Lyrics
Hank Williams, Sr.

A Good Song for Hard Times
On Christmas Eve, I heard one of the best sermons I’ve heard in a long time.  Visiting family in rural Wisconsin, we stopped at Immanuel United Methodist Church in the small community of Ripon.  I expected the usual sentimental drizzle about silent nights with an intermixing of clichés about the real meaning of Christmas.  But the preacher surprised me.  Addressing something that lurked in all of our minds, he spoke a simple yet prophetic word: “The current economic crisis may be good, because in times of need we grow closer to each other.”

As I worry about the livelihood of my family and friends, I’ve thought often of that preacher’s words.  I have not heard a great deal of theological reflection since giant corporations began collapsing last fall.  The preacher reminded me of what truly matters when everything else seemed only to distract me.

On that blizzardy Christmas Eve, the hymns were predictably Christmas carols.  Yet, the church is heir to a great number of worship songs that, much like that faithful preacher, give a different perspective on finances.  Many of them are praise songs of an older generation.  But during this time of economic anxiety, it might be appropriate for the church to sing them once again.  One of them was written and originally performed by a well-known artist, Hank Williams, Sr.

As one might expect with a song from Williams, the melody is memorable.  It is also simple enough that it could be sung by a congregation or by a novice doing a special number.

Theologically, this song speaks honestly and concretely about the temptations of money (cf. 1 Tim 6:10).  It acknowledges that with money matters, morality is often missing.  As we’ve seen in various headlines, “People steal; they cheat and lie for wealth and what it will buy.”

This song calls the church to a different way of living.  It affirms that doing what is right will often lead to a much smaller pocketbook.  Still, the song reminds us, doing right is always better.  It says that even death is preferable to mansions and pensions.

Theologically, those having trouble with divine judgment may feel uncomfortable about this song.  It presupposes that our actions here impact our existence at the end of time.

Yet, I sense that many of us have a sense of holy anger about the actions of Wall Street executives, particularly those who put profits before people, greed before fairness, and bottom lines before honesty.  Many of these individuals made morally deplorable decisions, even if their actions were not technically illegal.  It is reassuring to know that even as they take lavish vacations while laying off thousands, they will need to give account for their actions before the One who counted himself among the least of these (Matt 25:31-46).

Is this song a collection of pie-in-the-sky-bye-and-bye theology?  Perhaps.  But much of the Christian life makes little sense without hope in the resurrection.  As Paul puts it, “If Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain” (1Cor 15:14, NRSV).

There is also, amid the heavenly hope of this song, a realism about the ways of our world.  Jesus said you cannot serve God and wealth (Matt 6:24).  Too often we deceive ourselves into thinking we can serve God and somehow accumulate at least modest sums of money.  But Williams–like much of Scripture–is not so hopeful.  He pits “a deep dark grave” against “a house of gold” and boldly prefers the former.  He says that “gold and silver” mean nothing if your heart is rotten.

It’s a message that we all need to hear.  Not only as we grapple with holy anger over immoral executives, but also when we are tempted to worry too much about jobs, income, and mortgages.  Some of us will feel strong temptations to fudge numbers on taxes, or to do things to secure our own jobs while harming others.  This song calls us to something higher.  It keeps us focused on the ways of life eternal, praising what is right amid a world gone wrong.  This song is a timely invitation to Christian formation.

Conclusion: Highly recommended.

Lyrics
Chris Tomlin
Sample Music

When I first heard this song by Chris Tomlin, what jumped out at me immediately was not so much the song itself but where it could be used in the worship service.  It was being used as one song amidst many of the opening praise music.  But I thought it could be used even more fruitfully in another place: communion.

Generally I’m thinking about the Great Thanksgiving, and specifically I’m thinking about the Sanctus.  In my church’s tradition, we always come to the part of the Great Thanksgiving when the pastor says, “And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven we praise your name and join their unending hymn…”  So far so good.  But then the congregation joins in to say, not sing:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Why do we always say the Sanctus rather than sing it?  Especially given that the pastor has just said we’re joining an unending hymn?  It seems such a waste when we’ve heard about how we’re joining in a heavenly song that has been going on since the beginning of time and will continue until the end of time.  And we grace this moment with what often ends up being a monotonous corporate response.

In the United Methodist Hymnal there are musical settings for the Sanctus.  But I’ve only been in one place where I’ve ever heard them used – seminary (well, I did attend a charismatic Episcopal church in college that always sang the Sanctus).  But in seminary we didn’t use the musical settings in the hymnal.  We used a beautiful musical setting written especially for Duke Divinity School by David Arcus.  Why don’t we use these musical settings?  Probably because they’re not familiar or we’re not confident in our ability to pull them off well.

Insert here: Sing, Sing, Sing.

I probably just stepped on a lot of liturgical toes.  Let me explain what makes me think I can make such a bold substitution of a Chris Tomlin song for the Sanctus.  I was taught in my seminary worship class to focus on the pattern of worship as described in ancient documents such as the Didache, Justin’s Apology, or the Apostolic Tradition, and not to be overly focused on the exact wording.  Thus, I’m looking for the pattern of the Sanctus rather than the exact words.

Here it is worth pointing out the parallels between the Sanctus and Sing, Sing, Sing.  There’s the triple recitation of “sing, sing, sing.”  Now certainly “sing” doesn’t have all the rich resonance of “holy”, but I think its triple recitation alludes and points to the same passages that the Sanctus is pointing to:

And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3).

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing, “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come” (Revelation 4:8).

Perhaps someone more musically talented than I am could advise us on whether Tomlin’s song might be adapted singing, “We sing holy, holy, holy” instead of “we will sing, sing, sing.”

Then there’s the Sanctus’ “Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.”  Sing, Sing, Sing twice reflects on the heavenly nature of what we’re doing in worship.  In the first verse Tomlin writes, “And make music with the heavens” and in the second verse he writes, “Heaven and earth adore you.”

Third, there’s the Sanctus’ “Hosanna in the highest” which can be compared to Tomlin’s “When we shout your praise.”  I have always imagined that “Hosanna” is a word that should be shouted rather than just spoken.

Lastly, the Sanctus says, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”  Tomlin focuses most of the rest of the song on Jesus, the one who comes in the name of the Lord.  Tomlin writes, “You are the love that frees us.  You are the light that leads us.”  If this song is used within the communion liturgy, then certainly it seems appropriate that it concludes by bringing our attention fully upon Jesus, the one who gave himself up for us that we might be delivered from sin and death.

Conclusion: Highly Recommended

Sing, Sing, Sing is a strong song all around.  It uses first person plurals and focuses more on who Jesus is rather than how Jesus makes me feel.  There are significant echoes in this song with scripture and communion liturgies.  And it is well crafted to be a communion song in place of the Sanctus, perhaps with a modified introduction.  Maybe you won’t use this song during communion, but I encourage you to consider it.  It’s certainly a lot more familiar than most of the Sanctus musical settings in our hymnals.

Sample Music:

Lyrics:
O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus by Samuel Trevor Francis, 1875

O the deep, deep love of Jesus!
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fullness over me
Underneath me, all around me
Is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward
To my glorious rest above

O the deep, deep love of Jesus!
Spread His praise from shore to shore
How He loveth, ever loveth
Changeth never, nevermore
How He watches o’er His loved ones
Died to call them all His own
How for them He intercedeth
Watches over them from the throne

O the deep, deep love of Jesus!
Love of every love the best
‘Tis an ocean vast of blessing
‘Tis a haven sweet of rest
O the deep, deep love of Jesus!
‘Tis a heaven of heavens to me
And it lifts me up to glory
For it lifts me up to Thee

My wife and I attend Asbury Temple United Methodist Church, an historically black United Methodist Church in Durham, North Carolina. But while I’m still in training to be a pastor, we visit other churches once a month to worship with our brothers and sisters in the faith and to see what the Spirit is doing in their worship and life together. There is a local Emerging Church that meets in a storefront in Downtown Durham called Emmaus Way. My wife has spoken at an Emerging conference, but I have not had much experience with them. We decided it was time to go for a visit.

There were several things about this church that caused my wife and me to reflect further upon what worship is and how we worship, but I’ll stick to the music, since that’s this website’s real focus. The thing that was immediately obvious was that we weren’t participating in a show or performance while we were singing. We were sitting semi-circle and there was one worship leader with a guitar sitting on a stool with his back (or side) to us. It reminded me of visiting Mars Hill in Grand Rapids where the sanctuary is in the round and the band all faces inward toward the cross at the center of the “round.” The band members closest to you have their back to you. You can see the faces of the band members on the other side of the round, but only as “obscured” by the cross (not a bad symbol for how we ought to see one another). Emmaus Way had a similar feel, but much smaller and more intimate.

We had worship sheets with lyrics handed to us when we walked in, and the worship leader began finger picking his way through the first song. It was a beautiful but unfamiliar melody. As I flipped to the page with the lyrics for this song, I noticed first the title, “O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus.” Sounded like any contemporary praise chorus. Next, I noticed the artist’s name, Samuel Trevor Francis. I hadn’t heard of this guy. His name sounds a little formal. Maybe he’s part of the recent wave of British worship music making its way across the pond. But then something made me stop in my mental tracks. I noticed the date, 1875. We were about to sing a hymn. The style of the music up to this point had not clued me in to the fact that we were about to sing lyrics that had been sung for 100+ years. My attention focused and I became open to the grace of the Spirit at work bringing together the old and the new, the ancient and the future in that worship service.

There are several worthwhile points about the lyrics of this song. It seems to be based heavily on the end of Romans 8, a wonderful chapter of scripture on which to base any worship song. Perhaps the eighth chapter and even the entire book reach its climax with the last two verses: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (8:38-39). You can almost hear the readers of Paul’s letter respond with the declaration, “O the deep, deep love of Jesus!”

And yet, here in these lyrics that are over a hundred years old, we find some similar tendencies and weaknesses that are present in today’s modern praise music which suggests for better or worse that these issues are much deeper than modern praise music. I’m not entirely certain that this song is based on Romans 8, but if it is, then Francis has, as is so often the case today, changed the first person plural pronouns (“us” and “we”) to singular (“me”) in most instances. Although he does not always do so. In the second verse we get:

How He watches o’er His loved ones
Died to call them all His own
How for them He intercedeth
Watches over them from the throne

It is here that Francis finds the balance that so many songs lack today. Life in Christ is both a personal life and a communal life. It is both “me and Jesus” and “Jesus and us.” Jesus calls individuals to be part of his body, the church. Life in Christ cannot live or thrive apart from the fullness of the body. Christ died for me and for us. To focus singularly on “me” is to neglect the broad scope of God’s work reconciling all the world to God.

While Francis’ original lyrics held this balance between “me” and “us”, The Basics have succumbed to the temptation to turn the last two instances of “them” to “me.” We can forgive them for doing so because they have added a couple of instances of “us” earlier in the same verse where Francis does not have them. In the end, I would recommend retaining Francis’ original lyrics mixed with the instances of “us” inserted by The Basics, a change you may make because the lyrics are in the public domain.

While the lyrics are commendable, what particularly impressed me about this song was the arrangement. I have often thought and wished that someone would tap into the theologically rich lyrics of our tradition’s hymnody and arrange old favorites so that they are more culturally appropriate for a new generation. Here in this arrangement I found that rich tradition of our hymns being sung as both an old song and a new song. And I would not have noticed we were singing a hymn had the song sheet not let the secret out by printing the date next to the composer’s name.

Conclusion: Highly Recommended

There is even more theological depth in these lyrics than I have had space to reflect on here. I have wanted to focus more on the arrangement. Because of the two working together, I highly recommend this song for worship. There are no printed arrangement sheets, so you’ll have to pick up a used CD from the link above or another of your favorite CD stores and make the arrangement by ear as best as you can (and if you are so musically talented as to score out the arrangement, I’d love to have a copy). The CD is by The Basics and the album is The Canticle of Turning. I think The Basics have done an excellent job of turning these theologically rich lyrics into a modern canticle of praise.

Matt Redman
Lyrics
Sample Music

Jeremy’s ratings (1 lowest, 5 highest)

Can the band play it? 3

Written in B, which is tricky for beginning guitarists. The rhythms are easy to play (a simple 4/4 chug), but some of the singers’ entrances and phrasings will take practice. Make sure to back off the volume on the verses, to give energy to the chorus.

Can the people sing it? 4

People love to sing it, and it’s easy to sing along once the band has it, but it has quite a range (a tenth) and goes too high for congregational singing (long stretches at D#).

Content OK? 5

Scripture focus: Job 1:21

21 and [Job] said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.” (TNIV)

CCLI lead sheet available

Eugene Peterson once said that every church with a praise band ought also to have a lament band. Here is a song with music the praise band can enjoy, and words that take a modest step outside the monotony of happy celebration.

The Redmans build upon Job 1:21, to form a coherent and spiritually challenging message. The song does a fine job reminding the singer of the sometimes heavy responsibility to bless the Lord, to be thankful in bad as well as good times. This makes a welcome change from a desire-centered prayer life, in which suffering is only an occasion for crying out for help. Yet as Job and his friends sat shiva (the seven-day period of mourning) over his family, they neither blamed the Lord, nor became desperate whiners attempting to make claims on the Lord. Later, while his friends looked to apply blame, either to God or to Job himself, Job’s answer was to remain faithful to the practice of worship, and to honor God in the midst of everything. In the words of this song, “Blessed be your name when I’m found in the desert place, though I walk through the wilderness, blessed be your name.”

The song makes three theological claims in its reflection on suffering. First is the claim just stated, that we are responsible to give praise in every situation. Second, our suffering and brokenness can itself be a gift to God: “though there’s pain in the offering, blessed be your name.” The song then gives an opportunity to reflect on the imitation of Christ, and how our brokenness can glorify God and serve others.

The third theological claim is the paraphrase of Job’s words that fill the bridge: “You give and take away.” It would have been easy to bend this message to a predestinarian and fatalist slant, and that would have been a shame, but the Redmans choose to return to their good core message: “My heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be your name.” Can it be that the biblical message itself is being heard? Instead of fatalism we hear and sing the ancient challenge and choice to worship in every situation. It is fair to complain about many Christian songs that they say too little, too many times (Yes, Lord, yes, Lord, yes, yes, Lord!). In this song, however, I’m glad that we allow the biblical message to speak for itself.

Conclusion: Highly Reccomended

In Christ Alone
By Keith Getty and Stuart Townend
CCLI # - 3350395
Reviewed by Jeremy Williams
jeremy[at]traversebaychurch[dot]org

Getty Music
Lyrics
Sample Music

Jeremy’s ratings (1 worst – 5 best)

Can the band play it? 4

Easy chords, easy-to-follow lead sheet, easy range; the biggest drawback is a melody that’s doesn’t quite sing itself. It can sound pompous if you’re not careful. Better to go with the original “Celtic” sound if you can pull it off.

Can the people sing it? 4

The combination of rhythms not designed for rock and roll, and words above the sixth-grade reading level, may present a challenge to some congregations.

Content OK? 3

This is a biblical and understandable song.  If you’re OK with satisfaction theory (verses 2 and 3) and predestination (verse 4), then you’ll love this song. What am I talking about? Read on.

If you’re not picky about atonement theories, you won’t understand why I’ve chosen not to use this song. And if it sounds narrow-minded to throw out a song for theological reasons, let me make this small excuse. As a pastor, I am responsible for shaping how my congregation thinks about the gospel. That includes shaping how they put their faith into words. Few things are more memorable than a song. If the words of a song convey messages about God that are at odds with the language and understandings we use in our church to communicate the gospel, then I’m going to keep those words out of our worship services.

