LOOK TO THE LAMB – Jesus Culture, Lindy Cofer, Bryan & Katie Torwalt

August 16, 2023 / Jason Henry / Leave a comment

It turns out I like songs with lots of words.

“Look to the Lamb” has a lot of words. The people who wrote those words are Bryan Torwalt, Lindy Cofer, Mitch Wong, and Tommy Iceland. Jesus Culture released it as a single in March of this year, and then again on their album Why Not Right Now? in July.

This song captured my attention with its irresistible energy and the soaring exhortation, “look to the Lamb!” and held it with the deep scriptural imagery and theology of its lyrics. Let’s dive into those lyrics and ask if “Look to the Lamb” is biblical and if it will worship!

Focus

“Look to the Lamb” is about Jesus: his identity, his work of redemption, and especially his glory & worth as depicted in Revelation. It calls him King, the Way to the Father, the Life and Resurrection, the Lamb, the Son of God, the Savior, Alpha & Omega, the Christ, and our God. There is no “I” or “me” in this song, but we sing it to one another, exhorting our fellow believers to see Jesus and worship him.

Lyric Analysis

VERSE 1
Jesus is highly exalted and worthy of worship. His name is above every other name (Phil. 2:9). He calls himself the Light of Life (John 8:12).

I think the throne here is the throne we see in Revelation 4-5, since this scene is evoked later in the bridge. If that’s the case, we might have a little bit of Trinitarian confusion in this verse. It seems that we are calling Jesus the King on the throne, but in Revelation 5, God the Father is the one seated on the throne giving the scroll to the Lamb (Rev. 5:6-7). Jesus is God, and the Father is God, and God is the only King on the throne, so there’s not really a problem here, it’s just odd that this one line describes the Father while the rest of the song is specific to Christ the Son.

VERSE 2
Jesus himself tells us that no one can come to the Father apart from him (John 14:6). He also calls himself the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25).

In Ezekiel, God tells his people that their hearts are like stone: dead, stubborn, and refusing to worship or listen to him. But he promises that one day he will send his Spirit to dwell in his people and soften their stone hearts (Ezek. 36:24-28). This songs says that it is Jesus’ love that melts our stone hearts. A little different from Ezekiel’s words, but Jesus and the Father send the Holy Spirit, an act of love, so it seems like a good use of this biblical imagery to me (John 15:26).

CHORUS
“Look to the Lamb! // See the Son of God, the Savior crucified // see the crown of thorns, his nails, his wounded side”

What lamb are we looking to? Jesus! Specifically, Jesus as the slain lamb in Revelation 5. He is the Son of God and the Savior. We also get a short, vivid picture of his suffering and passion: the author invites us to see the crown of thorns on his head, the nails piercing his hands and feet, the spear puncturing his side (John 19:2,18,24). Because of this saving work, we call him worthy.

The second half of the chorus focuses on Jesus’ eternal glory. It draws attention to his eyes, where the author finds both love and fire. The love is a no-brainer. God is love, so of course there is love in Jesus’ eyes when he looks at us (1 John 4:8, Zeph. 3:17). But what’s the fire about? We’ll look at that when we get to the bridge. And what exactly is he worthy of? Be patient, I’m getting there!

My favorite thing about this chorus is that it parallels Paul’s line of thought in Philippians 2:5-11. Because Jesus became a man and suffered humbly on our behalf, he is exalted and given the name above every other name. Jesus’ glory flows out of his suffering.

VERSE 3:
The first two lines of this verse are exactly how God describes himself in Revelation 1:8. As alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, so Jesus is the first and last of all existence; everything comes from him and is for him (Rev. 22:13, Rom. 11:36). Saying that Jesus “was and is and is to come,” means that he always has existed, exists right now, and always will. This seems like a reference to the name God gives himself at the burning bush: I Am (Ex. 3:13-14). The author of Revelation expands this present-tense name into the past and future, because God is forever and ever.

I can’t find a specific Scripture that talks about shouting at Jesus’ return, but he will return in glory and power with a host of angels (Matt. 25:31), so it’s hard to imagine that there won’t be triumphal shouts far louder than the cries of “hosanna” during his Palm Sunday entrance to Jerusalem (John 12:13). Verse 3 concludes with our own shout identifying the object of our praise as Jesus, both Christ and God (2 Pet. 1:1).

BRIDGE
“The elders bow, the creatures cry // saints and angels glorify”

I discussed this song with one of my team members before introducing it to our church and asked him what he thought the bridge was about. He came up with a beautiful description of how the elders are the leaders of the local church, and how it’s important that they set an example for the congregation by bowing to God, and the creatures are everybody else joining in worship together. I had to tell him he was wrong. 😬 At this point, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that these lyrics are a reference to the scene around God’s throne in Revelation 4-5. The four living creatures are angelic beings with way too many eyes that surround God’s throne. The elders mentioned are 24 elders who bow down to the Lamb and cast down their crowns before him. Since there are 12 sons of Israel in the Old Testament and 12 Apostles in the New, I deduce that these 24 elders are meant to represent all of God’s people throughout all time and space. The saints and angels are all the angels, and all of God’s people (Rev. 5:11-14). We also learn that this declaration of God’s glory continues 24/7 (Rev. 4:8).

What about the strange description of Jesus? Fiery eyes, hair like wool, the voice of roaring waters? You guessed it: Revelation!

“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.”
Revelation 1:12-16

These descriptors are meant to convey the majesty and beauty and power of Jesus. Fire in his eyes represents his jealousy over his people and his mighty power; he has the strength to burn up his enemies and refine/purify his people (Zech. 13:9, Zeph. 3:8). Comparing his hair to wool (and snow) is about the color, not the texture. White (or gray) hair is celebrated in the Bible as a symbol of age, wisdom, and righteousness (Pr. 16:31). His voice thunders like many waters, celebrating the power of his word (Ps. 93:4).

If you were part of Revelation’s original audience, these words would have reminded you of another important, psychedelic throne room scene in Daniel 7. Here, God is called the Ancient of Days, and his hair is white like wool or snow, and his throne is fiery. One called the Son of Man appears before him and is given glory and eternal authority over all creation. All God’s enemies are defeated, and he restores his people to share his dominion. So, Revelation 1, Daniel 7, and this song are all showing us the splendor, power, unity, and victory of God the Father and his Son Jesus.

To sum up: the words of the bridge invite us to envision the heavenly throne room at the conclusion of this age, when all creation bows down to the slain, resurrected, glorified Lamb.

TAG
“Worthy is the Lamb!”

Finally, we come to the central line of this song and find that it is a bit ambiguous. What exactly is Jesus worthy of? In general, when a worship song says God is worthy, I think we assume that he’s worthy of our praise, and he is! But he is also worthy of so much more than that. Again, we find a robust answer in Revelation 4 and 5. The 24 elders declare that the Lord God is worthy of glory, honor, and power (Rev. 4:10-11). The myriad angels repeat these of the slain Lamb and add that he is worthy to receive wealth, wisdom, might, and blessing (Rev. 5:11-12).

The last one is easy to skip over, but it’s is also crucial to this passage, Jesus’ identity, and the meaning of this song: the Lamb is worthy to open the scroll. This scroll usher’s in God’s plan for the culmination of his plan; his enemies are judged and defeated and his people are vindicated and saved, made into priests who will reign with him over a restored creation. John weeps because no one can be found to open this scroll, but then the Lion/Lamb appears (Rev. 5:2-5). Jesus is found worthy to open the scroll because he was slain to ransom God’s people from every people and nation (Rev. 5:9-10).

