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“Glory Revealed” by Mac Powell and David Nasser
Glory Revealed
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
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
| JPS (Is 40:3) | NRSV (Is 40:3) | TNIV (Is 40:3) |
| A voice rings out:
“Clear in the desert A road for the LORD! Level in the wilderness A highway for our God! |
A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. |
A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; MAKE STRAIGHT IN THE DESERT A HIGHWAY FOR OUR GOD. |
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
| NRSV (Mark 1:2-3) | TNIV (Mark 1:2-3) | “Glory Revealed” |
| As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” |
as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”-
“a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” |
A voice cries in the
wilderness Prepare the way of the Lord And make straight in the desert The highway for our God |
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.
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