give Him anything, and trust Him alone. Then the idea of telling God that we are going to give Him ALL our worship seems like we are hoping that if we sing the stanza just ... one more time ... that God might begin to believe it, but while we are still in this flesh the truth is that "our worship" will probably be shared with other things whether we like it or not. It is still full of ideals that we can strive for, but is too unrealistic to sing to the God of the Universe.

Dear K-LOVE,

This letter was written by a kid who obviously was nudged by the Holy Spirit and started to think things through. This seemed a very fitting first post for this blog. A ceremonious breaking of the bottle so to speak.


Dear K-LOVE staff:
I listen to your station every so often when I do not feel like listening to Narnia, or some of my other epic soundtracks while driving to school and back.
I'll admit up front, I'm not terribly fond of some of the music on the station. Please don't misunderstand. I'm a true, Biblical believer. I am a Christian, committed to Christ.
And there are quite a few good songs on your station.
But there's one in particular that made me stop and think. Superchick's "Stand in the Rain." I'm not a big fan of rock or heavy metal (hence, why I dislike some other songs you play) but despite that, I still enjoyed the song.
However, the song gave me pause to ask, what about the song points to Christ?
Even though I'm young, and have yet to weather some of life's heavier storms, I can still identify with the song. I think most people can identify with in one fashion or another. Everyone feels beaten down by the world at times. A lot of people have to hold back the tears that they want to shed over the situations they've been in, or are in.
But on a station like K-LOVE, Christ is supposed to be central. Yet "Stand in the Rain", while inspiring, doesn't mention Christ or even point to Him as any kind of solution to the problems the world throws at us. It sounds like an inspirational feel-good song one might hear on a soft-rock station (I wouldn't be surprised to hear that it turns up on one some time in the future.) where the only virtues are "belief" and holding fast to what you believe, and staying true to yourself. With no hard foundation (Christ) for why these are virtues.
There was at least one other song K-LOVE plays that is similar, the song "I Need You." This song was able to make the transition from K-LOVE airwaves to secular airwaves as a love song to a boyfriend WITHOUT CHANGING A SINGLE WORD. Nowhere in the Bible do I find anything to suggest Jesus is anyone's boyfriend.
This message isn't intended to demoralize, condemn or shame the station or its staff in any way. I'm not going to stop listening or write nasty letters. I still enjoyed the song, and I still enjoy some songs on the station.
I'm just saying perhaps it didn't occur to K-LOVE producers that the song, while powerful, has nothing Christian about it, and they may want to consider this when reviewing content for airing.
Sincerely,
David