Accessibility

The verses and the chorus are poetic but straightforward. The bridge is the tricky part, relying on an in-depth understanding of Revelation 4-5, and ideally several Old Testament metaphors. Throughout the song, it’s not apparent exactly what Jesus is worthy of, though we repeatedly call him worthy. So there will be significant gaps in understanding for most congregants. People might try to fill these in with their own assumptions, and they may be wrong, but I don’t see any danger of false theology here. I would encourage worship leaders to use this song as an opportunity to explain some of these metaphors and connections to help people grow in their understanding of Jesus and his glory.

The melody is mostly stepwise with several big skips. So it’s challenging to lead, but it’s pretty easy for the congregation to pick up on and sing along with. Also, the congregation doesn’t have to leap up as high as Lindy Cofer on the latter part of the song, so that helps reduce the range to about an octave.

Music

Classic worship song dynamic arc, builds great; I love the high descant part that the lead vocalist sings during the last bridge and chorus. Unfortunately, part of the vocal work that makes this song so exciting also makes it really challenging for your lead singer! The range works out to an octave+4 The melody line is one of this songs big strengths; it’s engaging and fun without being too difficult to learn.

The chord changes in this song are frequent and almost hymn-like. This has the advantage of making the song feel timeless and fresh, but it also makes it pretty tricky for guitars and keys, especially if you transpose it to any key other than C! Expect to take some time to work through the chord changes with your instrumentalists to make sure they’re all falling at the same time.

Conclusions

Will it worship? Yes!

I think worship songs should be accessible while still teaching us and challenging us to grow in our understanding of God and his word. This song emphatically does both. It is passionate in its worship of Jesus, and I love the way it anchors his glory and final victory in his redemptive work on the cross.

My only reservation with this song is its difficulty for the lead vocalist and band members. If your worship team is up for it, give it a go!

Image by Josh Eckstein from Unsplash

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.

WE RESOUND – Jordan Pride

August 1, 2023August 8, 2023 / Jason Henry / Leave a comment

I’ve been meaning to do this song for a long time. Jordan Pride is a good friend and I’m excited for him and his journey as a worship singer/songwriter! “We Resound,” Jordan’s biggest single so far, is an anthem of Jesus’ glory and exaltation and an echo of the song around his eternal throne. But is “We Resound” Biblical, and does it belong in your worship service? Let’s take a look at the lyrics, music, and accessibility of this song together and ask, “will it worship?”

Focus

“We Resound” looks forward to Christ’s final victory and imagines all creation resonating together in praise. Each verse gives a different glimpse of that glorious day, and the bridge positions us in the worshiping multitude, adding our own voices.

This is a truly corporate song: lots of “we,” no “I.” It’s also very God-oriented. We sing to him directly as “you” and declare that he’s worthy of praise. We also give lots of reasons that he’s worthy. The recipient of our praise is very clearly identified as Jesus, the Christ, the Lord God Almighty, the Father, and the Lord of Hosts.

Lyric Analysis

VERSE 1
This first verse is a succinct paraphrase of Ephesians 3:8-11. God’s plan for all time has been to pour out the riches of Christ’s grace on and through the Church. (I appreciate that this verse defines riches as God’s fullness and the hope of Christ, not material wealth!) This plan was hidden for ages, but now God’s wisdom is made known through the work of Jesus and his Church.

CHORUS
“Resound” is such a rich word! It has the sense of a loud sound that echoes, bounces around, reverberates. By extension, it can also mean to praise or spread the fame of someone or something. Sounds that resound don’t stay put; they carry. They don’t die out, they keep on ringing. A famous person or event can also be said to resound through history; that is, their effect is so profound that they create ripples for decades or centuries. In this sense, we, the Church, are the reverberations of Christ’s victory.

The words that we *resound* with come from Revelation 4. In this passage, four angelic beings around God’s throne are eternally proclaiming “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” At the same time, 24 elders in heaven fall down before the one seated on the throne and throw their own crows to the floor at his feet. They say: “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Rev. 4:1-11)

VERSE 2
This verse is a paraphrase of Philippians 2:10-11, where Paul is describing the glory Jesus will receive for his death on the cross. Just like this song, the passage in Philippians ascribes tremendous worth and power to the name of Jesus.

The only change Jordan makes here is to replace “under the earth” with “Hell.” We think of Hell as the fiery place of suffering where demons and bad people go, but “under the earth” is a little more neutral; it suggests a waiting place rather than eternal punishment. While this word change alters the tone of the passage a little bit, I think Paul’s point in Philippians is that every knee will bow, so Jordan’s not wrong. Indeed, Mark 5:6-8 shows us a demon bowing down before Jesus.

BRIDGE
This section evokes the book of Revelation, especially chapter 4, where, as we’ve discussed we find the elders casting down their crowns in worship, and chapter 22 where the river and tree of life from the garden of Eden are restored.

What I especially like about the bridge is the unique line “restoring Eden as we sing.” Jordan puts this line in the present rather than the future, as though our song is somehow having a restorative effect right now. I think this is in line with the Kingdom-building ministry of Jesus. Jesus prayed for the Father’s will and Kingdom to be established on earth as they are in heaven, and he taught us to pray the same way (Mat. 6:9-13). Yes, his kingdom will ultimately be established at his return, but we get to play a part in building it here and now, and part of that comes through worship and prayer.

In the final bridge, we also get the line “You are worthy to open the scroll.” This is said of Jesus in Revelation 5 where he is introduced as a mighty lion, but then appears as a slain lamb. Jesus is the only one worthy to complete God’s plan for his creation because he was slain and bought back his people with his blood. Throughout the song, we have been saying that Jesus is worthy, but in this section of Scripture, we see what he is worthy of. Praise, yes, but also “power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory” (Rev. 5:12).

Accessibility

“Resound” is kind of a self-explanatory word. Even if people don’t think through its layers of meaning, the song still makes sense. The verses of the song are clear and easy to understand, and the chorus is obviously a corporate celebration of God and his praise.

The average congregant might not have a great understanding of what it means to call God holy or what it is that Jesus is worthy of, but they will understand that they are terms of praise. The end of the song explains that Jesus is worthy to open the scroll, but most people will not understand what that means either. Similarly, many people will not understand that the bridge is painting a scene from Revelation.

Having said that, I don’t think there’s anything people are likely to misinterpret or misapply from this song.

The melody of “We Resound” is catchy and easy to pick up. The range is an octave+3, which is about par for a worship song. I would transpose it down to C instead of E because I’m a baritone (and Jordan is definitely a tenor!), but different keys suit different voices. Overall, I think the tune is very singable!

Music

This song has great dynamics, building up through the bridge, then dropping out for a quiet bridge and then coming back in for a giant, celebratory closing chorus and bridge. The sweet harmonies on “glory to God the Father” get me every time!

The main drum beats are playable; less experienced drummers can omit some fills to make it easier to play. Nothing crazy in the chord structure; a beginner/intermediate guitarist should be able to play along with this song. I would discourage worship leaders from imitating the extra vocal ad libs throughout the song; these would be difficult to master and a little distracting in a worship service.

Conclusions

In “We Resound,” Jordan has crafted an excellent, congregational, Christ-centered, biblical worship song. The allusions to Revelation make for thought-provoking lyrics that experienced saints will find rich and meaningful. At the same time, new believers will find plenty to latch onto in this celebration of Jesus’ glory and worth. Will it worship? You bet!

Image by Jeremy Bishop from Unsplash

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.

