A plea for new songs: a missional/theological reflection on Psalm 96.

In the battle that constitutes the worship wars, one highly contested area concerns the issue of worship styles, traditional versus contemporary. As the champions of contemporary style make their advance, they often do so under the banner of relevance, meaning effective communication with modern culture. (1) Though some might criticize those battling for contemporary styles with regard to the specific ways they defend their position, certainly their motivation to connect the ancient message of the Christian tradition to the concepts of contemporary culture appears noble. Those on the other side warn of the danger of cultural accommodation as potentially distorting the message of the gospel. (2)

In contrast to those who worry over cultural accommodation, one might understand the struggle against cultural accommodation as an important reason for new songs. Given the power of poetry and song to shape the imagination, new songs serve as a great ally in another war, the battle against the rhetoric of modern Western culture that urges Christians to find identity within the confines of consumerism or patriotism or postmodernism, or any of a variety of other ideologies that lay siege to the citadels of faith. To borrow a phrase based on the ingenious subtitle of Walter Brueggemann's Israel's Praise: Doxology against Idolatry and Ideology (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988), new songs assert doxology versus various ideologies and help Christians maintain a strong sense of identity in a rapidly changing cultural milieu.

New songs might empower Christians to embrace new ways of orthodoxy and orthopraxy that better approximate the reality concerning God, the world, and ourselves. As William Willimon notes, ritual does more than simply function as a stabilizing force in an unstable world: "Ritual not only helps protect the existing order but also enables us to envision a new order." (3) New songs offer an opportunity for ritual to shape minds--and lives--into different directions to meet the new challenges presented by culture.

What enables Christians to see that all humanity, including Christians and the communities we live in, stands in need of the mercy, grace, and power of God to overcome the evil both within us and outside us? I believe that the songs and psalms that we "speak to one another" hold great hope in this regard. Gaining a faithful view of God, world, and self does not occur automatically but entails a gradual process. Liturgy helps reveal this world of faith that frees us from merely adapting to the contours of the status quo. (4) Yet a dilemma arises when old songs keep telling us the same old things about God, world, and self and leave us vulnerable to the forces of the ideologies confronting us daily. New songs offer an opportunity for worshipers to embrace a renewed sense of identity, shaping the people of God into a more faithful image of the Creator.

A plea for new songs finds biblical grounding in Psalm 96, which calls the people of God to listen in on a proclamation in order to reenvision their reality. As we see the way the psalmist casts a new vision of God, world, and self, we may find resources for battling the destructive ideologies of the day and motivation to forge new weapons, new songs, that equip Christians for battles to come.

Looking outward, seeing inward

Several points deserve comment if we are to appropriate Psalm 96 in our attempt to use doxology versus ideology. Although a common conception of the Psalter views this collection as "the prayerbook of Israel/the church," many psalms do not function as prayers--that is, as direct addresses to God. Rather, numerous psalms appeal to the congregation and so serve as proclamation or sermons delivered in poetic form. Psalm 96 falls into this category.

Second, and perhaps more to the point, though this psalm is in our songbook, the explicit addressees of the psalm stand outside the boundaries of our community; the addressees are the nations. How do the people of God hear words addressed to others? How do we "listen in" as we sing this song in order to hear a word for us?

One way is to perceive ourselves engaged in a bit of misdirection. By focusing our attention on those outside, the psalmist ingeniously sets up those singing the song and catches them in a trap of their own making. By presenting a new vision of God and the world, the psalm urges the people of God to adopt a new vision of themselves, new ways of thinking and interacting with God and world.

Reenvisioning God

One danger of singing only the same old songs involves a too-ready exclusive identification of the God we worship as our God. Fairly easily God then becomes simply another tribal deity--not a God of all earth and creation but the God only of Israel, or of the church, or, even more narrowly, of North American Protestantism. Psalm 96 reminds the congregation that this God is God not only for us but also for the nations.

Psalm 96 uses familiar language about God's saving acts, miracles, creative power, glory, majesty, honor, strength, holiness, divine reign, and justice. Israel at worship singing this psalm might feel compelled to agree with the vision of God presented here, offering up an unqualified "Amen!" to the proclamation. But, in the moment of the emphatic Amen! the psalmist's trap is partly laid bare. YHWH, so glorious a being, who performs such awesome deeds, deserves praise equal to YHWH's character and deeds. In fact, only the praise coming from all the nations will suffice. Israel's (and the church's) praises are not enough! (5)

1 Sing to YHWH a new song; sing to YHWH, all the earth.
2 Sing to YHWH, bless his Name; report day-after-day his saving deeds.
3 Recount among the nations his glorious deeds, among all the peoples
  his miraculous deeds.
4 For YHWH is great and exceedingly praiseworthy;
  He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For the gods of the nations are just that--gods;
  But YHWH made the heavens.
6 Majesty and magnificence are before him; strength and honor are in his
  sanctuary.

In this first section of Psalm 96, the psalmist argues for the worthiness of YHWH to receive the praises of the nations (vv. 1-6). Compared to other gods, YHWH deserves great praise, because the gods of the nations are only gods, perhaps implying their ineffectiveness to do anything, or at least to do anything of significance, but YHWH made the heavens (vv. 4-5). In other words, YHWH deserves such great praise because of God's grandest deed, the creation of the heavens. The psalmist presents YHWH not as deliverer of Israel, establisher of Zion, or the God who covenants with David but as God for all peoples who gaze up upon the heavens and see awesome wonders. God's greatest wonder, viewed by all peoples, ought to elicit the praises of all who enjoy its splendor.

7 Give to YHWH, O tribes of the peoples, give to YHWH glory and
  strength.
8 Give to YHWH the glory of his Name; bring tribute and come into his
  courts.
9 Bow down toward YHWH in his holy majesty; tremble before him, all the
  earth.
10 Say among the nations, "YHWH reigns." Indeed, he established the dry
  land; it will not be moved.
  He will judge the peoples with fairness.

The second section urges the nations to bring gifts/tribute into the sanctuary based on a further implication drawn from the belief that YHWH created the world--"YHWH reigns" (v. 10). Again, this does not refer simply to YHWH's reign over Israel from Zion but to God's reign over the whole world; "indeed he established the dry land; it will not be moved" (v. 10b). The steadfast existence of the lands in their places witnesses to the faithful reign of YHWH over the nations who dwell within these lands. The nations in their homelands owe great glory to God, the glory due God's name (v. 8a); because YHWH maintains their homelands faithfully, they ought to bring YHWH tribute.

11 Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be jubilant.
  Let the sea and what fills it roar.
12 Let the fields and all that are in them exult.
  Of course, all the trees of the wood will rejoice
13 before YHWH; because he comes, because he comes to judge the earth.
  He will judge the earth with justice and the peoples with integrity.

In this final argument, the psalmist offers a vision of God on the move. YHWH seated in the divine sanctuary (v. 8), reigning over the nations (v. 10), now comes to set his reign in motion (v. 13). YHWH does not simply summon the nations into the divine courts but descends from his throne to judge among the nations with justice and integrity. To reenvision YHWH entails seeing beyond the images of creator and king of all the earth to see a God whose reign manifests itself in justice. But justice for whom? God's judgment with justice and integrity indicates that God judges without partiality; God does not play favorites even on behalf of his own people, because all people belong to God and stand in need of divine justice. Thus, his judgment is not negative but positive. YHWH intervenes on behalf of the rightful claims of the weak throughout the created order over which he exerts his reign. (6)

As one observes the persuasive artistry of the psalmist, one notes a similarity between this plea for new songs and the idea of the "new covenant" in Jeremiah 31. Neither the new covenant nor the new songs contain new content. Rather, the singers' perspective becomes new. Those who sing this song as a regular part of their liturgical life recognize their God as creator, king, and judge but now recognize that he exercises his rule beyond Zion and Israel, even unto the ends of the earth.

Therefore, the appeal for new songs in the church does not necessarily require new language about God, as if God has changed or the community of faith intends to embrace a new god. Rather, the people of God take the traditional affirmations about God and set them forth on a grander scale--a new perspective of God. We need songs that remind us that YHWH intends to bring justice to all the nations, a justice without favorites, because he created the whole world and maintains their lands in his faithfulness. The God we worship deserves praise beyond our boundaries because his care and concern reaches beyond our borders.

