CCM Radio Edition.

July 19, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “The Lion and the Lamb” by Big Daddy Weave which currently sits at #20 on 20theCountdownMagazine.

This is an older song that has popped up on the Top20 charts this week. It’s a good song. It’s a very good song. I’d rather have some of the excessive repetition traded out for a call to repentance, or bring forgiveness closer to the individual rather than simply “the world”, but as the song stands, it’s good, and I am so happy to be adding another song to the “approved” list.

Music Video (Official Audio)

[youtube https://youtu.be/aTUX8_ETIjc]

Lyrics (via KLove)

(Verse 1)
He’s coming on the clouds
Kings and kingdoms will bow down
And every chain will break
As broken hearts declare His praise
For who can stop the Lord Almighty

(Chorus)
Our God is the Lion
The Lion of Judah
He’s roaring with power
And fighting our battles
And every knee will bow before You
Our God is the Lamb
The Lamb that was slain
For the sin of the world
His blood breaks the chains
And every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb
Oh every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb

(Verse 2)
So open up the gates
Make way before the King of kings
Our God who comes to save
Is here to set the captives free
For who can stop the Lord Almighty

(Chorus)
Our God is the Lion
The Lion of Judah
He’s roaring with power
And fighting our battles
And every knee will bow before You
Our God is the Lamb
The Lamb that was slain
For the sin of the world
His blood breaks the chains
And every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb
Oh every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb

(Bridge)
Who can stop the Lord Almighty
Who can stop the Lord Almighty
Who can stop the Lord Almighty
Who can stop the Lord

Our God is the Lion
The Lion of Judah
He’s roaring with power
And fighting our battles
Every knee will bow before You
Our God is the Lamb
The Lamb that was slain
For the sin of the world
His blood breaks the chains
And every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb
Oh, every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb

And every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb
Every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb

© 2014 Meaux Mercy, The Devil Is A Liar! Publishing (BMI) (Adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com)/Thankyou Music (PRS) (Adm. worldwide at CapitolCMGPublishing.com, excluding the UK which is adm. by Integrity Music, part of the David C Cook family. Songs@integritymusic.com)/Bethel Music Publishing (ASCAP)
Writers: Leeland Mooring/Brenton Brown/Brian Johnson

Produced by Jeremy Redmon for Red 91 Productions, LLC

Discussion

Overall, I like the song. It’s a declaration of the imminent return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There are areas of the song where I think the theology could be a bit clearer, but I don’t want to reiterate that I do like this song and think it is good.

Verse 1. This verse sets the tone for the song. It is a song of joyful expectation of the return of Jesus. It’s wonderful. This is our great comfort in these trying times, that one day Jesus will return. If there is room for confusion, it is in the tenses being used in the first verse. One might get the impression that chains will break and broken hearts will praise Him upon His return. That is not the proper order of things. As far as our enslavement to sin is concerned, that work is already finished by Christ on the cross. Let us turn to Revelation 1, where John is writing a letter to the 7 churches (actual churches in his day) from Jesus Christ our LORD.

Revelation 1:4-8 (ESV) | Greeting to the Seven Churches

John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Amen. The work of salvation has already been done, and will already have been done for those who are in Christ Jesus at the hour of His return. His return will mark the end, the final judgement. We who are in Christ will live forever, and those who reject Him are condemned already.

John 3:16-18 (ESV) | For God So Loved the World

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

The first advent (Christ coming to earth in human flesh) was not to condemn it, but to save it. The second advent will be to judge.

2 Timothy 4:1-2 (ESV) I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

Chorus. I love the clear message that the Lamb was slain for the sin of the world. It is so rare to hear of sin being preached or sung on the radio these days, I’m very pleased to hear it brought up and in context.

Verse 2.  This verse gets a little on the evangelicalistic side. It is allegorizing a bit the local church with the Kingdom of God. There is a tendency in modern-day evangelicalism to treat the doors to their auditorium as analogous to the gates of heaven. I think that is a poor way to go. This verse may also play into the doctrine of the church needing to do something to bring on the Return of Christ. Christ is indeed coming for a spotless bride, but He has already washed her clean. All attempts to link Christ’s return with something the church has done or accomplished is folly. If I could make a part of this lyric more clear and focused, it would probably be a rewrite of this verse. Thankfully, the focus of this song is in the chorus.

Bridge. I don’t think the bridge adds anything worthwhile to this song. But it is worth noting that just as there is nothing that can stop the Lord Almighty, there is also nothing that helps Him accomplish what He chooses to accomplish. Our service to God is not to help Him, it’s to serve Him.

Conclusion

I’m very pleased to be adding a song to our Approved list. Bid Daddy Weave has some good songs, and some vague ones. I’d like to see more of the good songs get airplay and recognition on the top 20 charts. I wish somewhere in the song there would have been a mention of repentance, but I’m so grateful to have sins mentioned and that Christ died for the forgiveness of sins.

Hebrews 13:20-21 (ESV) Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will,working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge