Why Our Words and Metaphors Matter for Worship

Whenever I read the Psalms I’m impressed by the rich imagery, metaphors, and narratives that the poets use for their worship.

The poets who wrote the Psalms wrote about enemy attacks, trees rooted along streams, and rocks holding firm amidst floods. These images communicated truths about God’s character and his dealings with his people.

In our contemporary liturgies and worship songs we would do well to pay attention to the use of language in the Psalms and consider how we can imitate their literary qualities today. Many contemporary worship songs succeed in conveying truths about God, but they fail to relate these ideas with fresh language and rich imagery.

I am most impressed by the work of The David Crowder Band. They write about God as illuminating, of meeting God in a beautiful collision, and of God as a Remedy. Perhaps the concept of a remedy isn’t all that different from God as a healer and illumination is quite similar to saying God is the light of the world, but these slight twists to familiar images open up fresh avenues to imagination and to our worship.

As we worship our creator God, our songs, poems, and prose can take us deeper in our worship as they push us to imagine God in new ways.

———

Ed Cyzewski blogs on theology at www.inamirrordimly.com and on writing at www.edcyz.com. He is the author of Coffeehouse Theology.