Reenvisioning the world

From nearly the beginning, the Book of Psalms alerts the reader to the fact that the nations often act as enemies of God's people, as those who "take their stand against YHWH and against his anointed one" (Ps 2:2). Nevertheless, the question arises again, "Does this perspective of nations-as-enemies constitute the totality of reality?"

Psalm 96 answers the question with a definitive "No!" The writer invites worshipers to reenvision the nations as partners in the sacred drama, part of the larger congregation, at least potentially. If indeed YHWH reigns over the nations, establishing firmly the lands in which they dwell and enacting justice on their behalf, a fitting response from those nations includes their praises. Because they do not exist outside the bounds of the sovereignty of God, their offerings and songs worthy of his name are also not out of bounds, but only fitting.

Thus, the psalmist indicates that YHWH's activity in the world extends beyond the borders of Zion and Israel and opens up the borders of Zion and Israel for the nations to come in and worship. The psalm issues an invitation to the nations to come to the courts of YHWH (v. 8). The psalmist's message is quite prophetic, perhaps even eschatological, (7) mirroring the promises recorded in several prophets that the nations will one day stream into Zion, the courts of YHWH (Isa 56:1-8; 66:18; Zech 14:16-19). The summons to come to the courts of YHWH constitutes both a privilege and an obligation. Those who live under the protection (or justice) of a human sovereign express their fealty and thanks by presenting tribute to their king. It is no less so in the economy of the reign of YHWH, and such tribute serves as appropriate recognition of the "glory of his name" (v. 7).

Still, God's people, like Jonah, may find themselves none too pleased to see that YHWH does not play favorites, that God extends protection, grace, and steadfast love to all peoples. The psalmist points their gaze to the inanimate world as a model of how to perceive the equity of God, an inanimate world animated by a vision of YHWH descending from his throne to enact justice (vv. 11-13). To import imagery from St. Paul, a world groaning under the weight of the injustices that the nations inflict upon each other lifts up a shout, rejoicing and exulting when YHWH moves to (re)establish justice among all the peoples, who are indeed his peoples. The first section of Psalm 96 begins with a trifold summons: "Sing ... sing ... sing" (vv. 1-2). The second section extends a similar trifold command to the nations: "Give ... give ... give" (vv. 6-7). But in this last section, a single, repetitive word seems too restrictive as the psalmist piles one word on top of another: "Rejoice ... be jubilant ... roar ... exult ... rejoice!" (vv. 11-12). Such a summons invites the people of God to join the created order in celebrating the equitable justice of YHWH as it descends into the whole earth.

This song reminds those who sing it that even those who are often deemed enemies receive an invitation to join the people of God in his sanctuary, offering songs and praise and tribute to their king. Furthermore, the people of God celebrate with the created order the fact that YHWH (re)establishes justice in the earth, righting not only injustices inflicted by the enemies of God's people but also the injustices the people of God inflict upon others. Psalm 96 breaks the bounds of exclusivity to remind us that we are all inextricably bound up together. We need to partner with all the families of the earth and the oceans and trees and soil and air in glorifying the one God. (8)

Reenvisioning ourselves

Conspicuously absent from Psalm 96 is any explicit reference to the people of God: no references to Israel, Judah, Jerusalem, Zion, or the line of David. The traditional people of God find themselves decentered in Psalm 96, no longer the focal point, but with their vision turned outward toward the relationship between YHWH and the nations. This psalm invites those who claim fealty to God to gain a new vision of space, some distance from which to see that they do not have sole claim to a relationship with God and, from at least one perspective, perhaps do not even have claim to the central relationship.