First, a quick review of atonement theories. Theories of atonement try to answer this question: how does salvation work? Many Christians over the centuries have likened salvation to an economic transaction, and for them the question could be framed this way: Who’s paying whom, and for what?

Here are three “classical” answers based on the economic approach:

1) Ransom theory (Mark 10:45; 1 Timothy 2:5-6): In Christ’s death, God pays a ransom to the devil to set you free from the devil’s control; this is very uncomfortable to me, but it’s not the point of view of this song, so I’ll leave it aside for the moment.

2) Substitution theory (one version, suggested in Romans 6:10, Hebrews 9 and 10): Christ’s death is like the sacrifices made to ask for forgiveness in the Hebrew Temple (but once for all, as the letter to the Hebrews points out);

3) Satisfaction theory: God is offended by our sin, and needs not only to be paid with the price of our lives, but at an even higher value because of the offense to God’s honor. In the Calvinist version of satisfaction theory, the payment is all a result of God’s need for justice.

Of these three classic “economic” atonement theories, the last one is perhaps the most troubling to the idea of a loving God. In this theory, put forward by Anselm in the eleventh century, God is apparently not only just, but also takes personal offense, and therefore requires even more payment that the simple repayment of what is due by justice.

Furthermore, those who accept either the substitution or satisfaction approach are obliged to explain how God makes a payment to God. Is there a split personality between Judge and Lover? Can God not be One after all?

Christians are not obliged to see salvation in these sorts of terms, but many have seen it this way through the centuries. It’s important to say that every one of these theories can be defended within the New Testament—with the result that if you were looking for “the biblical answer,” you are not exempt from making a choice. Every Christian has a responsibility to come to an understanding that is true to our faith in and understanding of God, not only to accord with this or that particular passage of Scripture. There are plenty of other biblically founded explanations of atonement available, which do not rely on the image of a cosmic payoff.

In the twentieth century, Gustav Aulen famously took up the old phrase “Christus Victor” (Christ the victor) as a way of talking about a very different story of how we get right with God.  Simply put, the idea (going back at least to Justin Martyr) is that the victory happens when Christ descends into Hell and conquers the forces of evil, rescuing those who were imprisoned there.  As an alternative, consider Christ as the Teacher of Righteousness, who models for us a life of perfect obedience, and thus shows us the way to be reconciled to God–this is probably what is meant by calling Jesus the “pioneer and perfector of our faith” in Hebrews 12:2, or even “the light of the world,” in John 1. All the economic explanations listed above make out the death of Christ to be more important than the resurrection, and separate out these events from the obedient life of Jesus. This all makes meaningless the claim that he was “obedient unto death,” (Philippians 2:8) a phrase that seems to make Jesus’ death on the cross a continuation of a perfect life lived for God.

With all that in mind, consider this the second verse of In Christ Alone: “…on that cross as Jesus died / The wrath of God was satisfied / For ev’ry sin on Him was laid / Here in the death of Christ I live.” And again at the end of the third verse, we have been “bought with the precious blood of Christ.”

As much strongly orthodox content as there is in the rest of the song, I nevertheless choose to speak of the death and resurrection of my Lord in different terms, and believe that it will be difficult to convey the Christian message to people who want to hear, if we cling to this medieval understanding of the nature of God.

Now for a second theological issue: predestination.  I know that most newcomers to the faith don’t choose a congregation on the basis of its theology, but I have known a few who did, and they found predestination to be an indigestible explanation of God’s offer of salvation. Nevertheless it remains a popular view among Christians, and is difficult to root out of even the most Wesleyan-minded congregation. We seem unable to get around a funeral or any sad event without someone intoning that God must have a reason for doing this or that. Like a lot of Christians, I believe that my free will was not destroyed in Eden.  So I try to avoid the language of predestination.  I believe that it takes away any personal human responsibility for bad things happening, to say nothing of the brokenness of all creation that has become only the more evident in these days of measurable global warming. How tempting it is to believe that when Christ has taken me firmly by the scruff of the neck, I no longer have any responsibility, and not by my choice at all, but by his! Here is the fourth verse of In Christ Alone:

No guilt in life no fear in death
This is the pow’r of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No pow’r of hell no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand

The assurance of salvation is a dangerous temptation for someone who believes in predestination, because it  doesn’t motivate us to keep choosing the right way. Better perhaps to admit that God continues to honor our choices, including, if we make it, a choice to reject the love and salvation we are so kindly offered. Jesus may command our obedience, but while in the world, we are not fatalists: we and all others have been given free will, to choose or to reject, today and perhaps tomorrow, God’s great love in Christ.

Conclusion: Not Recommended

Stuart Townend has plenty of other songs, many of which are very helpful for worship. But I’ll continue to skip this one.

Yes You Have
By Jack Mooring, Leeland Mooring, and Matt Bronleewe
CCLI# - 4702708
Reviewed by Tom Arthur
tom[at]saraharthur[dot]com

Lyrics
Leeland
Sample Music
My Space (Full Song)
Amazon

My wife and I recently attended a large fast-growing suburban church in Indianapolis. It meets in a building that used to be a big electronics box-store that has long been out of business. This church appears aiming to be a seeker church. You get that feel the moment you walk in; even before you walk in. It’s an unusual meeting place for church, located among one long strip plaza of shops and restaurants. People greet you before you even get to the door. Then you’re greeted several more times before you get to the “sanctuary” (I put “sanctuary” in quotes because we had a lively discussion after church with those who took us about whether this was a “sanctuary” or not). The church had no visible signs that would mark it as Christian. No communion table. No pulpit. No cross or any other Christian symbol. Although to the one looking closely, there was a barely noticeable immersion baptismal tank off to the side of the stage. The room could have simply been a great venue for whatever band was traveling through Indy. The sound system was top notch. The media was flawless. No windows allowed the lighting to be controlled perfectly. It was a beautifully orchestrated room. Having come most recently from a seminary setting that highly valued more liturgical forms of worship, I was a little out of sorts as worship began. Was I about to worship, or was I about to watch a show?

After some introductory comments which began with the simple but theologically lacking words “Good morning”, (Worship leaders, always consider carefully the first words out of your mouth to begin worship. They need not be too “churchy” sounding given your context, but surely something with a bit more depth and breadth than “good morning” is appropriate for the beginning of worship!) the worship leader and band began singing what was for me a completely unfamiliar song, Yes You Have. Amidst what seemed up to this point like a worship service lacking something considerable came a song that grasped fully both my biblical and theological imagination. What a surprise it was and what a joy it was to find this gem!

Yes You Have dives right into praising the greatness of God. Here we find a common theme throughout all of scripture but especially the psalms: the creation sings the praises of God. One psalm close to the foreground of this verse is certainly Psalm 148, and a unique call to praise takes place in Psalm 148. All of creation, both the animate creation (beasts and angels, humans and peoples) and the inanimate (tree and stone, wind, star, and sky) are commanded to sing God’s praise. Interestingly enough, this song focuses entirely on the inanimate creation. What a wonderful correction for so many praise songs that focus only on the animate flesh. For God’s creation sings God’s praises not just because we, flesh and bone, recognize their wordless praise (Psalm 19) and provide the words that they lack (Romans 1), but because in creation God recognizes the fingerprints of the Son, the Word through whom all things were created (John 1), and shares in the overflowing love of the Son for the Father in the act of creation. Creation praises God the Father because God the Father recognizes in creation the love of God the Son. And so the greatness of God expands as creation sings God’s praise in Yes You Have.

Following the first verse in the chorus comes a startling word, stolen. Stolen? Does God steal? And what happens when God steals one’s heart? My mind immediately went to Jeremiah’s experience with God: “You have enticed me, and I was enticed; you have overpowered me, and you have prevailed” (20:7a). What at first seems like a statement of love from Jeremiah has an underbelly when contemplated and read further. The verses which follow show the frustration Jeremiah has with God in God’s enticement: “I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me” (20:7b). And even more so, Jeremiah finds that if he tries to shut this word of the LORD up and not proclaim it, “Then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot” (20:9). When God steals the heart of the prophets, the word of the LORD is sure to be like an inward burning that one carries along within oneself. It reminds me of the language sometimes used to describe God’s call as a “burden” placed upon the heart.

This same theme comes up again later in the bridge of Yes You Have where Psalm 139 is artfully alluded to. This psalm is usually considered a poem describing the intimacy of God’s presence, but the NLT brings out well the double-edged nature of God’s omnipresence when it says, “I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence!” (139:7). God isn’t always welcome. If we are really honest, we’d rather that God not be near us all the time. Maybe this is why God is sometimes referred to as the “hound of heaven.” Once the hound has our scent, it’s only a matter of time before we are enticed and overpowered, stolen by the ever present grace of God.

I don’t know that the authors of this song ever considered the double-edged nature of the lyrics of this song, but they are certainly there in the biblical account. God’s presence is not always a welcome one. As Isaiah says, “The great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel” (Book of Common Prayer translation, 12:6). Here’s the good news: God is present. Here’s the bad news: God is holy. This ought to make us at the least fear God and at the most revere God.

Now all of this overpowering, enticing and stealing might be just a little too much if it were not for one more essential theme of this song, the work of God in Jesus freeing us from our sin. We see this theme both in the chorus and verse two. Here I especially like the references to both “stains” and “chains” or “forgiveness” and “liberty.” Too often our narration of what God is doing in Jesus only focuses on issues of purity and debt. But in this song there is also a focus on real freedom today. The chains and disease that our sins are right now every day are broken and healed in the work of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are brought ever more fully into the new life that is in Christ, the new identity that we have as we are empowered to follow faithfully Jesus Christ and his way by being his disciple.

Conclusion: Highly Recommended

Perhaps in a worship setting like this one where worship primarily consists of singing and preaching, the music takes on a much more significant role liturgically and carries quite a bit more of the theological weight that the formal written liturgy carries in other settings. And while the worship context in which I first heard this song was lacking in some ways (although this is not to say that it was not also more faithful worship in other ways), the theological and biblical power of this song helped balance out some of those shortcomings and carry some of the liturgical weight of the worship service. I can only imagine that it will do so in whatever worship context it is sung.