LION – Elevation Worship, Chris Brown, Brandon Lake

April 12, 2023April 12, 2023 / Jason Henry / Leave a comment

“Lion,” the title track of Elevation Worship’s 2022 album, is a joint effort by well-known songwriters Chris Brown and Brandon Lake and pastor/author Steven Furtick. It evokes mystery, majesty, and power with its words and instrumentation, and it has captured the attention of Christian listeners, accumulating over 22 million streams on Spotify.

I have to confess some skepticism toward “Lion.” My initial impression was that somebody had strung together a bunch of random words and titles from the Bible to create a strong, manly worship song. As I’ve examined the words, I’ve come to see the unity of this song’s themes and the skillful way that the authors use music to paint the lyrics with emotional weight and meaning.

My dad likes to joke about “7-Eleven songs,” which are worship songs with 7 words that you repeat 11 times. This song comes pretty close to meeting that definition; the chorus has nine words, and we sing them ten times. Repetition can be great if the words we’re repeating speak the truth of Scripture, so let’s look at what these lyrics say!

Focus

The main theme of this song is the power and glory of Jesus, especially in the sound of his voice. The song portrays him as a roaring lion, unmatched and victorious. The music and words work together create a secondary theme of the mysterious nature of God.

This song may not address Jesus by name, per se, but it does call him by a lot of very specific titles that can refer to no one else, including the main one: Lion of Judah.

Lyric Analysis

VERSE 1
We begin by listing several names and attributes of God that evoke his power and authority. The God of Jacob is one who wrestles and gives us new names (Gen. 32:22-32). The Great I Am stands alone, uncreated, strong enough to bring his people out of Egypt (Ex. 3:14-15). “King of Angels” is self-explanatory. “Son of Man” is what Jesus often called himself (Matt. 9:6), and it’s a reference to a prophesied figure from the book of Daniel who appears riding on storm clouds to receive a kingdom along with eternal glory and dominion (Dan. 7:13-14).

The second half of this verse focuses on the power inherent to Jesus’ voice. The description of his voice being like “many waters” comes from Revelation 1:14-16. I take it to be a poetic way of saying that something is really loud and awesome like a thunderous waterfall, and the sounds of multitudes are often described this way in Scripture. Jesus is certainly the focus of the song around the throne in heaven in Revelation 5:9-14, a passage we’ll revisit throughout this song. God sometimes speaks in thunder throughout the Bible, and it is often representative of his power and victory over his enemies (2 Sam. 22:13-15, Job 40:9, Ex. 19:19).

The last line introduces the chorus by asking God to make his glory known.

CHORUS
“Hail, hail Lion of Judah // Let the Lion roar”

Now we arrive at the central image of the song: a conquering Lion who is also a Lamb. This idea is also represented in the album art: an image of a lamb on a record called LION. This picture is found in Revelation 5, a chapter that we’ve referenced already.

“And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain.”
Revelation 5:5-6

The lion represents Jesus’ identity as a victorious warrior. The phrase “of Judah” refers to his ancestry as a descendent of David and connects him to prophecies throughout the Old Testament like Genesis 49:10, which says “the scepter shall not depart from Judah.”

What does it mean to ask the Lion to roar? This question really puzzled me at first, but I think the last line of verse 1 gives an answer: we’re asking him to make his glory known. A roar is a display of power. It imparts courage to allies and makes enemies flee. When we roar with the Lion of Judah, we join with Jesus in declaring his victory—past, present, and future—over sin and death.

VERSE 2
I’m not sure where “Pride of Zion” comes from. Zion is a poetic name for the city of God, or Jerusalem. The pride of a city is the person or thing from that city that is most famous or honored, so it makes sense to call Jesus this name. It’s also a clever choice since a pride is a group of lions. The Bible usually give the word “pride” a negative connotation, so I might have chosen a different word here, but it’s not wrong.

The next couple lines declare that Jesus is the Messiah foretold by the Old Testament prophets (1 Peter:10-12). They also make the point that he came into our world as a real, flesh-and-blood human, not merely a spirit (John 20:26-28).

We return to Revelation 5 to look at the image of only Jesus being worthy to open the scroll. This scroll represents God’s final answer to all the evil in the world. John weeps because no one is able to open this scroll, but the the Lion/Lamb Jesus appears and he is worthy to open it, setting in motion the events of the end of the age, the end of sin and death, and the consummation of the Kingdom of God.

The end of the verse contains the clearest statement of of Jesus’ Lion/Lamb identity in this song. It also succinctly explains the two animals; the Lion is the mighty victor, the Lamb suffered for us. I dislike that it places the two identities consecutively, as if Jesus was a Lamb but became a Lion at his resurrection, when in fact he was both the entire time. God presents himself as presented as a lion sometimes in the Old Testament (Hosea 5:14), and when Jesus appears in Revelation 5, it’s actually in the form of a slain lamb (Rev. 5:6). The one does not replace the other.

One more thing: call me a grammar snob if you need to, but the last line should be “the Lion has arisen,” not “the Lion has arose.” I get that it doesn’t fit the meter, and prosody is important, but grammar is important too! 😆

BRIDGE
I love how half of the singers are saying “prepare the way of the Lord” while the other half sing “O valley be raised up, O mountain be made low.” I haven’t heard a polyphonic worship song this good since Marc Imboden’s “You Are Holy!” This tool works especially well here because the lyrics explain each other to some extent.

The leveling of the mountains and valleys is for the purpose of making a flat road for the coming of the Lord in his glory. These words come directly from Isaiah 40:3-5, and they’re quoted in all four Gospels to describe John the Baptist’s work in preparing Israel for Jesus’ ministry (John 1:23). John the Baptist introduces Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” (John 1:29), so his ministry is also the link between the bridge and the rest of the song and Christ’s Lion/Lamb identity.

I haven’t been able to figure out if this is part of Isaiah’s meaning, but I can’t sing about mountains being made low and valleys being lifted up without thinking about God’s love for those who are humble and his anger towards those who are arrogant. I think this bridge is at least in part a plea for justice, for God to exalt those who are lowly and to bring down the proud (James 1:9-10, 1 Peter 5:5).

Accessibility

This song’s meaning is cloaked in deep scriptural allusions. Without doing some serious research, most people will not understand the majority of the lyrics or how they connect to one another. The average worshiper will come away with a vague sense of having been impressed by God’s mystery and power, but I am concerned that not enough of that feeling will be from a real understanding of who God is. When we pray and sing to God, we should do so with our minds, not just our spirits (1 Cor. 14:15).

The extensive repetition in this song makes its melody and lyrics easy to learn. It’s a bit rangy, but only because the chorus jumps up an octave. Basses can just keep singing in the lower register. The “roar” parts also make excellent use of antiphony, so the congregation can jump in easily by repeating after the leader.

Music

This song has the drama! Mysterious synth drones. Minor tonality. Rumbly bass and drums. Powerful chorus. Sick-nasty guitar licks. Abrupt dynamic changes. The outcry on “roaaaaar!” The almost eerie, chant-like “prepare the way” bridge gives me chills. As mentioned above, I love the use of polyphony here.

The chord progression is also really cool. The song goes back and forth between melodic minor and harmonic minor, so the IV chord goes back and forth between major and minor, creating a really cool effect.

I think this one is going to be really challenging for the band to play. Part of that is the timing and the unusual chord progression, but most of the challenge comes from the fact that to make this song work, you really have to nail the dynamics. If you don’t layer in correctly and create some of those cool effects, this song loses the musical texture of mystery and power that underlines the words.

Depending on how many singers are leading worship, you can decide how much of the crazy multi-part vocal stuff to add at the end of the song.

Conclusions

I came into this review expecting to give “Lion” a firm no. Now I’m on the fence between yes and maybe. This is one of the most epic worship songs I’ve heard in a long time. It masterfully expresses the power of Jesus’ voice and the majesty and mystery of his identity as the Lion of Judah and the Lamb Who Was Slain. It’s also very deep, a little hard to figure out, and challenging to play.

Will it worship? Maybe. I feel the same about this song as I do about Honey in the Rock. I love it now, even though I didn’t when I first heard it, and I would sing my heart out in a worship service that included “Lion.” But I can’t discount the high barrier to entry represented by the rapid-fire Bible deep cuts and the difficulty of playing this song well.

Image by Glen Carrie from Unsplash

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.

GOOD GROUND – Citizens

April 3, 2023April 3, 2023 / Jason Henry / 1 Comment

“Good Ground” is an agricultural synth-worship single from the brand new Citizens album, I Can’t Find the Edges of You. It’s the song that first jumped out at me upon listening through the album, and I love its unique way of inviting God’s Word into our hearts and offering ourselves to him in devotion. I love Citizens (I played “You Brought Me Back to Life” to death in 2014-15), and I love Justin Tweito (see my review on “The Cup Was Not Removed“), so imagine my delight and surprise when I discovered that Zach Bolen and Justin Tweito cowrote this song!

Let’s put our soil judging skills to good use and ask if “Good Ground” will worship.

Focus

This song is a prayer asking God to speak to us, change us, and motivate us by his Word. It’s a song of devotion offering our hearts and lives to him as good ground to bear the kind of fruit he wants to produce in us.

Since the words are addressed to God, we mostly call him “You.” He’s never named specifically except when the chorus calls God “Heaven” in a lovely example of metonymy.

Lyric Analysis

VERSE
There is only one verse to this song, and in it we offer God our ears, eyes, hands, and feet.

In the first two lines, we ask him to give us the kind of ears that will hear his words and the kind of eyes that can see him working. This idea is found in Isaiah 6:10, where God connects eyes that see and ears that hear to a heart that understands and turns to God and finds healing. Jesus quotes this passage after teaching the Parable of the Sower, praising his disciples for their willingness to see and hear his meaning (Matt. 13:13-15). Paul quotes the same verse at the end of Acts, rebuking the Jews of Rome for refusing to see and hear the truth about Jesus (Acts 28:24-28). So when we sing these lines, we are asking God to give us the right kind of heart to understand his Word.

In the next two lines, we offer our hands and feet to God’s service. We acknowledge that he made our hands so that our actions can glorify him. In offering our feet, we are asking him to send us out with his Word to communicate it to others, whether to lost people who need to hear the Gospel for the first time or to our brothers and sisters who need to grow and be encouraged by God’s Word. This line calls to mind Isaiah 52:7, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news…who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.'”

CHORUS
“Fall on good ground, good ground // We don’t want to waste Your Word”

The chorus of “Good Ground” is based on the Parable of the Sower found in Matthew 13:1-23. The song imagines us as the soil from the parable and asks God to make us into the kind of good soil that is soft for receiving the seeds of his word and produces much fruit in response.

“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”
Matthew 13:3-9

Jesus goes on to explain the meaning of this parable, a rarity in his recorded ministry. He tells us that the seeds are the “word of the kingdom,” (Mt. 13:19) a good reminder that the Gospel is not just the good news that we get to go to heaven when we die because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, but also the good news that we get to be a part of building his kingdom here and now. He explains that the path, rocky ground, and thorny ground represent those who either do not receive the word, or receive it but do not grow in it and act on it. In contrast, those who do receive the word and understand it, the good soil, always bear fruit many times what was sown (Mt. 13:18-23).

In asking for God to bring rain to make the seeds grow, we recognize that we need his help to understand his word and bear kingdom-fruit from it. In asking him to let our hearts be soft (like the good soil) to receive his word, we recognize that we are stubborn and need his help to listen and change.

BRIDGE
Like the chorus, the bridge is a prayer based on the Parable of the Sower. We ask for his words take root in our hearts, unlike those in the parable who did not understand or who let life’s worries quickly dry up their passion for Jesus and his kingdom. Plants with deep roots are healthy and can outlast changing weather. We also ask that his words would bear lots of fruit in our lives. Part of that fruit is letting the Good News of Jesus and his kingdom grow and spill out from our lives and mouths onto others.

The bridge also references one of the I Am statements of Jesus. In John 15:1-8, he calls himself the true vine. In a teaching very similar to the Parable of the Sower, Jesus tells his followers that they are branches connects to his vine and that as long as they remain in him, made clean by the power of his word, they will bear much fruit.

Accessibility

Much like the Parable of the Sower, this song explains itself. We get a few lines of metaphor, and then a line that clarifies what we’re talking about for anyone who hasn’t caught on already. I admire how the authors have employed rich biblical symbolism to express Jesus’ parable in song without obscuring the meaning or expecting people to have a wealth of scriptural knowledge to draw upon first. The chorus is very clear that the rain we’re asking for is the nourishment of God’s word implanted in our hearts, so I don’t see much potential for misunderstanding it as a request for some other kind of blessings.

The melody of this song falls entirely within an octave and mostly within the range of a fifth, so it’s very accessible from that angle. The lines of the verse all have the same melodic line, so that’s easy to learn. The melody of the chorus is trickier, but it gives the congregation key repetitive phrases like “good ground, good ground” that make excellent entry points. The bridge is short and somewhat repetitive, so some people will chime in on the second half, but there’s not much time to learn it fully. Overall, I think this song is challenging but singable for most congregations.

Music

“Good Ground” uses contrast really well. The quiet parts of the song contrast dramatically with the loud, and the a capella portions are juxtaposed with the highly accompanied portions. I think what is played matters less on this song and how much is played matters more.

I’ll be honest, I’m still figuring out how to play this one with my worship team. The recording is very arpeggiator-driven, and half the song relies on an ambient soundscape rather than a band groove. I’m definitely going to have to lean into the creativity of my musicians on this one, and it will be a challenge adapting some of the electronic beats into something real to play. There may also be some parts of the song where we don’t play and just let the multitrack carry the instrumentation. If you’re going to introduce this song to your church, expect to spend more time than usual working with the band on what each instrument is going to do.

Conclusions

Will it worship? For sure.

The main challenge with “Good Ground” is going to be adapting it for a church worship band, but I think the congregation will grab ahold of these unique lyrics and sing them with their hearts. Especially here in the Midwest, a good agricultural metaphor will go a long way! I’m confident this song will prime the minds, hearts, and hands of our people to hear, understand, and follow God’s Word.

Image by Majharul Islam from Unsplash

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.

WHOSOEVER – Rend Collective

January 12, 2023March 27, 2023 / Jason Henry / Leave a comment

Image by Helena Lopes from Unsplash

I’ve loved Rend Collective since they were still an Experiment, and I still have their signed poster in my office from a concert my wife and I attended when we were in college. They have so much fun while genuinely worshiping God, and their joy is infectious. I’ve found that congregations respond really well to songs like “Build Your Kingdom Here” and “My Lighthouse.” “Whosoever” is the title track from their 2022 album, and it’s written by Chris Llewellyn, Gareth Gilkeson, and Matt Maher. Chris and Gareth are both Rend Collective members, and Matt Maher is a solo artist and legendary worship songwriter. This song is a bit of a departure from the type of lyric content I usually include in worship services, so let’s see if the lyrics of “Whosoever” are biblical and if they will worship!

Focus

The main theme of “Whosoever” is God’s love and its expression in his Church. The whole song is an invitation to join the loving community of God’s people. Usually when we say “you” in worship songs, we’re talking to God. But in this one, we are singing to the outsider who needs to be invited into the circle of love and safety described in the lyrics.

God is discussed in the third person, and he is identified as God, a savior, a man on a cross, and a Father. We don’t really distinguish between the Father and the Son in this song, but that’s because we’re focusing on God’s love, not the minutiae of the Trinity.

Lyric Analysis

VERSE 1
“There’s no audition for true love // No matter what, you don’t have to earn it”

The first two lines of “Whosoever” establish that God loves us first. We don’t and can’t do anything to earn his love; it was the disposition of his heart toward us even before he made us, even before he made anything! In Ephesians 1:4-5, Paul explains that before the foundation of the world, God set us apart for adoption as his children through Jesus. Why? Because of his love.

The next two lines offer good news to anyone who has ever felt excluded. What is that good news? Let’s ask the pre-chorus.

PRE-CHORUS
Here’s the good news: “God so loved the world, he never left you out of it.”

This is an odd turn of phrase. At first blush, it seems to say “God loves the world (including me) so much that he’ll never exclude me.” The song moves so quickly that I think people will take roughly this meaning from these words and move on.

John 3:16 is a probably the most well-known verse in the Bible, so many people will likely catch the allusion here and finish the line in their heads: “that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” So I think the bridge is using the first few words of John 3:16 as a shorthand for the whole verse. I also think death, in the ultimate sense, is permanent exclusion from God’s presence, and eternal life is being forever included in his family, so “he never left you out” isn’t a bad summary of the second half of this Scripture.

CHORUS
“Every outsider // you are safe here // Whosoever”

While modern translations of John 3:16 say “whoever believes,” many of us memorized it in the KJV and still remember “whosoever believeth.” That’s where the song title comes from, and the chorus is an invitation addressed directly to “whosoever.” We further identify “whosoever” as outsiders and people who are wandering. Zacchaeus is an excellent example of this kind of person in Scripture (Lk. 19:1-10). He was likely hated and excluded by the Jewish community because he was a dishonest tax collector for Rome, and Jesus describes him as lost. Jesus doesn’t push this thief away, but invites himself over to Zacchaeus’ home. Zacchaeus responds in faith and repentance and finds his salvation.

The chorus paints Jesus as a savior and a shelter, and that’s exactly what outsiders and lost people are looking for. But the shelter isn’t just Jesus. It’s also his church. We can learn what kind of shelter God’s people are supposed to be from God’s stern rebuke to Israel’s leaders in Ezekiel 34:4. We’re supposed to strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the injured, bring back the strayed, seek the lost, and lead with gentleness. In Acts 2:44-47, we see how deeply and sacrificially the early church cared for one another. This is the kind of people we are called to be.

So the chorus is an invitation to outsiders, but it’s also a call to the Church to become the kind of place that shelters people, makes them feel safe, and brings them near to Jesus the Savior.

VERSE 2
Being put on the sidelines is another way of being left out. God doesn’t want to bench you; you’re a work of art made by his hand, and he has good works prepared for you to do! (Eph. 2:10)

The rest of this verse is about welcoming people into community. Open doors, joining in song, and raising glasses evoke a party atmosphere, maybe in someone’s home or even a pub, but it’s also a cheerful and poetic description of what we do in church. We welcome people in, we sing together, and we partake of the cup that Jesus gave us at Communion, our deepest and most meaningful symbol of our unity in Christ.

BRIDGE
Here we give two scriptural examples of God’s love. First, the father of the prodigal son. When the son who has dishonored and abandoned him comes back home, the father can’t wait for him to reach the door. He is so overcome with love for his son that he runs out to meet him on the road and captures him in a big hug (Lk. 15:11-22).

The second image is a man (Jesus) on a cross. The songwriters see Jesus’ outstretched arms on the cross as the same welcoming arms of the Father. He sacrifices himself in order to embrace and welcome us into his family.

Accessibility

I don’t see any potential for misleading or unsound teaching in this song. I think the overall message of invitation into a loving community is abundantly clear.

“God so loved the world he never left you out of it,” is a little confusing grammatically, but the sense of what’s being said is apparent. People unfamiliar with Scripture may not understand the lyrics of the song as references to John 3:16, but the song’s imagery communicate its message clearly. People who have qualms about alcohol may be bothered by the line about raising glasses in verse 2, but I would just remind them that we often raise non-alcoholic beverages in toast at weddings, and that we metaphorically raise the cup of Christ’s blood together every time we celebrate Communion.

The melody of this song is really high, but I was surprised to discover that this song actually only has a vocal range of an octave +1 (as long as you exclude the optional high note in the 2nd to last chorus). Most songs I review end up being more like an octave +4 or 5, so this one should be even more singable than average. Just transpose it lower if it doesn’t suit your voice or your congregation. We sing it in A, but G would be even easier to play and sing. If you go all the way down to F, it even fits the oft-repeated “C to shining C” rule.

Music

I sure hope your acoustic guitar player doesn’t mind his or her strumming hand falling off by the end of this song! A good portion of this song’s high-energy, Rend Collective, Irish folk-rock vibe comes from the constant 16^th note strum pattern. It’s also a great song to utilize a mandolin and/or banjo player.

This upbeat song’s dynamics jump back and forth between medium-loud, loud, and louder. The key to nailing the dynamic arc is getting all your dropouts synced up, especially on the pre-choruses and the bridge. Speaking of the bridge, I love how this song deviates a little from the typical worship song format here. Instead of a decrescendo into a quiet bridge, we have a total dropout for the first half of each line and then three smash hits on the last word of each. It’s punchy, exciting, and breaks up the song so that we don’t ever get bored for lack of dynamic interest.

Conclusions

I mentioned already that “Whosoever” is different from most of the songs I choose for worship services. Usually I limit myself to songs that are to God or about God. This one is about God in a sense, but it’s more about his Church. I also tend to avoid songs that have such a strong element of invitation because they can often feel heavy-handed. But “Whosoever” is more than an invitation; it’s a description of what Jesus’ Church should look like. When we sing these words, we have the opportunity to make them a prayer that our church would be like this, a place where outcasts can find a home and feel loved and safe.

So, will it worship? Yes. I think this song will be a powerful tool for transformation and I look forward to seeing our congregation grow in love for the outcast, one another, and Christ as we sing it!

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.

HE IS JESUS – Zack Shelton

March 17, 2022 / Jason Henry / Leave a comment

Image by Bruno van der Kraan from Unsplash

This review is a little different because “He Is Jesus” is a brand new release from someone I know! Zack Shelton and I went to college together at Kentucky Christian University, where we were in the same creative songwriting class (where his skills far exceeded mine) and the same choir (where he used to cheat off of me when he forgot his part 😜). Since the lyrics aren’t online yet, he’s given me permission to post them here in full. Let’s check out “He Is Jesus” and see if it’ll worship!

Focus

The main themes of this song are the identity and power of Jesus. It lists many biblical attributes and titles of the Lord as well as some of his mighty works, especially the resurrection. A secondary theme is our response of awe and praise to who Jesus is, what he’s done, and the relationship we have with him.

Lyric Analysis

VERSE 1
“The beginning and the end
My heart can’t seem to comprehend
My lips in vain try to explain
The One so grand and yet so plain”

Here, we focus on the incomprehensible majesty of God. The exalted Jesus calls himself the beginning and the end in Revelation 22:13. The next two lines lament the impossibility of fully understanding or describing God. Biblical authors sometimes use the word “unsearchable” to express this attribute of God (Ps. 145:3, Rom. 11:33). I like the line “so grand and yet so plain” because it feels like a fresh expression of the paradox of Jesus’ being exalted in humbling himself on a cross (Phil. 2:6-9). It also brings to mind the Suffering Servant from Isaiah 53, who, though exalted, “had no form or majesty that we should look at him.”