Where are the people of God in Psalm 96? One finds them on the move, a movement outward. The people of God stand as the subject of the verbs: "report," "recount," "say." The nations receive an invitation to come to the center; the people of God receive the command to move away from the center, making space for the other by carrying God's message to the nations. As James Luther Mays notes, "The psalm has a definite evangelical cast." (9)

It appears that the psalmist thinks some confusion exists concerning the nature and purpose of God's salvific deeds, miraculous deeds, and reign (vv. 2, 3, 10). Ironically, the absence of the nations from the assembly lies in no fault of their own but with the people of God. Perhaps God's people keep his salvific acts, miracles, and reign all to themselves as their little secret. To import St. Paul once again.

How, therefore, will they call upon one whom they have not believed in;
and how will they believe in one whom they have not heard; and how will
they hear apart from someone preaching; and how will someone preach
apart from being sent? Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the
feet of those proclaiming good news" (Rom 10:14-15).

Perhaps a little decentering, a little disorientation, is necessary in order to assimilate the reorientation issued by Psalm 96. Recent rumblings concerning the end of the Protestant majority in the United States may alarm some, (10) but perhaps they also open the people of God to hear the command to be on the move, people proclaiming the mighty acts of God on our behalf but also for the world around us. The people of God may come to see themselves not as warriors seeking and destroying their enemies but as envoys sent into the world to speak of our God and their God. Those who are "not his people" will find themselves called "my people," and they will say "You are our God"--with an expansive sense of "our."

Conclusion

It should be apparent at this point that this plea for new songs is not based on an appeal for new songs to "meet my needs." Such a plea reduces the gospel so that "good news" equals "meeting my needs." In fact, I would argue that one of the underlying factors contributing to the worship wars involves the conflict between various groups over what they understand as their needs. Instead of reduction, this plea for new songs envisions an expansion of the gospel, the Good News of God for all peoples. (11)

Still, the impact of this good news begins within the worshiping community, among the people of God. The reason for this is that the people of God find themselves continually in need of reenvisioning God, world, and self; to borrow the pleasant phrase coined by Darrell Guder, there is always a need for the continuing conversion of the church. As Guder observes, all cultures have aspects hostile to or threatened by the Christian message. (12) We need new songs that meet this hostility or sense of threat head-on, a rhetoric that challenges the alluring rhetoric of consumerism, patriotism, postmodernism, and so on.

How do we then choose which new songs to sing? Certainly not in a sort of American Bandstand evaluation: "It had good rhythm; I could dance to it; I give it an 87." Instead, we ask, "Does this song address one of the pressing challenges from the rhetoric of our culture? What does this song say about God, world, and self that my church/the church needs to hear right now?"

In the end, a plea for new songs is a plea for a new church, a church with a renewed vision of God, world, and self.

I thank Bill Brown, Derek Neve, and Charme Robarts for their insightful comments on early drafts of this article.

Robert L. Foster

Southern Methodist University

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1. Terry York, America's Worship Wars (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003). See especially his comments on the changing emphases in worship in "Part I--Winds of War," 3-29.

2. York provides a good summary, from one perspective, of the history of this battle and its contemporary mode and offers some perspective on bringing peace. For perhaps the seminal essay that introduced the concept of "worship wars," see Ted Peters, "Worship Wars," Dialog 33 (1999): 166-72.

3. William H. Willimon, The Service of God: How Worship and Ethics Are Related (Nashville: Abingdon, 1983), 46.

4. Willimon, The Service of God, 51.

5. J. Clinton McCann, Jr., "The Book of Psalms," in New Interpreter's Bible Vol. IV, ed. Leander Keck (Nashville: Abingdon, 199), 1066, writes, "Because God rules the world, it is not sufficient to gather a congregation less than all the earth."

6. Walter Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1984), 145.

7. H. J. Kraus. Psalms 60-150, trans. Hilton C. Oswald (CC; Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989), 255.

8. McCann, "The Book of Psalms," 1066.

9. James Luther Mays, Psalms (Int.; Louisville: John Knox, 1994), 308.

10. See Broward Liston, "Roll Over, Martin Luther," Time 164/7 (August 16, 2004): 53.

11. I borrow the imagery of the reduction of the gospel from Darrell L. Guder, The Continuing Conversion of the Church (Gospel and Our Culture Series; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), esp. 97-141.

12. Guder, The Continuing Conversion of the Church, 147.