Photo by Kevin Butz
Maverick City Music is a collective that acts as a congregation that sings together. They released six EP’s and three albums, including:
- Maverick City Vol. 1 EP (2019)
- Maverick City Vol. 2 EP (2019)
- Maverick City Vol. 3, Part 1 (2020)
- Maverick City Vol. 3, Part 2 (2020)
- You Hold It All Together (EP, 2020)
- Maverick City Christmas (EP, 2020)
- Move Your Heart (EP, 2021)
- Jubilee (EP, 2021)
- Como En El Cielo (Spanish, 2021)
Also, check out my reviews of Jireh, Getting Ready, The Story I’ll Tell, Man of Your Word, Promises, Refiner and You Keep on Getting Better.
UPPERROOM is a church-based band hailing from Dallas, Texas. They released thirteen works, including:
- God You Are (2014)
- Live from Upper Room (2016)
- Made for More (2016)
- Center of Your Love (EP, 2017)
- Moments (2018)
- Moments II (2018)
- Moments: Color 003 (2019)
- Moments: Design 004 (EP, 2019)
- To The One (2019)
- Santo Espíritu (Te Amamos) (2020)
- Land of the Living (2020)
- Arbor (2021)
- Move Your Heart (EP, 2021)
Also, check out my reviews of Move Your Heart, Getting Ready and Surrounded (Fight My Battles).
Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Maverick-city-music-and-upperroom-i-thank-god-lyrics.
Side Note: Throughout this review, I will refer Maverick City Music & UPPERROOM as “MCM & UR”.
Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site! Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.
1. What message does the song communicate?
This song is MCM & UR’s testimony. They were once lost in their rebellion, without hope and God. Then, just when they had given up, a man they did not know, Jesus, saved them. They left their former lives, a grave full of dead man’s bones, and embraced the Son of God, who changed them from the inside out. Thankful, MCM & UR praises God for their newfound faith, urging their audience to follow their example. They cannot go back, pressing forward until they die.
My sole and minor criticism is that in the second interlude, MCM & UR explains the meaning of “the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy” as “what He did for another, He can do it again”. I think this interpretation is somewhat vague and could be explained better by replacing “another” with “me”. Not only does this clarify the statement, it personalizes it for unbelievers who might be listening.
Side Note: To those sensitive to massive repetition, Bridge repeats itself eight times in one instance and 11-12 times with different words in two more instances.
Score: 9/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
The entire song is Biblically accurate.
[Verse 1]
Lines 1-8: MCM & UR were wonderers, spiritual nomads without a home. They foolishly relied on their strength to win their battles (Luke 18:9-14, Romans 10:3, and Galatians 2:16), leading them to eternal separation from God (Matthew 18:8, Matthew 25:41, Matthew 25:46, Mark 9:43, Jude 1:7, Revelation 14:11, and Revelation 20:10).
[Pre-Chorus]
Lines 1-3: That is, when MCM & UR were without hope, Jesus calls them into a personal relationship with Himself, implying that they will not be alone (John 15:1-11, Acts 17:27, Romans 8:15, Romans 11:16-24, and Philippians 3:8-10).
[Chorus]
Lines 1-7: Describes MCM & UR’s process where they were dead in sin and made alive in Christ (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24). The “solid ground” is the foundation that is Jesus (Deuteronomy 32:4, 1 Samuel 2:2, 2 Samuel 22:47, Psalm 18:31, Psalm 28:1, Psalm 62:2, Psalm 94:22, Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 28:16, Matthew 7:24-27, Matthew 21:42, Acts 4:11, 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, Ephesians 2:20, 2 Timothy 2:19, and 1 Peter 2:6). Teacher/Master/Rabbouni is what Mary Magdeline called Christ after she saw Him risen from the dead (John 20:16).
[Verse 2]
Lines 1-4: That is, MCM & UR would be foolish to deny the truth of their witness. Much like Peter and John in Acts 4:19-20, they cannot stop speaking of what they have seen and heard about Jesus.
Lines 5-8: MCM & UR said goodbye to their wearies and burdens by giving them to Christ (Matthew 11:28-30).
[Pre-Chorus (2)]
Lines 1-2: That is, MCM & UR will continue to witness until Christ returns, where they will enter New Jerusalem with streets paved with gold (Revelation 21:21).
Line 3: See Verse 1 and the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32).
[Post-Chorus]
Line 1: MCM & UR thanks God for what He did through worship.
Lines 2 and 3: Repeats line 1.
[Bridge]
Lines 1 and 2: That is, MCM & UR will inherit eternal life instead of eternal damnation (Mark 10:29-30, John 3:15-16, John 3:36, John 4:14, John 5:24, John 5:39-40, John 6:27, John 6:40, John 10:28, John 17:3, John 20:31, Romans 5:21, Romans 6:22-23, Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Galatians 6:8, 1 Timothy 1:16, 1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Timothy 2:11, Hebrews 5:9, 1 Peter 5:10, 1 John 2:23-27, 1 John 5:10-13, 1 John 5:20, Jude 1:20-21, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 7:16-17, and Revelation 21:3-4). Also, see commentary in Verse 1. Also, the many “Oh”s are Casper the friendly ghost references.
Lines 3-16: Repeats/essentially repeats lines 1 and 2.
[Interlude]
Line 1: MCM & UR pleads with their audience to receive the same salvation they did.
Line 2: Essentially repeats line 1.
[Bridge (2)]
Lines 1 and 2: See Interlude, line 1.
Lines 3-24: Repeats lines 1 and 2.
[Interlude (2)]
Lines 1-3: Repeats Interlude, line 2.
Line 4: Quotes from the last part of Revelation 19:10.
Line 5: The testimony of Jesus is, according to Matthew 4:23, Matthew 9:35, Matthew 24:14, Mark 1:14-15, Luke 4:43, and Luke 16:16, the Kingdom of God. It’s about how we can access this Kingdom through repentance and faith in Him (Matthew 3:2, Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15, Luke 24:47, Acts 2:36-38, Acts 3:19-21, Acts 20:21, and 2 Timothy 2:25-26). This statement communicates “What Jesus did for me, He can do for you also”.
Line 6: Repeats line 5.
Line 7-10: Repeats lines 5-7.
Line 11: MCM & UR prophecies the words contained in Bridge.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
Chorus makes it obvious to unbelievers that it’s Christian, connecting the unknown man in Pre-Chorus with “Master” and “Savior”, and that Hell “lost another one”. The second interlude will likely be confusing to unbelievers, especially since, as mentioned in section 1, MCM & UR’s interpretation could be clearer.
Score: 8/10
4. What does this song glorify?
It glorifies God that MCM & UR gives their testimony so that others can follow Jesus.
Score: 10/10
Closing Comments
Maverick City Music & UPPERROOM’s I Thank God is good. While I applaud their efforts to preach the Gospel to others and glorifies God, I think their interpretation of Revelation 19:10 could be clearer, especially for unbelievers. Still, those who don’t know Jesus will easily catch what Maverick and Upperroom are throwing.
If the second interlude section is removed, then this song would be appropriate for corporate worship.
Final Score: 9.5/10
Artist Info
Track: I Thank God (listen to the song)
Artist: Maverick City Music & UPPERROOM (Feat. Chuck Butler, Maryanne J. George, Dante Bowe & Aaron Moses)
Album: Move Your Heart
Genre: Rock
Release Year: 2021
Duration: 7:46
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
Updates:
03/25/2024 – In light of Steve’s comments, removed my criticism on obedience and increased this song’s score from 7.5/10 to 9.5/10.
12/20/2022 – Garrett’s comment helped me to realize that “perhaps” is a more appropriate rating for corporate worship. I updated conclusion to reflect that.
09/21/2021 – After reading Eric’s comment and examining Revelation 19:10 more closely, I concluded that the song is missing the element of obedience to Christ when the artist interprets this Verse. Therefore, I lowered the song’s score from 9/10 to 7.5/10. I also added a link to the lyrics.
Related reviews:
Elevation Worship & Maverick City Music (Feat. Chris Brown) – Mercy
Maverick City Music (Feat. Naomi Raine, Chandler Moore & Todd Galberth) – Good News
Housefires (Feat. Kirby Kaple & Dante Bowe) – Lift You High
Church of the City (Feat. Chris McClarney) – He Lives
Bethel Music (Feat. Cory Asbury and Gable Price) – Homecoming
Bethel Music (Feat. Zahriya Zachary) – Back To Life
TobyMac (Feat. Owl City) – Light of Christmas
Comments
Eric
I have a quick question on your thoughts on the interlude where they say “ ‘The Testimony of Jesus is the Sprit of Prophecy’, That means what He did for another, He can do it again”.
They’re taking that line right from scripture, obviously Rev 19:10, and my issue is basically that verse in context seems to mean “The essence or driving force behind all prophecies is to point to Jesus and His work”, it doesn’t mean in that specific context that if God saved me He can save you too.
Obviously saying that ‘if God saved me He can save you’ is a true and biblical thought, but my worry is that it seems like they’re saying that a specific Bible verse means something it doesn’t really mean in context.
First off, would you agree with that? Second do you think it would affect how biblical the song is if essentially they’re misinterpreting a Bible passage, even if the misinterpretation ends up with an accurate statement? It’s been something that’s been bothering me about the song but I’m not sure if it’s truly an issue or I’m just way overthinking it. Thanks!
Vince Wright
Eric,
Thank you for your inquiry!
There are two things we should discuss. The first is, what is the “testimony of Jesus”? The second is, what is the “spirit of prophecy”?
The testimony of Jesus is the Gospel. This is why John was on Patmos (Revelation 1:9). The spirit of prophecy is the Holy Spirit who moves people to speak (2 Peter 1:21), which includes the prophecy concerning this Gospel message that would usher in the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34). When we combine these elements, we see in Revelation 19:10 that the angel of God is a “fellow servant” that testifies to the testimony of Jesus that is the spirit of prophecy, pointing us to the new covenant that Jesus established, sealed with His shed blood (Luke 22:20).
There is another element to this Verse that doesn’t appear in this song: obedience. Yes, we’re saved from eternal damnation and we should celebrate that. But, part of the testimony of Jesus is to do as He says (1 John 2:6).
I’ve updated my review to reflect this missing piece and lowered its score.
-Vince Wright
Steve Barhydt
Vince,
We have sung this song many times at church and I have never heard the second interlude before.
That said, I fail to see the problem with the lyrics.
Eric is correct in saying ‘They’re taking that line right from scripture, obviously Rev 19:10, and my issue is basically that verse in context seems to mean “The essence or driving force behind all prophecies is to point to Jesus and His work”,’
I believe that he is incorrect in saying ‘ it doesn’t mean in that specific context that if God saved me He can save you too.”
It is an absolute truth that ‘if God saved me, he CAN save you.” The lyrics do not say MUST but CAN!
Why wouldn’t this be true?
In Romans 2:11, the Apostle Paul says that ‘ For there is no respect of persons with God.’
This is in the overall context of a very lengthy discourse on salvation.
In Romans 3:20-24,28 Paul goes on to say
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
The Apostle continues to build on his thesis of salvation and says in Romans 10:9-13
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
So God CAN and will save ‘whosoever shall call upon’ His name.
What does this have to do with Rev. 10:9 and this song?
Biblical Prophecy, both OT and NT has a dual aspect;
1) foretelling (the supernatural ability to tell the future through the power of the Holy Spirit)
2) forthtelling (the speaking of the truths of the Bible in an effective manner, also through the power of the Spirit.)
When MCM says ‘So we prophecy’ at the end of the second interlude, they are ‘forthtelling’ the truth that God can save anyone. They are doing so ‘to point to Jesus and His work”,
I will grant the fact that the second interlude doesn’t mention obedience to Christ but neither does the rest of the song. For that matter, Rev. 19 does not address the necessity for obedience to Christ either.
The song is, in essence, the testimony of being on the wrong road, going the wrong direction, headed for the wrong destination until the singer met Jesus. At this point, everything changed.
The same can be said of anyone else on that same wrong road.
Vince Wright
Steve,
Thank you for your comments!
We’ve talked about including/not including the interludes before, so I don’t want to delve into that again.
My chief issue in terms of vagueness is what the artist offers as their interpretation of Rev 19:10, which is “what He did for another, He can do it again”. This is a bit vague and could be explained better if he has stated “what He did for me, He can do it again for you“.
As far as my “However, it is missing the part about obeying Jesus’ commandments (1 John 2:6)” commentary, what I’m looking for is a call to action. However, I missed that in Bridge, the artist does contain a call to action, namely, “get up out of that grave”. So, I will remove that portion of my criticism from the review.
-Vince Wright
Nick
You all have too much time on your hands. I will say I appreciate the break down of scriptural relevance but man the over analyzing and criticism is hilarious. May want to get a real job
Vince Wright
Nick,
Thank you for your comment and compliment! What makes you think that I don’t have a “real job”?
-Vince Wright
Tommy Tom Tom
Yeah, I’m thinking the same thing.
past0r_r0bert
While I agree that the originally performed lyrics may not be congregationally friendly, a quick reworking makes them easier to follow. The way I see this song, it’s like most every southern gospel song from the 70s-90s with a slight black gospel flair – which very much CAN be sung by congregations with some work.
Levi Uzodike
I disagree with using the testimony of Jesus is The Spirit of prophecy. If you take out that scriptural reference, I’d say the song is perfect. To me, in the context of Revleation 19, in verse 10 in simple english of today, the angel is trying to say, “Don’t worship me. The point of prophecy is to make you worship Jesus, not the prophet/messenger.” So I’m still really struggling to see the connection to the song.
On your obedience point, though, I think it is succinctly tackled by the ending of the chorus, “I thank THE MASTER, I thank The Savior, I thank God”. Many easily accept Jesus as their Savior or ticket out of hell into heaven, but we must also accept Him as Lord/Master. So this line acknowledges that we’re not only grateful for salvation from eternal damnation(Savior) but also salvation from the control of the flesh here on earth since we have a new Master. The fact that it says, I THANK The Master, shows that it’s a joyful thing to be obedient to Him, as opposed to the negative connotation that may be associated with a master/slave relationship. And that gratitude is only made possible by the transformation from the inside out, (“He healed my heart” Ezekiel 36:26-27).
Levi Uzodike
Also what do you mean by “the many “Oh”s are Casper the friendly ghost references.”? How can you prove that??
Vince Wright
Levi,
Great question! This is meant to be a running joke, where I poke a bit of fun at filler statements that sound poltergeist. This seems to be something a lot of people miss when reading my Evaluation Criteria Page, but it also gets a lot of laughs!
-Vince Wright
Garrett
At my church, our choir has sung this song a couple times, but we never sing the part that talks about the testimony of Jesus being the Spirit of prophecy. I’ve also heard this song sung at other churches and they don’t sing that part either. Do you think you could recommend this song if that part, which I agree isn’t theologically sound, is left out?
Vince Wright
Garrett,
Great question!
If that part were removed, then I would say it’s appropriate for corporate worship. Particularly, those who don’t mind a lot of repetition in their lyrics.
-Vince Wright
Michael Ramsey
I understand the skepticism of the Revelation 19:10 line. However, given that the potion you are concerned about is a spontaneous portion and not the actually written portion of the song… The score for the entirety of the song should not be affected by a spontaneous moment.
