The Harp and the Bowl

The third way in which we should consider our worhip diet is with respect to the direction (voice or person) of the songs.  This is sometime differentiated as horizontal vs. vertical songs.  That is, does the song talk about God (horizontal) or is it direct to God (vertical), as in having a conversation with God. 
This may seem a minor point to some, and so if this is just a pet peave of mine, feel free to disregard it.  But for me, there is a different dynamic to a song that speaks about God than a song that is directed to him.  For me this issue is inter-related with the general song category (part 2 of this series). 

1. Songs of Invitation (gathering songs) that are about God have a different effect than invitation songs sung to him.  A horizontal gathering song is helpful as a call to worship.  However, a song that invites God/Jesus/Holy Spirit into our gathering are naturally be sung directly to God - offered up as a kind of prayer.
2. For songs of Celebration I think either direction works, depending on where the song is in the worship set. It's just my preference, but celebration songs early in the set that are horizontal are effective in setting an atmosphere of corporate praise, especially if they are "we" songs instead of "I" - which we'll look at in the next and final post on this series.  Later in the set, once the focus has turned more vertical, it is possible to have songs of celebration directed to God instead of about him.
3. Majesty songs, as with invitation songs, result in two different effects depending on the direction.  Majesty songs sung about God create a sense of "otherness" within us as we sing.  Majesty songs sung to God give us a sense of connectedness to that "otherness," drawing us into his awesome presence, causing us to bow our hearts in reverence.
4. Almost always songs of Intimacy are vertical because that is the very nature of intimacy.  It should be a conversation and an experience not just a theological statement.

When I lead worship I pay attention to song direction when creating the set list.  I tend to move from the horizontal "about" songs early in the set and move more toward vertical "to" songs near the end of the set, though it's certainly not a hard and fast rule.  That's because worship is really about engagement, and if we never actually talk to God during worship, we end up with the sense that we've not really met with him.

As a final comment let me say that songs which change voice randomly inside the song, sometimes even from sentence to sentence, annoy me and can cause my heart to shift restlessly during worship. 

So what do you think?  Does it matter to you when you're worshiping whether a song is about or to God?  Do you even notice?