I think we need more honest worship music today. Here’s what I mean.
Do you ever go to worship and find yourself singing words you don’t really mean? Not bad thoughts or sentiments, but they just don’t fit where you are at the moment? Maybe it’s songs of joy and happiness while you feel depressed. Maybe the song lyrics are full of hope while you feel despair. Perhaps you sing about peace while feeling anger and frustration.
Did you know that if we followed the example of the Psalms (which Paul commands us to do, by the way), we would have far more “worship” songs filled with anger, frustration, and even statements of being betrayed by God?
My Psalm reading today came from Psalms 41-45, and I can feel the frustration and despair in this section. Psalms 42-45 were all* written by the “Sons of Korah.” We first encounter the Korahites in Numbers 26:58 among the leading Levitical families. They’re also mentioned in the description of all the temple bureaucracy in 1 Chronicles, specifically as “gatekeepers” in 1 Chronicles 26:1, and as worship leaders in 2 Chronicles 20:19. The short of it is the author(s) of these psalms are professional ministers at the temple, serving God every day of their lives.
Psalm 42 and 43 were almost certainly a single poem* based on the language used, and the repeated refrain of questioning self as to why a lack of trust in the Lord exists (see 42:5, 42:11, 43:5). Nobody really knows why the poem was divided into two parts, but most commentaries treat them as one.
Psalm 42-43 is a lament of God seeming absent while enemies persecute and mock the psalmist. There’s also significant self doubt and disappointment about why faith seems to be failing. Nothing is going right, and God apparently isn’t intervening. The psalmist calls to God for help, though there is no clear turn to worship at the end of the psalm as if help has come. There is a hope, however, that God will one day answer the prayer.
Then comes Psalm 44, which really struck me this morning. The psalm is broken into two main parts: 1) remembering and celebrating all the victories God has given his people in the past, and 2) listing all the defeats the people are facing, accusing God of betraying his promises, and calling on God to come and save them once again.
And that’s what struck me this morning. Your Bible includes a song rebuking God’s absence and betrayal towards his people. It doesn’t end with flowery hope, or words of praise. Instead, it begs God to do the right thing, and act true to his character.
We have no idea the exact events that lead up to these worship leaders writing this psalm, but it is clear in this psalm the people feel betrayed. Listen to the words of the Korahites here:
“But now you have rejected us and humbled us; you no longer go out with our armies. You made us retreat before the enemy, and our adversaries have plundered us. You gave us up to be devoured like sheep and have scattered us among the nations. You sold your people for pittance, gaining nothing from their sale.” – Ps 44:9-12
The psalmist goes on to describe all the fallout from their defeats. All the abuse and scorn. It even seems like these ministers are facing abuse from the people because of God’s lack of action.
“You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us.” – Ps. 44:13
“I live in disgrace all day long, and my face is covered with shame…” – Ps. 44:15
Now the most comfortable explanation of this text would be to explain it away as unwarranted complaint by guilty people. After all, these folks surely did something wrong, some sin causing God to not act on their behalf.
Nope.
“All this came upon us, though we had not forgotten you; we had not been false to your covenant. Our hearts had not turned back; our feet had not strayed from your path. But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals; you covered us over with deep darkness.” – Ps. 44:17-19
And here is also the famous verse that Paul quotes in Romans 8:
“Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” – Ps. 44:22
The psalmist feels like there is no hope. They are facing abuse, pain, suffering, even death because of ministering to God.
In both your Old Testament and New Testament, you have examples of people questioning God’s actions, complaining about his seeming absence in their lives, and refusing to answer their prayers.
These texts aren’t removed.
They aren’t hidden.
They’re very real, and the Holy Spirit made sure you had them in your Bible (assuming that you choose to even read what he’s given you).
And I’m certain this is for a purpose.
To the person feeling frustrated, tired, upset, angry, or even betrayed by something God did—or did not do—you’re not alone.
The Scriptures are filled with the voices of faithful men and women who loved God deeply, yet struggled to understand what he was doing. They cried out in confusion. They questioned his timing. They lamented his apparent silence. Sometimes they even accused him of abandoning them.
And yet, they kept talking to him.
That may be one of the greatest lessons the Psalms teach us. Faith is not pretending everything is fine. Faith is not suppressing disappointment or ignoring pain. Faith is bringing those things honestly before God.
It’s okay to be angry.
It’s okay to be frustrated.
It’s okay to be confused.
It’s okay to wrestle with unanswered prayers, suffering that seems unfair, and circumstances that don’t make sense.
The Psalms give us permission to bring all of that before the Lord.
But they also encourage us not to stop there.
The Korahites didn’t walk away from God. They cried out to him. They kept praying. They kept singing. They kept trusting that even when they couldn’t see his hand, his character had not changed.
That’s why Psalm 46 is such a fitting reminder. The same group of worship leaders who wrote songs of lament and frustration also wrote these words:
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea…He says, ‘Be Still, and know that I am God’…The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” – Ps. 46:1-2, 10, 11
So keep wrestling. Keep talking. Keep telling him your heart, and he’ll continue to amaze you by what he shows you.
And, maybe consider writing a more honest worship song.
Living in the Word 