I Can Only Imagine
By Bart Millard of Mercyme
CCLI Song# 2978857
Reviewed by Bethel Lee
bethel[dot]lee[at]gmail[dot]com

Lyrics
Mercyme
Sample Music

Theology

This contemporary Christian song touches upon a subject that philosophers and theologians have been pondering from the beginning — What happens at the end? What happens after we die? Coming from a particular Christian perspective, the lyrics express the anticipation the author feels for what he will experience one day when he finally meets Jesus face to face. The phrase “I can only imagine” is repeated throughout, giving testament to the kind of God Paul describes; one who is beyond our imagination. In Ephesians, Paul writes, “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine” (3:20 NRSV). With its repeated admission of our inability to fully know everything about God and the afterlife, the song also echoes the words of Job who, after his encounter with the Holy One, humbly declares: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know” (42:1-3). And yet, with the repetition of “when” (and not “if”), the author communicates his assurance that he indeed will one day be with God in a very physical and intimate way. The lyrics portray that he will walk by God’s side, see God’s face before him, and be surrounded by God’s glory when he is on the other side of this life. According to About.Com the lead vocalist, Bart Millard, penned the words of the song after the death of his father to help him cope with the loss.

It is evident that the author wanted to stick closely to Scripture. In the chorus, he imagines possible responses that he may have before God in heaven by giving examples that reflect well-known biblical passages:

Chorus:

“Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine”

Related Scripture:

· “David danced before the Lord with all his might” (2 Samuel 6:14a).

· “Like the bow in a cloud on a rainy day, such was the appearance of the splendor all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of someone speaking. He said to me: O mortal, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you. And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me” (Ezekiel 1:28-2:2).

· “After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God’” (Revelation 19:1).

Conclusion: Not Recommended

With its soft melody and lyrics that tenderly draw out a sense of wonder, it is easy to see why this song is so popular within certain Christian circles. It’s one of those tunes that can effortlessly linger in your head. The words are soothing to hum, sing aloud, or listen to throughout your day. In a church worship setting, however, this is not a song I would recommend without reservations. I can see how “I Can Only Imagine” could help console people who have lost a loved one, and perhaps there is an appropriate context in which this song could be used for church purposes. In general, however, the lyrics are not centrally about God, but instead the song revolves around the individual and what he or she will think, feel, and do one day in heaven. Though the song does incorporate the incomprehensible nature of God, the words are foundationally about the worshiper and not about the one being worshipped. There is nothing wrong with a subjective reflection from the standpoint of the worshiper, and indeed there are times and places for this. The communal time of worship, however, may not be the best one for this particular song. [*]

“I Can Only Imagine” beautifully expresses the poetic wonder of humanity before the Creator, yet it seems too self-focused to be a song that I would recommend for a general time of worship – which should nurture our gaze off of ourselves and toward the only one who deserves all honor, glory, and praise.

Album: Glory Revealed: The Word of God in Worship

Artist: Candi Pearson-Shelton 

Music & Lyrics by: Mac Powell and David Nasser 

Reviewed by Craig Uffman

email Craig

Lyrics & Accompaniment CD 

Sample Music  - Listen at iTunes 

 
Given the ubiquity of contemporary Christian music (CCM) ever since the rock-and-roll inspired Jesus Freak movement of the 1960s, and the number of churches now strained by the “worship wars” in the last two decades, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that the singing of hymns during Protestant worship was once itself a highly controversial practice in some quarters. In the early days of the Episcopal Church (and also in the Church of England) psalms in meter were sung in place of hymns.  Full choral services and choral celebration of the Eucharist, including the singing of canticles and the psalter in the Gregorian chant style seems to have begun around 1842.  The practice was at the heart of the Ritualist Controversy in the 1870s, which resulted in schism and ecclesial trials of bishops and priests for introducing such threatening innovations. I know clergy friends who are today encountering similarly fellowship-threatening resistance to their efforts to introduce contemporary Christian songs in congregational worship settings.  But there is an important difference in the current struggle.  The 19th century “innovations” were merely a return to the ancient habit of singing the liturgy, and the lyrics consisted of Holy Scripture (usually psalms).  And thus, just as in ancient Israel, worshippers internalized doctrine through the singing of Scripture that corresponded to the drama of the liturgy they were enacting.  In contrast, the lyrics of much CCM (particularly “praise music”) often shows little direct evidence of an encounter with Scripture, reflecting instead original expressions of adoration lacking in theological depth.   Glory Revealed: The Word of God Worship therefore represents a refreshing recovery of the ancient habit of singing Scripture, for all of the songs on the album were written expressly for the purpose of helping Christians internalize large blocks of Scripture.  While this review will focus on just the title song of the CD, “Glory Revealed.” the entire CD gets five stars on my iTunes playlists.

THEOLOGY

One of my favorite ways to center my mind in worship on long car trips (when I am alone!), is to crank up the volume of “Glory Revealed” and sing along with it several times in a row.  It’s one of my favorite Christian songs, and I never tire of it.  That said, I quibbled initially with David Nasser’s lyrics given that the stated aim for his project was to help Christians memorize Scripture.  A tag on the CD says that the song is based on Isaiah 40:3-5, and so one presumes that the Scripture Nasser wants Christians to learn is from the prophet Isaiah.  But Nasser does not maintain the integrity of the text.  Comparing a few translations of Isaiah 40:3 makes this clear.

Table 1: Isaiah 40:3

 I have added emphasis in Table 1 to show that the text clearly says that the “way” of the Lord is to be cleared through the wilderness/desert.  Now look at Table 2. Yet Nasser’s lyric has “A voice cries in the wilderness,” locating not the highway but the voice in the wilderness.  This is clearly Nasser’s translation of the New Testament gospel accounts (Mark 1:2-3, Luke 3:2-6, Matthew 3:3). In other words, in his lyrics, Nasser substitutes the Christian gospel text in place of the first verse of the actual text of the Old Testament prophet upon which “Glory Revealed” is based.

Table 2: Mark 1:2-3 vs. “Glory Revealed” lyric

 
This might be insignificant if the substitution did not distort an important interpretive key of Isaiah.  The primary role of the relevant text in Isaiah (which I consider to be Isaiah 40: 1-11) is to announce the good news that, after a long period of judgment in Babylon, God’s purpose was to comfort all of Israel.  The heavenly council seems to speak of Jerusalem and Zion as already redeemed and announces that they are now given the task of proclaiming the good news  to the rest of Judah (they are to be heralds of the good news). Central to exilic Isaiah’s gospel are intertextual allusions to the Exodus from Egypt.  The highway through the wilderness serves the crucial purpose of linking the highway that would make possible the return of the exiles to the primary Jewish symbol of divine deliverance. 

When the New Testament gospel writers later perform their own intertextual exegesis in describing the role of John the Baptist, they are thus linking Jesus of Nazareth not just to Isaiah, but also to the entire Jewish narrative of which the Exodus was the center.  Mark actually alludes not just to Isaiah but also to Exod. 23:20-23, framing John as the divine messenger of YHWH who would lead the people to the place prepared for them. In Jewish midrash, this messenger was associated with Elijah, whose reappearance would signal not just the coming of the messiah-king, but the coming of God. In other words, the effect of Mark’s combination of Old Testament references is not just to connect John with Elijah, but more importantly, to make a statement about Jesus.  Mark’s intertextual allusions, which subtly alter Isaiah’s words, effectively make the claim that, in Jesus, Israel encounters their God incarnate.

One might say, as I initially did, that Nasser obscures this important motif in the Christian gospels by conflating the synoptic accounts with the original Isaiahic text.  While it is surely an appropriate exegetical move to interpret exilic Isaiah Christologically, it seems that a lyric that represents itself as an effort to help Christians memorize Scripture ought to stick to the actual text. But, why then, didn’t Mark? And why did the other evangelists embrace Mark’s interpretative move in constructing their own gospels?

Nasser’s lyrics forced me to chew on this question, and, gradually I came to appreciate Nasser’s own interpretive move. For Mark himself departed from Isaiah’s text for good reason - to give new meaning to Israel’s sacred Scripture by pointing to its fulfillment.  And that new meaning is that, in Jesus, God’s glory is revealed.  So perhaps it is theologically appropriate, in creating a song written specifically to help Christians be formed by Scripture, to teach them to make the same connection that Mark did - that is, to teach them to sing about the ultimate glory that John the Baptist prefigured. Indeed, perhaps that’s why this song leads me to worship so well.

MUSIC

Nasser sticks closely to the Isaiahic text in the rest of his lyrics, and, when this is combined with Mac Powell’s soaring score, the result is a song that never fails to raise my heart and eyes to the heavens, as Pearson-Shelton sings with increasing power of God’s glory revealed.  Powell called in top stars in the American CCM scene for the Glory Revealed project, and the all-star band produced a uniquely American, contextually appropriate sound with banjo, acoustic guitar, and mandolin providing distinctive blue grass hints that set this project apart from the typical British CCM project.  Contributors, quite recognizable as instrumentalists and background vocalists, include Shane & Shane,  David Crowder, and Brian Littrell.

CONCLUSION - Highly Recommended

While I would have preferred Nasser to maintain the integrity of the prophet’s text in his adaptation for song, that concern is quickly forgotten as one is drawn into the center of Isaiah’s gospel account of God’s redemptive power that reveals divine glory.  The tune is easy to learn, and indeed the song is a joy to sing.  I admire Powell & Nasser’s refreshing project of teaching Christians Scripture through song, and I dare say that “Glory Revealed” succeeds marvelously in that regard.  “Glory Revealed” is suitable for use as a soaring proclamation of God’s glory in congregational settings that appreciate acoustic strings with a hint of blue grass flavor.

Lyrics
Peter Furler (News Boys)
Steve Taylor
Sample Music

Peter Furler, lead vocalist for the Newsboys, teamed up with Steve Taylor to write a song grand in scope that stretches across continents and time as it echoes themes reminiscent from the entire span of scripture. The repeated tri-colon in the chorus sums up the song nicely:

It’s all God’s children singing
Glory glory hallelujah
He reigns He reigns.

“He Reigns” focuses one’s attention clearly on God and God’s glory and that’s where the song stays for its duration. As one sings, Revelation 19:6 comes to mind:

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out, “Hallelujah ! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns” (NRSV).

The inclusion in verse one of many people groups around the world (not to mention the wordplay—alliteration, assonance, and rhyme—in verse one of “African plain,” “Amazon rain,” and “Asian believers”) is exceedingly commendable in a genre that does not often speak outside its own cultural context. The verse brings to mind Philippians 2:9-11:

Therefore God also highly exalted [Jesus] and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (NRSV).

One bi-colon in verse three stands above the rest, full of beautiful theological significance. Taylor and Furler write, “Of all the songs sung from the dawn of creation, Some were meant to persist.” In the back of this reviewer’s mind while singing these lines is the Sanctus of the General Thanksgiving, the communion prayer from the United Methodist Hymnal and many other traditions’ communion liturgies, which says:

And so,
With your people on earth
And all the company of heaven
We praise your name
and join their unending hymn:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

“He Reigns” reminds us that when we join in the liturgy of the church, whether that’s a formal liturgy like the General Thanksgiving or an informal liturgy of singing praise songs, we seek to join in a song that began at the beginning of time and is never ending. We join something bigger than ourselves.

The bridge introduces a new theme when it says, “And all the powers of darkness, Tremble at what they’ve just heard.” The overriding theme present in the chorus of all God’s children singing of God’s glory united with this new theme of spiritual realities is a combination that would resonate with the author of 1 John when he says, “We know that we are God’s children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one” (5:19, NRSV). And yet, in the end, God and God’s song win as the bridge and the Great Thanksgiving remind us:

By your Spirit make us one with Christ,
one with each other,
and one in ministry to all the world,
until Christ comes in final victory
and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

Furler and Taylor have written a truly commendable song, and yet I have one quibble. The overall nature of the song is one of inclusion, but the use of the male pronoun so prominently to refer to God, even in the title of the song, is problematic. Referring to God as “he” is not in and of itself a problem. But the prominence of the male pronoun in this case drags the song down for those who would prefer to emphasize that God is not a male (or female). Had Furler and Taylor simply written “God reigns” rather than “he reigns,” the song would have soared even higher.

The complication of changing the words after the song has been published are insurmountable. It is illegal to publish in print or projection different words for a song than those copyrighted (for further discussion of this see the last paragraph on this page of the GBOD’s worship website). Attempting to get permission to make those change for this song, I once contacted the two companies who administer the rights to “He Reigns.” I was denied every conceivable creative option I asked for (i.e. brackets, footnotes, ellipses, etc.). The only option left was to print the song as is and have the band leader explain ahead of time that we would be singing it differently than it was printed. But this option makes this issue more prominent than it should be in worship.

Conclusion: Recommended

The broad inclusion of Christians beyond the West, the multiple layers of scriptural allusions, and the depth of theological resonance make “He Reigns” an exceedingly strong worship song. I would “highly recommend” it if not for the prominent gender exclusive language in reference to God. May we all get “caught up in the heavenly sound” of all God’s children and all creation singing the glory of God.

Lyrics
Charles Wesley
Sample Music (Sagina or Garbuzova)

Charles Wesley wrote many poetic lines that have been set to music and enjoyed by generations of people the world over. Many of them are designed for special seasons of the Christian year, and many others relate specifically to soteriology, or the salvation of humankind. One of the best of the latter is his hymn first published in 1739 under the title, “Free Grace.” The first line provides the title that identifies it in  most hymnals today: “And can it be that I should gain/an interest in the Savior’s blood.”

THEOLOGY

The text in six stanzas is one of Charles’ most powerful and relates closely to his own special experience of God’s presence and power on May 21, 1738. The questions that open the hymn are a remarkable reiteration of the perplexion faced by one who is confronted by the wonder of God’s forgiving love. “Died he for me, who caused his pain? . . . Amazing Love! How can it be / That thou, my God, shouldst die for me?” This mystery is at the heart of God’s love and mercy, which is inexplicable even to the angels. We are left simply to adore the depths of divine mercy. The fourth stanza (usually now penultimate) ends with a joyous summary by the believer, formerly imprisoned by his sins, of the transformation that occurred: “My chains fell off, my heart was free, / I rose, went forth, and followed thee.”

MUSIC

Although this hymn was set to at least seven different tunes in its first century of publication, the music seldom does justice to the words. The meter and rhyming pattern is Wesley’s most common form—nearly one tenth of his prolific output was in six lines of eight beats, ABABCC. But questions asked in the text are difficult to convey and reinforce with music. The most commonly used setting—“Sagina,” a bombastic though uninspiring tune first published in 1825—is uninspiring and particularly inappropriate to the words.

A recent composition, however, written by the Russian Methodist musician, Ludmila Garbuzova, especially for this text (and arranged by Carlton Young), unfolds the intensity of the words with intensity and grace. Its E-minor key draws out the questions in the text with feeling and its soaring melody reinforces the joyous images that burst forth from the text. This new accompaniment can be found in a collection (both in hard copy and in CD form) edited by S T Kimbrough, Songs of the World, which contains eighteen Charles Wesley texts with new settings by composers from eleven different countries around the world.

CONCLUSION—Highly recommend

Using this new setting, which is not only beautiful but also quite easy to sing, Wesley’s words take on life and meaning. The singer and listener can understand why Charles Wesley’s poetic expressions of the Christian life have become so central to the worship experience of millions of people in dozens of denominations. He expresses the joy and wonder of God’s power and presence that so many people have themselves felt in their own lives.