Michael Donohue
I agree with you, Michael. I’m not sure I’m even familiar with that spnstaneous portion that’s being referrenced. But yes, that shouldn’t weigh down the entire score of the song I would think? I stumbled on this site because I’ve led this a few times and really wanted a deeper understanding of some of the lyrical content, and their biblical references. I really appreciate the details and verses that are cited.
Andrew Augustine
I’ve always cut out, as I believe most churches do, the spontaneous parts. That is where “the testimony of Jesus being the Spirit of prophecy” so I really don’t think that score should be affected by the spontaneity.
C Gibson
Personally, I’d like to hear you expound more on the Bridge of this song, because “sensitive to massive repetition” isn’t my issue with it at all. I just can’t see how “hell lost another one” fits with Scripture…as if Satan or Hell had any level of control over our eternal destinies. As Jesus said to Pilate, “Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin’.” (John 19:11 ESV). Or in Job, we see that Satan had to ask God for permission to test Job. In John 10:27-39, Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me,is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” Seems like, when we are saved, hell doesn’t “lose” us…seems more like he’ll never really had us, if we are sheep that belong to the fold of Christ. Maybe most directly in contrast with this song, Jesus said in John 18:9, “…This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: ‘Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one’.”
Very curious what you have to say regarding these things. Thanks for the thoughtful analysis of so many songs.
Vince Wright
C Gibson,
Thank you for your comments and inquiry!
Hell is an inanimate place that has no thoughts of feelings of its own. So, we cannot say that hell itself has any authority of us. You are correct in saying that the only control that Satan has over our lives is what God allows and what we allow. However, Satan is not hell itself.
I think the meaning of “hell lost another one” is that of a figurative nature from our limited, human, perspective. From God’s eternal perspective, He knows those who are His and those who are not. From His perspective, hell doesn’t lose people based on the passage of time. Hell’s number of souls is fixed and known. However, from our limited, human perspective, people can gain salvation by embracing Jesus. By doing so, we believe that one less person who would have entered the hellfire will instead enter into the arms of Jesus. Thus, “hell lost another one”.
Does that make sense?
-Vince Wright
Jennifet
Hello! I am in the same place as Gibson.
If I am biblically illiterate and don’t understand that Hell is the wrath of God or that if I am truly saved, hell never had me in the first place, then singing “Hell lost another one” is confusing. Why would I be declaring that unless I am thinking in the way of Satan lost another one…does that make sense???
If we were to claim that this is a worship song, it’d be more biblical to say “God you delivered me, now I am free”
Alan Archer
It’s a common misconception held over from the Dark Ages, or from centuries earlier. In order to make the inerrant perfection of God match certain things, like salvation, the early church leaders decided that God “already knew” who was saved, ect. But of course removed freewill from the “quote literal” equation of (f/c)td=UO or, freedom of choice, and the total decisions made equals the Ultimate Outcome.
Called predestination, many would have us believe that God already knows everything that will happen in all of creation, from beginning to end, but of course, it’s not so simple. But, to the minds of the first 1000 years AD, the world was flat, beyond that was dragons, there were only 4 elements, the earth was the center of the (as yet unknown) solar system and universe and nobody even understood basic hygiene, yet somehow these thinkers were able to know the “mind” of an eternal, all powerful creator of the universe. It’s silly, of course, but back than you’d be killed by the church for disagreeing, today, it’s just sites like this passing all powerful all knowing judgement.
Remember, even we of childlike minds (all humans) now understand (to the best of our limited ability) that the Creator, when he created the Universe, also created the laws that even He would follow. We like to imagine that he might not have to, but that’s our childlike mind that refuses to let go of the idea that there is a Super being that could break the laws that he made.
But, it’s obvious that while he’s in control, and knows the ultimate outcome, he leaves decisions up to us, for we must make choices to define who we are. Only by freely choosing to be good is our choice worthy. We were not all “preprogrammed” at the beginning of time to make every decision of our life! That’s primitive, childlike thinking.
