A couple weeks ago, I received a new book from Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing. The “worship wars” debate has always interested me, as I grew up in a fundamentalist Church setting where many kinds of music, Christian and secular, were taboo. I love music and am still leery of much that goes by the name Christian these days, but I have been guided by what Scripture says, and even more so by what it doesn’t say about music.
Douglas Sean O’Donnell’s new book God’s Lyrics: Rediscovering Worship through Old Testament Songs addresses the issue of songs for worship from a fresh angle. He examines the songs found throughout the Old Testament, outside of the book of Psalms, and sees what we can learn from a study of their lyrics. He calls the church to embrace the Biblical pattern embodied in these great songs of the faith and examines both hymnody and contemporary praise music in light of Scripture.
I’m not sure about how exactly O’Donnell will conclude as he examines much of the music we sing today, but I can tell from the endorsements and what I’ve seen so far that his book will be a positive focus on Scripture rather than an arbitrary stylistic rant. It promises to be a great read, and I’d encourage you to check it out. You can order the book from Amazon.com, Westminster Bookstore, or direct from P & R Publishing. Check out some sample pages of the book, here.
Disclaimer: This books is a complimentary review copy. The reviewer is under no obligation to provide a favorable review.