CHORUS
“He is the Lion He is the Lamb
He is all God yet He is all man
He is the Way the Light and the Truth
He is for me and He is for you
He is with us
He is Jesus”

Jesus is both the conquering lion and the slain lamb in Revelation 5:5-6. He is identified as God in Titus 2:13 and a human being with real flesh in 1 John 4:2. He calls himself the way, the truth, and the life in John 14:6. Zack changes “life” to “light,” but that’s fine with me since Jesus also calls himself the light of the world in John 8:12.

Bonus points for putting a clear statement of the doctrine of hypostatic union in a worship song! In all seriousness, this is an important mystery of our faith that we don’t sing about often enough. Jesus is fully God and fully man. For more exploration of this essential point of Christology, check out this article from Matt Perman at Desiring God. (Warning! Your brain may hurt a little afterward.)

“He is for me and He is for you” could be interpreted two ways. It could mean, “Jesus is for everyone,” echoing Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 4:10, that God is the “Savior of all people, especially those who believe.” So this Jesus that we’ve been singing about isn’t just for some people, he’s for anyone who chooses to believe. I think this is the most likely meaning and what most people will take from the song. The other possibility is that it means “Jesus is for you,” in the sense of being on your side (Romans 8:31). In this case, we need to remember that Jesus is not for you if you choose not to believe in him. In doing so, you make yourself his enemy (Phil. 3:17-19). It’s also important to note that God being for us means his Spirit is on our side in the fight against evil, both within ourselves and in the world (Romans 8), not that he is going to make my sports team win or help me defeat my rival for a promotion at work.

And of course, Jesus promises to be with us, especially as we carry out his work of discipling others and teaching them to know and follow him (Matt. 28:19-20).

VERSE 2

“My spirit leaps when I proclaim
The simple sound of Jesus’ name
We’ll shout the name that demons fear
And we won’t stop til the streets can hear”

Believing in Jesus should absolutely make our spirits leap for joy (1 Peter 1:8). Demons shudder with fear in response to that same belief (James 2:19). The line about not stopping until the streets can hear is either a description of evangelism (Mark 16:15) or just a really loud worship service (Psalm 150). I approve of both.

BRIDGE

“The hands that formed woodlands
Were pinned to a tree
Hell shouted in victory
Heaven said Wait and see
Cause our Lord is a warrior
With a comeback so fierce
He’ll reign as Prince of Peace
And the Lamb who was pierced
I am both at home
And in awe
Of the One who builds up faith
And tears down walls
Every saint and sinner
Will one day declare
That the stone was rolled away
And His body’s not there”

Lots of Scripture references in the bridge! First, Jesus is described as forming woodlands, something he certainly did, since they exist, and he created all things (Col. 1:16). The next line reminds us that one of those trees he created was used to make the cross on which he died.

Heaven and Hell are personified as having a little argument here. I’m not aware of any Bible passage that describes what exactly the forces of evil did when Jesus died, but from an earthly perspective, it would certainly have seemed like darkness had won. And God certainly knew what was coming next!

God is a warrior who saves (Zeph. 3:17); Jesus is our Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6) and the Lamb of God who takes away our sins (John 1:29). “I am both at home and in awe” is a unique lyric. I like how it juxtaposes the comfort of feeling truly at home (2 Cor. 5:8) with the more jarring sensation of awe at God’s power and holiness. Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2), and he tears down the walls of hostility that divide us from each other and from God (Eph. 2:14).

If we’re going to be real pedantic, Philippians 2:10-11 just says that every knee will bow at the name of Jesus and that every tongue will confess that he is Lord. Nothing about the empty tomb. However, Paul says this in the context of Jesus being exalted through his death on the cross, and his resurrection is a necessary part of that. So I think this is a fair poetic extrapolation from the text.

CHORUS 2

“He is the Lion He is the Lamb
He is all God yet He is all man
He is the Way the Light and the Truth
He is for me and He is for you
He is the Rock He is the Door
He is right now
And he’s forevermore
He is Creator
Of all time and space
He’s in the quiet
And he’s in this place
He is with us
He is Jesus”

This final chorus repeats everything from the first chorus and adds a few more statements about who Jesus is. Jesus is the rock on which we can build our lives (Matt. 7:24-27), and the rock of our salvation and provision (Deut. 32:15). Jesus calls himself the door of the sheepfold in John 10:1-10; this is another way of saying that he is the only way to abundant, eternal life. We already talked about Jesus being the eternal creator of everything.

God appears to Elijah in a quiet whisper (1 Kings 19:11-13), and Jesus encourages his followers to seek him in quiet solitude (Matt. 6:6). Yet he is also enthroned on the praise of his people (Ps. 22:3), which can be quite loud, especially since we’ve already been encouraged to sing so that the streets can hear.

Accessibility

By and large, this song is easy to understand. An inexperienced churchgoer might not get what it means that Jesus is the door, or that he’s all God and also all man, but these truths are presented plainly, not hidden behind insider language or obscure Old Testament references. We talked a little about how the idea of God being “for us” can be easily misunderstood, but I don’t think this song misapplies the phrase.

I expect congregations to latch onto the choruses of this song immediately. The verses and the bridge will be a little trickier for them to learn. Zack’s easy-to-sing-with baritone voice is also a nice change of pace from the tenor-dominated worship genre that usually has us straining to sing the high notes with Chris Tomlin or Brandon Lake. This is a worship song that I won’t have to transpose, hooray!

Music

“He Is Jesus” starts off with a bright intro and a catchy lead that shouldn’t be too hard for your keyboard player to pick up. We drop down for a first verse that is all acoustic down strums and sparse piano notes and then launch into the punchy first chorus. We come down a little for verse 2, but keep a drum groove going and don’t lose much energy before going back into a repetition of chorus 1. After the chorus we revisit the instrumental hook but with some background “oh-oh-oh”s. Adding the shouts of “Jesus” here is a nice touch. We bring it down for the bridge and then build up with toms, like you would expect. The chorus is longer now with extra words that follow the same rhythmic pattern. The outro is high-energy and features the same lead hook with the vocals.

If you’re doing this song in church, I would encourage having your backup vocalists mimic the BGVs in the recording closely. I think the way the vocals add meaning and emotion to the instrumentals and help build excitement on the bridge is really cool! As a keyboard player, I also find the use of piano the song tasteful and fun to play. (It’s easy to go overboard with piano in a worship song.) The instrumental parts of this song seem to be at a good difficulty level for a normal church worship band.

Conclusions

One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is that this song uses a lot of little couplets of “rhyming ideas” much like the books of Proverbs and Psalms. Some of these idea pairs reinforce each other (he is the rock; he is the door), but most of them are opposite statements that are both true of Jesus (beginning and end, lion and lamb). I think it’s healthy for us to be reminded that God contains a lot of mystery and paradox, and that when our lips try to fully explain him, we will always fall short.

Will “He Is Jesus” worship? One hundred percent.

The lyrics are biblical, insightful, and original. The choruses are easy to learn and the range is reasonable. I also think this song carves out a niche for itself by describing the identity of Jesus in a fresh way. It doesn’t feel like it would be redundant with the songs my church is already singing.

Great work Zack; looking forward to hearing more!

MY JESUS – Anne Wilson

September 27, 2021March 16, 2022 / Jason Henry / Leave a comment

Image by Priscilla Du Preez from Unsplash

I’m not a country music guy. This is a country worship song. But I dig it.

Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, and Matthew West have crafted a personal, engaging anthem of the power of Jesus in the life of the believer. At a first listen, all my questions are grammatical, not theological, so if you can’t handle singing “ain’t” in church, go ahead and stop reading now! If you’re still with me, let’s see what “My Jesus” is all about.

Focus

No question here. This song is very clearly about Jesus, what he’s done in my life, and what he can do to change yours.

Lyric Analysis

Before we get into specific lyrics, I want to address who this is song addressed to. It’s not being sung to Jesus, but about him, to an unspecified person. A congregant might hear the words as though they are addressed to them, or sing them with a particular friend in mind. Shouldn’t we be singing to God in church, not to other people? That’s not what Paul says.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Ephesians 5:19, “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.” Do we sing to God when we come together? Absolutely. But we also have a duty to sing to one another. Part of the purpose of our songs is to build one another up as believers. Additionally, the Psalms are full of words addressed to God (Ps. 4:10), words addressed to people (Ps. 148:11-12), and even words addressed to angelic beings and inanimate natural objects (Ps. 148:2-3). So singing to someone else about Jesus is an appropriate liturgical activity.

I could also see where some people might not like the title, which is repeated twelve times through the song. Putting the word “my” in front of something could be interpreted as exercising ownership or control over it. I want to worship the real Jesus, not just my version of him that suits all my own preferences. But this song isn’t about controlling Jesus; it’s about living in a covenantal, marriage-like relationship with him that leads us to say “My Lord and my God,” with Thomas in John 28:20 and even “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine,” with the woman in Song of Solomon 6:3.

VERSE 1
“Is it all too much to carry? // Let me tell you ’bout my Jesus”

Both verses follow a pattern of questions addressed to a struggling friend followed by the refrain “let me tell you ’bout my Jesus.” In verse 1, the implication is that if your answer to any of these questions is “yes,” then you need to hear about Jesus.

Is Jesus the answer to a weary soul carrying burdens that are too heavy? Yes, he offers rest and a lighter burden (Matt. 11:29-30). If you’re feeling empty, God is the one who can satisfy you (Isa. 55:1-2). Jesus saves us from shame (Rom. 10:11) and offers healin’ (Matt. 8:16-17). Just remember that we’re not promised healing from every mental or physical ailment until our resurrection (2 Cor. 12:7, Rev. 21:4).

CHORUS
“He can do for you what He’s done for me // Let me tell you ’bout my Jesus”

We get to talk about verb tenses! Yay!

The chorus is all written in present tense, so the first couple lines feel a little odd. Jesus already made a way and already rose, didn’t he? But the writing here isn’t verb tense confusion, it’s using the historical present tense, describing past events in present language to give them more immediacy. There’s an interesting (to me, anyway…) article on it here.

God makes a way where there ain’t no way all throughout Scripture (Isa. 43:19). The parting of the Red Sea, David and Goliath, Ezra and Nehemiah’s reconstruction efforts, all of it ultimately points to Jesus making a way for us to be united to God when we were totally alienated from him (Eph. 2:4-6).

He rises from an empty grave in Matthew 28:6. He saves even the worst of sinners in 1 Timothy 1:15. Jesus’ love is so strong, it’s unstoppable (Rom. 8:39), and he saves us by the free gift of his grace (Eph. 1:6).

The line “He can do for you what he’s done for me” shouldn’t be applied to specific, physical blessings, since God provides for each of us differently (my new car isn’t proof that you’re going to get a new car). Applied more generally, it is saying that he saved me and changed my life, and he absolutely can and will do the same for you. If being made a new creation isn’t life change, I don’t know what is (2 Cor. 5:17).

TAG

“Hallel” is a Hebrew word meaning to praise joyfully with song, and “Jah” is a shortened form of the name of Israel’s God. So “Hallelujah” is a command to sing praise to Yahweh. We commonly use it today as an expression of praise in and of itself.

“Amen” is a word used throughout the Old and New Testaments, often at the end of a prayer, that emphasizes and affirms that what has just been said is true. In this particular song, make sure you say “ay-men” instead of “ah-men,” or you’ll sound silly.

VERSE 2
“Who can wipe away the tears // From broken dreams and wasted years?”

The next two verses ask “who” questions, and the answer is always Jesus. Wiping away tears is a form of comfort, and Jesus comforts us in affliction (2 Cor 1:3-4). Telling the past to disappear seems like a poetic shorthand for removing our past transgressions, which God does (Ps. 103:12), and also alludes again to the idea that we are new creations. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

The next lines say that Jesus can take even our past regrets and mistakes and work them together to our good. In Romans 8:28, Paul says that God does just that, working all things together for our good if we love him and are called according to his purpose. So in singing this song to somebody who needs to know Jesus, we’re saying that that’s what’s going to happen once they meet him.

VERSE 3
“Who would take my cross to Calvary? // Pay the price for all my guilty?”

Calling the cross of Christ my cross is a way of taking ownership of the sins for which Jesus died. Paying the price for “all my guilty” is an awkward phrase, but I think the authors are using the word “guilty” as a collective noun to describe everything I’ve done wrong, all the things over which a judge might declare, “guilty.” Jesus paid the price for that. One of the clearest Biblical descriptions of this idea, called the substitutionary atonement, is in Isaiah 53:4-6.

“Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.”

Notice how many times Isaiah says “our.” Jesus must care very deeply about us to be willing to take on so much suffering and punishment that rightfully belonged to us.

Accessibility

This song is clear, uplifting, and easy to grab hold of. It sings the name of Jesus twelve times, so there’s no mistaking who it’s about. It offers plenty of concrete truths about God and what he does in the life of the believer, and provides two overt calls to action. I don’t see much opportunity for anyone to get the wrong message from this song.

Music

The instrumentation and vocal style of Anne Wilson’s recording are very country, and the chord structure and dynamic arc are very “worship music.” The melody is simple and repetitive and should be easy for a congregation to learn. The repeated line “let me tell you ’bout my Jesus,” is a good entry point for someone hearing it for the first time. I don’t hear anything especially challenging in the instrumental parts either. I do really enjoy the uplifting tone of the whole song and how it draws the listener in. I’ve also found that it gets stuck in my head easily.

Conclusions

Will it worship? Yes.

This song is like a life saver at the end of a rope, tossed out for a lost, hopeless soul to cling onto. The twin invitations, “Let me tell you ’bout my Jesus,” and, “Let my Jesus change your life,” are clear, evangelistic offers of relationship, both with Jesus and the person singing the song. I think it would work well at the beginning of a service, as a celebration of God’s life-changing power in our lives, or at the end of a service as a reminder to share the life-saving good news of Jesus with our friends and neighbors who desperately need him.

Two thumbs up.

THANK YOU JESUS FOR THE BLOOD – Charity Gayle

September 7, 2021April 19, 2022 / Jason Henry / 4 Comments

Image by Evie S. on Unsplash

A worship team member suggested this song to me recently, and the more I listen to it, the more I am moved to gratitude and worship. Jesus has done so, so much for me with his sacrificial death and this song paints that picture beautifully. But is this song scriptural, and is it suitable for congregational worship? Looking into those questions sent me on a deep dive into the use of blood in Scripture, specifically how the blood of Jesus is described in the New Testament. Here’s what I’ve found so far.

Focus

This song is centered on the atoning work of Jesus, specifically through his blood. It thoroughly acknowledges our sin and the separation from God that results, and how the blood of the Lamb frees us, saves us, washes us, and transforms us into ransomed sons and daughters of our Father.