God gave us freewill, and “made in his likeness” with the ability to think, plan, evaluate, to create, and even more unique, to use our minds to “think ourselves forward” in other words, we can think about how our decision today, will effect our (and the people around us) life tomorrow, next year and 20 years from now. Animals were not given that.
It’s not just me, there were huge arguments about predestination for 100’s of years, but ultimately, the good Catholic church just murdered and executed all those who disagreed with them. (As good Christians do??)
While I’m not an expert, and claim to have all the answers, (like so many others) and this comment will most likely be deleted, it’s unavoidable that God LETS US MAKE BOTH GOOD AND BAD DECISIONS!!
Of course, he wants us and guides us to make the best choices we can, but it would be wrong to think that God created everything, heaven and hell, and all of humanity, and also dictated what each of us would do before we were even born. It’s such a huge error! But after saying that God was perfect and all knowing and all that (which 3000 years ago certainly seemed true to our simple minds) the church had to conclude that he “knew it all” in advance. Which eventually put them in such a bind that they called it a “Mystery” and just killed anyone that disagreed.
So no, you and I will have to decide, everyday, on a thousand different things and while God knows that eventually he will come back and make changes, and He is in control of what He will do, so it seems that perhaps “he must therefore” know what I’m going to put in my coffee this morning even before i do, is just silly.
But, it doesn’t actually take anything “away” from God, he’s still the Creator, and he still has a plan, and he’s put his essence and “life force” into all of us, so ultimately we will all be called to account, but of course, as is so evident in Scripture, he lets us, just like all the imperfect people of the Bible, make our own decisions. Although, it’s also true that Kings and generals and ordinary people could and were touched, influenced or “made” by God to do certain things, to fit His plan.
So sometimes, some of us are “moved” on the chessboard, but once he makes that move, to influence history or make events happen, then he removes his hand and we move on and continue to make decisions.
So it’s not as simple and as black and white as a child would want it to be.
Alan Archer
As a musician who spent years writing songs, I have to say that i find this all quite silly. If you used your “analyzing” techniques to take apart and meticulously comb over other songs from other genres, it would of course be seen as ridiculous.
Sometimes an artist needs to make a word choice, based on rhythm or meter, or the time signature, or of course due to phonetics.
As much as we all like reading the scripture you can’t expect somebody to just make a modern, upbeat contemporary worship song that just fall follows line by line word by word things written 3,000 years ago!!
This particular song is a very good example, because it’s a great moving song with a great guitar part a great mandolin part great harmonies, and I could take the song and change the words around and make it into a hit on top 40 radio. That’s what makes it a great song. You can’t critique a word or a turn or a phrase and then give it a seven or a six or something like that, based on your interpretation of scripture.
As a musician in a band who did write our own songs, I can say it’s not always easy. You can’t just say a prayer and then all the sudden come up with a hit song! It was that easy everybody would be doing it.
Which brings me to another sad fact, but as I listen to these worship songs on the radio they’re sadly all too similar, all too predictable, and many of them are very boring and all follow the same basic techniques, structure, group verses, so lacking in creativity. And your critiques just serve to continue that cycle.
When I first started really listening to Christian music I heard somebody say that there was, almost an unofficial JPM meter, which meant Jesus per minute! And there was somebody around judging these songs and if they didn’t say the word Jesus enough times in a song then they got a lower score and I just found that so incomprehensible I just thought it was made up because what kind of children could do that kind of stuff??
And now I understand why Lauren Daigle is so unique, and her songs are just so moving. They’re intimate and personal, and it hits people on a personal level.
Think about the old hymns ” it is Well with My soul” and “Amazing Grace”. I think they are great because they are intimate and personal. A person feels that they are connected, moved, perhaps even for a moment, talking to or listening to God.
A great, moving, soul stirring song is not defined by how many times the word Jesus is repeated, or how closely the words grammatically follow something that someone said 3500 years ago and was translated from Hebrew, to Aramaic, to Greek, than to Latin, then to English.
Music, when done right, is much harder to break down and suffers when analyzed like this.
Like Love, you know it when you feel it, and too much inspection does not help it.
But, its your webpage and you can say what you want.
But I’ll leave you with this:
The other day i was discussing God, and Christianity with another person who had a decided Humanistic approach, and while i said that it’s very hard to believe that there was not a creator of the universe and that Creator was most likely God of the Bible, and really could be no other.
But they immediately said how condescending and self-righteous and self-important all Christians felt they were, how they felt they were so much better than everyone else.
I of course disagreed and told her why, and after reading through your blog, and reading your comments and your scores, I definitely see where she would get that from.
You might think about perhaps acting a little bit less of an authoritative judge on everything, as if your opinions are the end all and be all. I know your reference scripture but that’s not really the same, because what you’re doing is saying “here listen to me of course I’m right I have to be right everything I say is absolutely right” and you justify it by quoting something from the Bible. Telling somebody “I’m right you’re wrong and here’s why I’m right and here’s why you’re wrong” is not
” leading” someone to Jesus, or the Bible, it’s just the words of someone who wants to be a policeman.
Good luck moving fwd.
Vince Wright
Alan,
Thank you for your comments!
First, I understand that songwriting isn’t easy after attempting it once or twice myself. I don’t envy the jobs of lyricists who balance Scriptural accuracy, making something that people will want to hear, as something that congregations can use for corporate worship. Sometimes modernization word choice is great! Sometimes not so much. In this particular case, I had stated two issues I had with the song that brought its score down.
Second, I agree with you in terms of similarity. Indeed, my reviews have been copypastas as of late, which makes the review process easier, but it also wears me out. Where’s the novelty? Where is something fresh and original? However, artists appeal to the common denominator, and that is the nominal Christian.
Finally, my reviews only provides one component of consideration when it comes to deciding songs. It was never meant to be a “by all be all” for song selection. I get that some people use it that way, but that was never the intent. I’ve stated on https://www.thebereantest.com/about-the-berean-test that:
“My reviews are my own opinion and should not be taken as Gospel, but thoughts worth considering. I recognize that God can use anything, but that doesn’t absolve my duty to think critically about the music we listen to. I aim to remain objective, but acknowledge that I have biases that alter my objectivity.”
I also have an entire history of updates I’ve made to the site for all to see at https://www.thebereantest.com/history-of-updates.
If you have suggestions as to show in my reviews/commentary to avoid saying “here listen to me of course I’m right I have to be right everything I say is absolutely right” and “I’m right you’re wrong and here’s why I’m right and here’s why you’re wrong”, I’d appreciate it.
-Vince Wright
Steve Barhydt
Vince,
Please don’t pay a lot of attention to comments like those of Alan Archer.
I find it highly ironic that, while telling you that you are saying “here listen to me of course I’m right I have to be right everything I say is absolutely right”, he is in fact taking the same stance about his own criticisms against you.
His use of demeaning language, calling your methods ‘quite silly’, ‘ridiculous’, and ‘what kind of children could do that kind of stuff??’ proves my point.
These are clearly ad hominem attacks and, as such, add nothing to the discussion at hand.
Ignore them.
Your answer to C Gibson on Nov 21.2023 | 02:11 pm is, as usual, spot on. Unfortunately, his ramblings about predestination have nothing to do with what you said.…
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‘ I think the meaning of “hell lost another one” is that of a figurative nature from our limited, human, perspective. From God’s eternal perspective, He knows those who are His and those who are not. From His perspective, hell doesn’t lose people based on the passage of time. Hell’s number of souls is fixed and known. However, from our limited, human perspective, people can gain salvation by embracing Jesus. By doing so, we believe that one less person who would have entered the hellfire will instead enter into the arms of Jesus. Thus, “hell lost another one”. ‘
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This website is, of course, not the forum to discuss the intricacies of predestination. (Which IS a Biblical doctrine and not a ‘common misconception held over from the Dark Ages, or from centuries earlier’ and, certainly, not taught by ‘the early church leaders ‘; the question truly being not ‘Are we predestined?’ but ‘What are we believers predestined to?’)
To deny that God KNOWS who will be in Hell is to deny His omniscience Psalms 147:5, 1 John 3:20, Hebrews 4:13 Hebrews 4:13. This is NOT the same as saying God CHOSE who will be in Hell. (which is the Calvinist interpretation of predestination.)
Foreknowledge is NOT predestination; they are two separate doctrines.
As to Alan’s statement ‘As much as we all like reading the scripture you can’t expect somebody to just make a modern, upbeat contemporary worship song that just fall follows line by line word by word things written 3,000 years ago!!’
I would say to this ‘Yes, we can and should.’
If a songwriter ‘needs to make a word choice, based on rhythm or meter, or the time signature, or of course due to phonetics’, that choice MUST fall in line with the Word of God.
Biblical accuracy comes before artistic quality and, even, poetic license. Hence the purpose and beauty of this website.
Vince, I’ve been a contributor to this wonderful website for many years now.
In all that time, we have disagreed on occasion, but I have never seen you as ‘an authoritative judge on everything, as if your opinions are the end all and be all’ or ‘wants to be a policeman.’
Quite the opposite.
You are, in fact, one of the humblest men of God that I have ever had the privilege of interacting with.
Given that you moderate all comments before making them visible to the world, the very fact that you would allow this post to be visible on your site is proof of what I say.
You have consistently shown a willingness to reconsider your point of view, pray about it, seek counsel, and many times, change your ratings.
Alan concluded by saying ‘Good luck moving fwd.’
Since I don’t believe in luck, I will say ‘May God continue to bless and grow this website’ Numbers 6:24-26
Jason Henry
Hey Vince,
Great review! I’ve been studying this song as well, and I share your opinion that it’s best to leave off the spontaneous interlude at the end if you’re going to sing it in church. The “Spirit of prophecy” line is obscure, confusing, and unhelpful unless your church teaches regularly and robustly on prophecy.
My concern with this song is with verse 2. It seems like the song implies that burdens, doubts, and bitterness are all completely left behind when one is found by Jesus. I appreciate the Matthew 11 reference, and I agree that Jesus promises to take our burdens from us and give us rest. I also understand that this verse is a testimony of what the authors have experienced, not a demand that every Christian should feel like this; I just keep getting hung up on how this verse could land with someone who is really struggling with doubt or another burden. I wish this verse would acknowledge that sometimes Christians still face those struggles and that Jesus gives us strength in the midst of them rather than just washing them all away at the moment of conversion.
I’m interested in your thoughts on this.
Jason Henry
willitworship.com
Vince Wright
Jason,
Thank you for your comments, compliments and inquiry!
Christian apologist Michael Ramsey has said in his speeches that when trouble comes, it doesn’t cause him to doubt. Rather, it makes him ask the question “what is the significance of this?” In other words, Ramsey believes that there are no accidents. Everything has a purpose. Like it says in Proverbs 25:2, it is the glory of kings to seek out a matter. This thinking stuck out to me and I’ve adopted it since.
I agree with you that this is Maverick and UPPERROOM’s testimony. They have no doubts about what they have seen. I think it’s natural to ask questions when trouble comes, but I also think there’s a difference between inquiry and doubt. Inquiry is trying to figure out why these things happened to me. Doubt is drifting towards unbelief because of the things that happened.
I think this was the difference between Zechariah in Luke 1:18-20 and Mary in Luke 1:34-38. Zechariah doubted and Mary didn’t, yet, both inquired of the angel who had visited them. If we take Mary’s approach to trials and tributions, we will fare better.
Finally, Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28-30 speaks to those who are burdened. He will give them rest. Rather than hanging onto them alone, we should share them with Jesus, as well as other believers whom we can trust (Galatians 6:2).
-Vince Wright