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DiM | “Trust in You” by Lauren Daigle

Faithful Stewardship 12 Comments

Presentation1CCM Radio Edition.

February 23, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Trust in You” by Lauren Daigle which currently sits at #15 on the 20theCountdownMagazine.

I first heard this song a couple of weeks ago while on my morning commute. Lauren Daigle has a wonderful voice with a unique sound. It’s beautiful. The problem here is with the lyric and what is being conveyed by it (both intentionally and, I think, unintentionally). In a musical industry promoted and pushed by the Word of Faith (WoF), Prosperity, and Presence heresy houses… there is at least in some sense a realization that the theology “doesn’t work”. I wish they’d repent of their false theology, but they keep pushing it. But what happens when all of the “decree and declare” and “sun stand still prayers” yield no results? What happens when we do everything we can to “bring down strongholds” only to lose a loved one to cancer, or drug overdose? One should reexamine their doctrine, return to the Word of God to see if what you are being told is Scriptural. This song almost seems to go there… but it doesn’t. It goes back to the proof texts of WoF and re-declares them in an odd way. When I hear this song, all I hear is “God, when you let me down and don’t keep your promises… I forgive you”. Maybe it’s my sinful nature that prevents me from hearing the overall message of this song in any other way. I’m open to the idea that I’m being overly dismissive of this song. Let’s take a look at it.

Lauren Daigle VEVO

 

Lyrics (via KLove)

Letting go of every single dream
I lay each one down at Your feet
Every moment of my wondering
Never changes what You see

I’ve tried to win this war I confess
My hands are weary I need Your rest
Mighty Warrior King of the fight
No matter what I face You’re by my side

(chorus)
When You don’t move the mountains
I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust
I will trust in You

Truth is You know what tomorrow brings
There’s not a day ahead You have not seen
So in all things be my life and breath
I want what You want Lord and nothing less

(chorus)
When You don’t move the mountains
I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust
I will trust in You
I will trust in You

(bridge)
You are my strength and comfort
You are my steady hand
You are my firm foundation
The Rock on which I stand
Your ways are always higher
Your plans are always good
There’s not a place where I’ll go
You’ve not already stood

(chorus)
When You don’t move the mountains
I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust
I will trust in You
I will trust in You
I will trust in You
I will trust in You

Publishing: © 2014 CentricSongs (SESAC) / Sony/ATV Timber Publishing (SESAC) / Word Music & Pocket Full of Rocks Publishing (ASCAP)

Writer(s): Words and Music by Lauren Daigle, Paul Mabury and Michael Farren

Discussion

We’re going to assume the “You” in this song to be the God of the Bible. I mention this because it isn’t clearly stated in the song, and that’s bad. The Name that is above All Names should be proclaimed in every Christian song.

Okay, so if you don’t see where I’m hearing “God, I forgive you’ it’s in the repetitive I will trust in You as it falls immediately after all of the expressions of disappointment. The Bridge is the best part of the entire song. These are all good confessions of Who God is. But the theology being expressed in the verses and chorus make me question whether or not Jesus Christ (the Rock) is the firm foundation of her faith. Let’s work through the disappointments listed:

  • When you don’t move the mountains I’m needing you to move. There is an expectation that with enough faith God will move the mountains in our lives. This is somewhat pulled from the account in Matthew 17:14-21, but what is the context? Should we contextualize the demoniac or the mountain as anything we decide we need to have happen? I don’t think we should do that. WoF theology twists this passage to present faith as a magic lamp that if we rub right we’ll get the Holy Spirit genie to come out and grant us wishes. Is that what Lauren is after here? Not directly, but the focus here is one of disappointment that something she’s prayed for God to remove yet remains.
  • When You don’t part the waters I wish I could walk through. Again we have an expectation of something happening that is loosely connected to the parting of the Red Sea, but not clearly defined. The parting of the Red Sea points to water baptism, to salvation in Jesus’ Name. WoF (of the Prosperity variety) teachers often continue to contextualize the parting of the Red Sea into some sort of present-day spiritual warfare thingy in our everyday lives. Is there something blocking your healing/promotion/prosperity? Well, it must be your Red Sea moment… God will part the waters if you have enough faith. The problem with such contextualizing is that it actually minimizes the Red Sea and falsely elevates our everyday trials and tribulations that we should expect because God’s Word tells us to expect them. James 1:2-4 (ESV) “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
  • When You don’t give the answers As I cry out to You. There is an expectation that we should be receiving direct revelation from God. That we should be hearing God speak to us either audibly or via some deep impression in our “spirit” when we pray. The notion that prayer should be a two-way street isn’t taught in scripture. Yes God can speak in any way He chooses, but that’s not to say that is the role or purpose for prayer. And God did speak regarding prayer and we have His Words in Written form. Consult the Word of God directly and know it is God who breathed out those words.

So that’s the overall problem I have with the song. It is what rings loudest when I hear the song play on the radio. The singer is disappointed by her theology, but pushes on to declare she will Trust in Him. It comes across to me as an “I forgive you”. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I’ll confess I’ve been hurt by the failure of WoF theology and asked questions only to have the WoF thrown back in my face pointing to my lack of faith or lack of trust as the reason why something did or didn’t happen.

Verse 1. Modern-day evangelicalism is overly obsessed with our own dreams. It’s a real problem. Thankfully, she’s talking about letting go of the dreams… that’s a good start. But then she’s talking about laying them down at God’s feet? Oh, so it’s a sacrifice thing… like something you’re offering to God. Are we trying to eisegete Abraham’s offering of Isaac… because God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac… and that was to foreshadow God sacrificing His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Don’t eisegete any of that, please. We let go of our dreams not to appease God or to make Him favorable to us or our situation, we let go of our dreams because they are sinful, they come from our sinful hearts. The lyrics provided on KLove talk about her “wonderings”, but I can’t help but wonder if the word being sung or intended here is “wanderings”. As sinful creatures we are prone to wander, being lead astray by our own fleshly, sinful desires. That is why we need repentance and the forgiveness of sin regularly. When it is our faith and doctrine that starts to wander, we’re in danger of shipwrecking our faith and damning ourselves. That is why we need the Preached Word of God, we need to grow in knowledge and wisdom of the Word of God, that our faith might increase.

Pre-Chorus. There is that will of ours, striving to merit righteousness in some way. It is a good thing that she is confessing this as sin. I wish the metaphor of the Rest found in Christ were teased out a bit more. Yes, we find rest in Christ Jesus, but WoF treats it as a momentary reprieve or a stop at the charging station so that we can get back out there and do more good works… that’s not the picture of entering God’s rest. The picture of entering God’s rest is one of entering the Promised Land by faith in Christ Jesus. Yes, the LORD is a Mighty Warrior King, but He isn’t at our side, He’s out front. He has fought the battle, He has won the war on our behalf. He threw down the walls of Jericho. He killed Goliath while we all stood at a distance, condemned in our unbelief.

Chorus. We’ve already worked through this as my main issue with the song. I will add one more thing to this discussion. Faith isn’t a thing that we have apart from Christ. It’s not an effort of the will that can be prompted and urged or exercised through sheer will or zeal. Faith has to be anchored in Christ Jesus, otherwise it’s just belief, and can be tossed about by winds of doctrine. WoF heresy teaches folks to place their faith on what they declare or on promises that are nowhere given in Scripture. That’s not faith.

Bridge. This is the best part of the song. These are good confessions of Who God is. These are reasons to trust in Him, but not for the kinds of things that WoF theology promotes… the sorts of signs and wonders that led to the disappointment of the singer in the first place.

Verse 2. Her second verse seems like a throw-back to her song “First“. We still have some confessions of the Sovereignty and Omniscience of God. There’s even a continuation of the thought from the first verse of letting go of our own dreams or plans. That’s good.

Conclusion

I struggle with this song. There’s so much missing here, there’s no clear Gospel message. The focus of the song is the singer working through disappointment and committing herself to trusting in Him. I just want to tell Lauren, “let’s look in the Word for encouragement and understanding of the trials of this life”. Because the song doesn’t stand on its own, it isn’t approved. My first inclination is to disapprove the song based on the sense of the song being some sort of forgiving God for not doing something kind of message. My children sometimes do this to me, my daughter especially. She’ll do it in the middle of being scolded for one thing while asking for something else she knows she can’t have. /sigh. So, it’s our sinful human nature at work. So, since I cannot objectively disapprove of this song, it will remain in the middle-ground, and I encourage the reader/listener to exercise Biblical discernment.

Romans 16:24-27 (ESV) Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

Friday Sermon | 4 Spiritual Laws?

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frisermonToday I want to share an episode of Issues, ETC where Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller tackles the Evangelical Cliché: “God Loves You and Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life”. If you’ve been to a college campus or had dealing with Campus Crusade for Christ (or CRU), you should be familiar with this cliche as the first of Bill Bright’s “4 Spiritual Laws“. This is NOT a good way to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s a sales technique for getting someone to sign up for a membership to something they don’t really understand they need.

Pr Wolfmueller addresses the core of the cliche and works through these so-called “4 Spiritual Laws”.

 

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

Church History | Protestant Lent

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churchhistoryYesterday was Ash Wednesday, the day that marks the start of the penitential season of Lent where the Church prepares for Resurrection Sunday in a manner similar to its observance of Advent in preparation for Christmas Day. I was not planning on writing about Lent, but after seeing several posts in social media warning Protestants against celebrating or observing Lent, I thought I’d share some thoughts on the matter.

Is it a Roman Catholic thing?

The research I’ve done traces it back to quadragesima paschae (Latin for “40 days before Easter”) spoken of by the bishops at the Council of Nicea in 325. Most of what came out of the Council of Nicea was confirming doctrine, not creating it. I’m sure we could finder older references to this “40 days before Easter”, but since we don’t consider the Nicene Creed to be only a Roman Catholic thing, I think this historical research should suffice for now. Now, as the core doctrines in Roman Catholicism and Protestantism differ; so, too, do the manner in which the churches observe Lent, even if from the outside they look similar.

Commandment to Observe Lent?

There is none. We are not commanded in Scripture to observe Lent. Failure to observe Lent is not  a sin in and of itself. Being the sinners we are, we can find ways of sinning in everything we do or abstain from, but for the interest of this question, it isn’t a sin to NOT observe lent.

Is it Wrong to Observe Lent?

No, provided it is done in Faith. Please don’t go to a Roman Catholic church to observe Lent. I’d also encourage you not to invent your own version of Lent without first researching Lutheran or Reformed traditions (which ever confessions you hold to) for observing Lent.

Romans 14:4-12 (ESV)

Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”

So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Pretty straightforward, in fact. Yes, this is a man-made tradition much like celebrating Christmas and Advent. There seem to be just as many pitfalls for abusing Lent as there are with Advent and Christmas. However, there has been a lot of meaningful work put into the Church’s intention for observing Lent and it has served the church well for nearly 2000 years. If you’re looking for reasons NOT to observe Lent, there are plenty of bloggers posting such lists and really they are basically anti-false-piety or anti-Pharisaical guidelines. But here, I’d like to make a couple of counter-points to the naysayers:

  • Lent isn’t a thing unto itself, it’s preparation for Resurrection Sunday. If you’re choosing this season to try to lose weight, or join the Daniel Plan 2.0, or hoping this fast will plant a seed of dominion over a stronghold in your life, or sever a soul tie… you’ve been deceived. Lent isn’t a commandment or a promise from God, it is a season the Church designated for preparing ourselves for the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This isn’t the only way the Church remembers Christ, it is just one way that it does each year. The Believer who rightly understands the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ observes Lent in as a way of preparing for Easter Sunday.
  • The 40 days are a teaching tool, not a Law. This is a great time to teach Christ from as the Passover Lamb, when the LORD delivered the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, through the Red Sea (baptism) and into the wilderness for 40 years before entering the promised land… which dovetails into how Christ, after the baptism of John the Baptist, was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted for 40 days and resisting the devil. Whether or not you observe Lent by fasting yourselves, this is a season where we can focus on the significance of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ for more than just a few hours on Resurrection Sunday or at an Easter service. This is vital Bible study for growing in the knowledge of Christ. What is really awesome in all of this, is that none of it has to be done on our own, or by our might, indeed none of it can be, but by the Grace of God and His Holy Spirit in us.
  • The focus is repentance, not merit. One doesn’t observe Lent to merit favor, indulgences, forgiveness, honor, recognition, or praise. Being sinners, we err in every good work we attempt when we are tempted by our flesh to seek after these things. The focus is repentance. When we abstain or fast during Lent, we aren’t “giving God” anything, we are humbling ourselves in repentance. When we serve our neighbor in giving of alms or service, we aren’t meriting favor or giving God anything, we are humbling ourselves and loving our neighbor as Christ loved us. As Christians, we understand that this is a year-round commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves, but as sinners we know that there are times we need to really focus on our shortcomings in humility and repent for our sin. This tradition provides a time of the year, every year, when the Body of Christ focuses on the gravity of our sin, the Passion of Christ, and our need for repentance and forgiveness in the Name of Jesus.

Conclusion

I keep reading comments in social media of the effect, “we should be penitent year-round, not just during Lent”. That’s an ad hominem argument, a logical fallacy accusing the observer of false penitence. Many of the protestant churches that observe Lent also practice Confession and Absolution year-round… meaning they in-fact are penitent year-round. A solid pastor preaches Law and Gospel every time the saints are gathered in Jesus’ Name for the building up of the Body of Christ. Lent won’t correct bad theology. Indeed, there are many with bad theology pushing Lent. But for those with a solid, Biblical foundation of Faith, there is much good that can come from observing Lent in preparation for celebration of the Passion and Resurrection of our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ. My primary concern in writing this, is that we not be divisive regarding this Church tradition. As always, if you have any further questions feel free to ask in the comment section or contact us directly… but do please also engage your Pastor(s) on these matters. They have been charged with watching over you, and will have to give an Account to the Great Shepherd.

Romans 14:13-23 (ESV) | Do Not Cause Another to Stumble

Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual up building. Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

Romans 15:1-7 (ESV) | The Example of Christ

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

Friday Sermon | “Sermon Cage Fight” via Fighting for the Faith

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Today, we are going to be listening to an episode of Fighting for the Faith with Pr Chris Rosebrough. In previous Friday Sermon posts referencing Fighting for the Faith we’ve tried to focus in on just an hour or so of the show. This show, however, is important to listen to in full, so the goal here is to encourage you to work through the full episode from Thursday, January 21, 2016. *This is a re-broadcast of an older episode.

• Five Illegal Uses of the Law
• Email
• Ed Young’s Rap Song UBU
• The Drukerites are VERY Cult like because in their thinking, there is no such thing as a valid or godly critic
• Sermon Cage Fight: Rev. William Cwirla, Pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church VS. Dan Southerland, Purpose-Driven Church Transitioner & Practitioner

One Cult-Like Quality of the Druckerites

Source: http://www.piratechristian.com/fightingforthefaith/2010/02/24/one-cultlike-quality-of-the-druckerites

 

I pray this episode of F4F is helpful to you. Be blessed this weekend, do not forsake the gathering of the saints, and we hope to see you again next Monday here at Faithful Stewardship.

Romans 16:25-27 (ESV) | Doxology

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “It Is Well With My Soul” by Matt Redman

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Presentation1Evangelical Worship Edition

January 21, 2016. In this edition we are going to be taking a look at the next song on the top new song list for 2015 found at Worship Together. Today’s song is “It Is Well With My Soul” by Matt Redman.

So, when you read that title, you may have thought (as I did), “cool, Matt Redman redid the beloved Hymn by Horatio Spafford. Well, no, Matt didn’t. He just used the refrain from the song.

MattRedman VEVO Live/Lyric Video

 

Lyrics (via Worship Together)

Verse 1:
Our scars are a sign of grace in our lives,
And Father how you brought us through
When deep were the wounds and dark was the night
The promise of Your love You proved.
Now every battle still to come
Let this be our song
Chorus:
It is well, it is well
With my soul, with my soul
It is well, it is well
with my soul
Verse 2:
Weeping may come, remain for a night
But joy will paint the morning sky
You’re there in the fast, You’re there in the feast
Your faithfulness will always shine
Now every blessing* still to come
Let this be our song
Chorus
Bridge:
You lead us through battles, (You lead us through battles)
You lead us to blessing, (You lead us to blessing)
And You make us fruitful, (And You make us fruitful)
In the land of our suffering God
It is well, it is well
with my soul!
Chorus

Writer(s): Matt Redman, Beth Redman
Theme(s): Commitment & Dedication , Faith & Trust , Peace & Hope
Ministry(s): ThankYou Music
CCLI #: 7000696
Scripture Reference(s): Psalm 62:5

*I changed “battle” to “blessing” here to match the VEVO Live audio in the clip above.

Discussion

The best thing this song has going for it is that it causes those who know the hymn to think on it rather than these 2 verses. However, if you are unfamiliar with that great hymn… this song doesn’t do much to back-fill the theology. Before we get into that, let’s look at the single-verse proof text cited for this song.

Psalm 62:5 (ESV) For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him.

Verse 1. Our scars are a sign of grace in our lives. Perhaps in the most general sense of “you lived through it”, this stands as a valid statement. That you are still breathing is a sign of God’s Grace to you, yes. For believers, it means that God has not yet decided to call you home, so you’ll be relying on His Grace to hold you steadfast a while longer. But our scars also are a sign of sin. A very real and present sign of the sin, death, and the curse. So our scars, on their own, don’t point us to Christ and the Grace of God. The next three lines allude to the cross, but don’t clearly point to it. So we have a verse that mixes two metaphors poorly, one of our scars and another of Christ’s deep wounds and a promise of God’s love. Christ didn’t give His life on the cross for your circumstances, your trials, or your hard times. He gave His life on the cross for your Forgiveness and Reconciliation to God the Father. The original hymn took 2 verses to get to the Gospel of the cross. Our modern-day approach to worship songs tries to condense everything into quaint, simple songs of 2 verses, a chorus, and a bridge/outro that can be repeated ad nauseam. Matt’s song makes an attempt at reflecting upon our own scars, then remembering the cross as God’s grace bringing us through the darkest night in the history of mankind as encouragement that He’ll bring us through all the battles to come… and we’ll do so by singing the refrain, “it is well with my soul”. As a story arc, I’m okay with that to a degree, but it’s not stated plainly enough. There are lots of other ways to interpret the artistically vague lines in the verse. It starts by looking at our own scars, poetically alludes to the cross, then launches into the refrain, as if the point is to get the listener to “align their faith with God’s promises for their lives” or “accept that God is in control”. These are law-heavy themes prevalent in Word of Faith (WoF) and Prosperity teaching where the promises of God have to be proclaimed, declared, and decreed with as much faith as you can muster, otherwise they might be blocked by your own unbelief, negative self-talk, complaining, or law-breaking (not tithing, unrepentant sin, etc). I say all of this to point out that whenever the lyric is vague, the doctrine/theology of the venue determines the meaning of the song.

Chorus. The chorus is the refrain from the old hymn. In the original hymn, it takes 6 verses to lay out the theology that enables the singer/hearer to confess trusting in the LORD despite his circumstances. In spite of trials and struggles, the author is proclaiming the Gospel and confessing that by faith, it is well with his soul. Matt Redman hasn’t built up to that just yet, and with only one more verse and a bridge to go, it’s not looking great. Again, those of us familiar with the hymn are ahead of the curve for rightly understanding what is behind the refrain. The refrain is both a confession and a watermark or goal much like “be anxious for nothing…” (Phil 4:6). It’s not a law to be kept, for it’s not something you can do to keep it… it is Gospel, good news, something that is only made available to you by faith in Christ Jesus. When our eyes turn to our circumstances or to our own strength, we fail… we become anxious… we become troubled… we sin in looking away from our Savior. Repentance is available for that, and His Grace will carry us through and restore us every time we cry out to Him. Don’t let this refrain become a burden or a rebuke for feeling sorrow. Don’t let become an empty statement, either. Let it be a prayer and a confession of faith in Christ Jesus.

Verse 2. I don’t like the first two lines as presented in this song. They do come from Psalm 30, but the lines fit a more metaphorical sense… as in seasons rather than literal night and day reversals of circumstances. That is the sort of thing that can happen when you only grab the second half of the verse.

Psalm 30:5 (ESV)
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
    but joy comes with the morning.

You see, the Psalmist sets up the idea by contrasting the momentary Anger of the LORD against His Favor for a lifetime. When we endure punishment for our wrong doing, we who are of Faith repent and are forgiven by His Grace to spend an eternity with Him. So the night/morning is much bigger than getting over “having a bad day”. The song doesn’t do a good job of setting that in motion here. I suppose if the hearer were familiar with Psalm 30, then perhaps there’s no harm done. But having grown up in WoF churches… this passage is used to bolster many a “decree / declare” victory speech. The rest of the verse isn’t bad, I don’t feel like picking it apart. But we’ve finished the second verse without a clear Gospel. We have an empty promise setup by the Ps 30:5b being presented as a Promise from God that “things will be better in the morning”. They might not… not temporally, anyway… and that might be all in God’s Will… for His Glory and your benefit, even if you can’t see it. The cancer may kill, the surgery might fail, the ship may sink (as it did in 1873). The Gospel is our hope, and it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ which grants us the faith needed to confess, It is well with my soul.

Bridge. Typical of Redman, Passion, Hillsong, … we get a victorious overcomer pep-rally cheer in the bridge. This is the part you repeat… and repeat… throw in a chorus… then repeat…. because this is the Positive Atmosphere or purpose-driven dream destiny thingy.

Let’s take a better look at Psalm 62.

Psalm 62 (ESV) | My Soul Waits for God Alone
To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

62 For God alone my soul waits in silence;
    from him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
3 How long will all of you attack a man
to batter him,
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse. Selah
5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
9 Those of low estate are but a breath;
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
10 Put no trust in extortion;
set no vain hopes on robbery;
 if riches increase, set not your heart on them.
11 Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
12     and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For you will render to a man
according to his work.

Did Matt Redman capture the theology of the Psalm in this song? I don’t think so. I wish he had, though… it’s a wonderful Psalm.

Conclusion

The music portion of song is fine… upbeat tempo, modern instrumentation, easily sung by a group of people. But lyrically, its a bit of a flop. I don’t know why we’ve abandoned writing 4-6 verses to a song to fully express theology. It’s not for brevity’s sake since we’ve also included Intros, Instrumentals, and repeated Bridges. The original hymn needed 6 verses to explain the refrain. We need to get back to writing songs that clearly express doctrine/theology rather than the current model of “artistically vague” just to broaden the marketing pool for increased revenue. Theologically rich worship songs aren’t going to be bought up by those who no longer endure sound doctrine, and we need to be okay with that.

Jude 24-25 (ESV) | Doxology

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge