Non-lexical Vocables in Worship: An Opinion

Have you heard of "whoa's" used in worship? There's a whole influx of modern worship songs that have this as a way to bridge between the lyrics. I know there's a whole theology of worship associated with non-lexical vocables (not proper words, almost onomatopoeia), and I agree that there is a way to worship God with these, but I personally think that "whoa", "oh", "yeah", "ooo" and other variants from the modern context of contemporary music have a greater difficulty finding its use in worshiping God.

Non-lexical vocables are usually derived from a culture's specific language. They usually have a cultural association attached to the "meaningless" syllables. Christian converts in these countries will very likely take these same syllables, recontextualize them in worship music, and in so doing attach new meaning to them. The entire process is culturally rich, serving the purpose of using the existing cultural vocabulary in the new context of worshiping God.

Here's why I think the contemporary appears less palatable: we usually associate "whoa", "oh" and "yeah" with mindless pop music. Sometimes, they're used to good effect (for example, a song that helps to rally people together), but most of the time, they sound like the lyricist ran out of creative juices and had 30s of air time to fill in the gaps in the song.

Maybe my opinion is a little biased because I firmly believe that if something is meaningless, it shouldn't be there to clutter up what is meaningful. I am a strong believer that any song used on Sunday morning to worship God should primarily be didactic: it should cause the believer to be reminded of an aspect of God that they find difficult to express into words.

For further reading:

Institute of Sacred Music - Article on Non-lexical Syllables in Christian Music

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When Spiritual Sensitivity and Biblical Knowledge Converge (John 1:47-51)

John 1:47-51

Jesus calls Nathanael

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him,“Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

v47

Nathanael didn't need much to be convicted of the deity of Christ. That our Lord Jesus calls him by the title "an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit" is indicative of Nathanael's devotion to his Jewish heritage. He probably knew the Jewish scriptures very well, and like many Jews of his time, he would be looking forward to the coming of the Messiah.

v48

"How do you know me?"

There is a difference to being doubtful and being discerning. We are so easily led astray by skillful displays of natural prowess--how much more so when we are faced with supernatural prowess! Nathanael, like any good steward of truth, wanted to enquire, test and examine. Particularly for us who are in the end times, where false "Christian" spirituality is rife, we need to be discerning of everything we come into contact with, be it theology, testimonies of miraculous healing, or supposed dreams and visions from God.

v49

Some people are born with less ability to discern the spiritual, but they are compensated when they read and are convicted by the Word. Others are so attuned to the Spirit that listening and obeying God's voice comes easier, but their ability to glean truth from the Word is limited. Thus, keen spiritual awareness coupled with a good working knowledge of the scriptures helps one to perceive the workings of the spiritual dimension.

v50

Nathanael is promised that he will see greater things not because Jesus will exclusively show these to him, but rather, because of his acute awareness of Christ, he will be one of the quickest to identify God's fingerprints in His handiwork.

v51

Jesus gives Nathanael an illustration from Genesis 28:12, where Jacob is shown the dream of an open-access to God by means of a ladder extending from heaven to earth. By superimposing the imagery, Jesus is essentially saying that He will be the fulfillment of open-access to the Father. He is the ladder, and everywhere that Jesus goes, He will turn the place into a "New Bethel".

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