Lyric Analysis

VERSE 1
1-2: Who likes being called a wretch? Nobody. But that’s how Paul describes himself in Romans 7:24. Bible Hub says that the Greek word used there means distressed, miserable, or beaten down by hardship. Certainly an accurate description of our pre-Christ predicament, and even of our continual struggling with sin after conversion, which is what Paul is talking about in Romans 7.

3-4: Luke uses the word “lost” frequently to describe people who are far from God (Luke 15:6, 15:24, 19:10), and to emphasize Jesus’ pursuit of these lost sheep. According to other New Testament passages, Satan blinds unbelievers to keep them from seeing the truth of the Gospel and finding healing in Jesus (John 12:40, 2 Cor. 4:4, 1 John 2:11). The foolish virgins in Matthew 25 ran out of time and missed out on the wedding banquet.

5, 8: Isaiah 59:2 says, “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” But even when we were far from God, dead in our sin, he still loved us, or “held me in your sight,” as the song says (Eph. 2:4-5).

6-7, 8-9: In the parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus describes paradise and Hades as being separated by a wide chasm (Luke 16:26). There is a huge, uncrossable gulf between the place of God’s mercy and the place of torment where selfish sinners end up. This is the kind of great divide that Jesus crosses in order to come to us.

11: As far as I can tell, Jesus is never specifically depicted as leaving his throne in Scripture, and some people object to the phrase for that reason. But I think it’s a good poetic image of the sacrifice he made in humbling himself, taking human form, and suffering on the cross (Phil 2:5-8, John 1:14). Being born in a feeding trough is kind of the opposite of reigning from a throne, isn’t it?

12: Jesus is building heaven (…or his throne? It’s unclear exactly which one “it” is referring to.) here inside. Presumably inside me, or inside us. This seems to refer to the internal transformation that comes with belonging to the Kingdom of God. I wonder if it’s also a reference to the inaccurate-but-well-known KJV translation of Luke 17:21, “the kingdom of God is within you.” It should read (and does in nearly every other translation), “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” Still, an aspect of Kingdom-building certainly takes place inside us, particular the transformative work of the Spirit. I don’t think there’s a big issue with this line, as long as we don’t think that the Kingdom is only being built inside us. It’s also being built around and through us.

13-14: Jesus himself is the propitiation for our sins, that is an offering to appease an offended party. We’ve offended God with our sin; and Jesus fixes that debt for us (1 John 2:2).

15: Jesus has freed us from bondage to sin (Gal. 5:1, Rom. 6:22).

16: We have no real hope until the blood of Christ brings us near to him (Eph. 2:12-13).

CHORUS
1: Thanking Jesus for his blood is an obvious and appropriate response to his sacrificial death. But the singer thanks him for “the blood applied.” What is the blood applied to? The song’s outro gives the answer, quoting from the hymn “Glory to His Name,” where it says the blood is applied to my heart. But is that idea scriptural?

When I think of applying blood, the first Biblical example that comes to mind is the sprinkling of blood on the mercy seat or atonement cover that was part of the Ark of the Covenant. This is where the high priest would sprinkle the blood of a bull on the Day of Atonement to cover over Israel’s sin. (Lev. 16:14-15). The book of Hebrews in the New Testament also refers to the mercy seat in chapter 9, and this is where I think we find the biblical basis for this song. Following a description of the earthly tabernacle furnishings and how they must be repeatedly purified with blood from sacrifices, the author says,

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

Hebrews 9:11-14

So Jesus’ blood purifies our conscience. The conscience is our ability to distinguish between good and bad, which is an integral part of who we are and one of the primary things broken by the Fall. I think heart is a fair synonym for that. I also think it’s worth noting that the author of Hebrews uses corporate language here; Jesus isn’t just purifying my heart in isolation, but our heart as the Church, his collective bride. (If you are interested in learning more about the idea of sacrifice and how it makes atonement and purification, the Bible Project has a great video on the topic that you can watch here.)

2: The color white, especially with regard to white clothing, is used all through the Bible to signify purity. The exalted Jesus wears white (Matt. 17:2), and so do his angels (John 20:12) and the saints in heaven (Rev. 7:9). In the Old Testament, prophets like Isaiah look forward to the day when God will wash his people white from their crimson sins (Isaiah 1:18).

3: Jesus has not only saved our life, but he holds our life safe with him, and he is our life (Col. 3:3-4).

4: The darkness is our enslavement to sin and the forces of evil; Jesus redeems us from that and gives us status as citizens in his Kingdom of marvelous light (Col. 1:13, 1 Peter 2:9).

VERSE 2
1-2: 1 Peter 2:24 says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” If the sins were ours, then it stands to reason that the cross and the tomb were ours, representing the fate we were headed for until Jesus took those sins on our behalf.

3-4: Jesus was indeed buried for three days. The walking part is assumed. He could have run or skipped, I guess?

5: Death loses its sting in 1 Corinthians 15:55.

6: John 3:16. Eternal life. Boom.

7-8: Much of the New Testament details what it means to live a transformed life. Romans 1:1-2 states it most clearly. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sin, we get to be living sacrifices to God and he is constantly transforming us and renewing us.

BRIDGE

1-3: If blood represents life, then Jesus’ blood is certainly the strongest life force imaginable (Gen. 9:4, Heb. 7:16). We’ve already detailed some of the wonders that his blood accomplishes. This line is also a reference to the hymn “There is Power in the Blood” by Lewis Edgar Jones.

4-6: Jesus’ work on the cross redeems us as his sons (and daughters by extension) in Galatians 4:4-6.

OUTRO
This is the chorus from the well-known hymn “Glory to His Name,” by Elisha A. Hoffman. And it is, of course, fitting to glorify the name of Jesus (Hebrews 2:9)

Accessibility

This song does not beat around the bush regarding Jesus’ sacrificial death. It cries out “the blood!” four times in the climax of the bridge. It also does not shy away from our culpability in our own sin, and the death that we deserved and would have received apart from Jesus. These ideas are offensive to the non-Christian and jarring to those believers who have grown complacent in their faith. I also doubt this song would play well in churches that emphasize the Christus Victor aspect of Jesus’ death and resurrection and downplay the aspect of substitutionary atonement.

While this song references a lot of Scripture and covers a wide range of theological topics, I think it states its ideas clearly and passionately through word pictures that are accessible even to someone who’s never read the Bible. People unfamiliar with the Gospel will get a clear picture that we believe in a glorious, many-faceted salvation that Jesus bought for us with his blood.

Music

Musically, you could do this song in just about any church. The recording leans on piano and organ for the first half, and then adds punch and dynamic range with the drums and bass, but it would work great with only a single instrument, whether that’s a piano or an acoustic guitar. Its simple gospel style is powerful and playable. While the melody is a little tricky at first, it repeats enough that your congregation will pick it up quickly. The refrain of “Thank you, Jesus,” in the chorus is a good entry point even if that’s the only line someone sings in the whole song.

EDIT: After doing this song on Sunday, I have concluded that the music is deceptively simple. Listening to it, you think it’s easy, but then when you go to play it, you discover just how many chord changes there are and how many little idiosyncrasies there are in the melody of the verses, and how rangy this song is. I still think your band can play it, but make sure your keyboard player and your lead vocalist have plenty of time to learn it before you rehearse.

Conclusions

While I was a little hesitant at first about this song’s blatant emphasis and celebration of the blood of Jesus, I am completely won over. It is likely to offend some people, but that’s exactly what Paul says will happen when you proclaim the Gospel, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor. 1:18) There is such a wealth of Christ-exalting truth in this song that I am certain I will be singing it in church for a long time.