We talk worship lyrics on this podcast and you, listeners, are always sending us lyric questions, which is maybe the most polarizing genre of episodes that we make. I'm sure most of you remember our episode on the contemporary worship song, "What a Beautiful Name," back in episode 1077, or the lyrics of the worship song, "Reckless Love." We addressed those in episode 1202.

Well, today a listener named Robert writes in to ask this, a more general question. "Hello, Pastor John. I've noticed in my own church a rise in the lover language in our contemporary worship songs. Scripture shows that marriage and, in some ways, sexuality, reflects something of Christ's relationship with his people.

Should we understand that in a purely corporate sense, or is it right for individuals to sing words like, 'I have felt your touch,' or 'Jesus, lover of my soul?' What place is there for the intimate, personal lover language in corporate worship, and how much of this stems from allegorical interpretations of the Song of Solomon?" What a tremendous need there is for prayerful, wise, mature, experienced, Bible-saturated, theologically deep leaders of worship.

Yes. Amen. Being able to play a guitar or a piano and carry a tune is not enough to fit a person for one of the most important pastoral roles in the church. I think after the pastor who preaches regularly, the designer and leader of worship services is the most spiritually and theologically influential person in the church, for better or for worse.

And I begin with this emphasis, this call for prayerful, wise, mature, Bible-saturated depth and discernment in that role, because, as with most beautiful and precious things, the remedy for unfitting, inappropriate, foolish, tasteless things in worship services is not a rulebook, but maturity and wisdom and the gifts of discerning proportion and balance and beauty and effect.

So, when Robert asks, "What place is there for the intimate, personal lover language in corporate worship?" my answer is, "Each pastoral worship leader must discern whether the wording of a song and its context in worship will provide the mental and emotional setting for experiencing love language in a way that is pure and holy and in fitting proportion to other emotions as well." You can see the enormous need for wisdom here.

This is not simple. The more sexual and individual the imagery of Christ and the people of Christ become, the more problematic it will be for corporate worship, first because it's a challenge to transpose eroticism into spiritual affections. It can be done, but it is not likely that it will be done for most average people in corporate worship.

Second, because Jesus Christ is a male, a man, and we can't expect males and females in the congregation to relate in the same way to an individualized male Christ speaking to them in language that carries erotic overtones. But I don't want to give the impression that we should allow the lowest common denominator of spiritual sensitivity and personal intimacy of fellowship with Christ to dictate the limits of our biblical expressions of affections for God.

Again, the call for wisdom and spiritual depth in the leader and discernment is so crucial. Here's what I think the focus should be that would help solve these kinds of problems. Are the excellencies of Christ seen and savored by the people week in, week out in worship in a way that guards every one of these excellencies of Christ from disproportion by keeping it in relation to its counter-excellency?

I know that sounds complicated. It's not. Here's what I mean. We must sing the excellence of His glory but mingled with His humility. We must sing of His transcendence and mingled with His condescension. We admire Him for His uncompromising justice, but even more because He's tempered with mercy. We admire Him for His majesty, but even more because it's a majesty in meekness, lion and lamb.

We admire Him because of His equality with God, but even more because as God's equal, yet He has a reverence for God. We admire Him because of how worthy He is of all good, but even more because a patient He was to suffer all evil. We sing of Him because of His sovereign dominion over the world, but even more because of His dominion clothed in a spirit of obedience and submission.

We love the way He stumped the proud Pharisees and scribes with His wisdom, and we love it even more because He could be so simple that children wanted to come near Him and spend time with Him. We admire Him because He could still the storm with a word, and yet He refused to use His power to come down from the cross.

So when Robert asks, "Is it right for individuals to sing words like, 'I have felt your touch'?" my answer is, "Yes, provided everyone knows that when you feel His touch, you might be electrocuted." That awareness might keep the imagery of Christ's touch from drifting into sentimentalism or eroticism. So much depends on what the words of a song connote in our particular personal experience.

When I think myself, when I think of being touched by God, touched by God, I think of 1 Samuel 10:26. I really did. When I was working through this, that's what I thought of. Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched.

That's gonna touch how what? That's a very different connotation than the first night of the honeymoon. So my plea to pastors is that they choose with great care who will design and lead this all-important part of the worship service—prayerful, wise, mature, experienced, Bible-saturated, theologically deep people. And if there isn't a person like that, then, Pastor, keep the leadership in your own hands until you raise up such a leader.

And in the meantime, teach your people who Christ is and what worship is. Thank you, Pastor John. And if you want more from Pastor John on contemporary worship lyrics, he addressed the lyrics of "What a Beautiful Name" back in episode 1077, and he addressed the lyrics of "Reckless Love" in episode 1202.

And thanks for subscribing to Ask Pastor John in your favorite podcast app or on YouTube. We appreciate having you along three times a week. And next time we address a heavy topic. It's the topic of a pastor who came out publicly to say he was deconverting from Christianity, leaving the gospel, and abandoning Christ.

How should we respond to such a heavy, heavy moment? I'm your host Tony Renke, and we'll see you on Wednesday. you