The Lord IS the Song: Introduction

The Lord IS the Song: Introduction.

“The Lord is the Song!”  (Genesis 15:2; Psalm 118:14; Isaiah 12:2).

There are a few ways to understand this recurring biblical passage… The Lord is the reason I sing. The Lord is Who I love to sing about. The Lord is the object of my singing. The Lord is Who we sing to. The Lord is the one Who inspires our singing. I sing because of the Lord, in honor of the Lord, in obedience to the Lord. Many translations put this verse as saying, “The Lord is my song.” But biblical scholars say that this passage could just as correctly be translated as, “The Lord is The song,” or even, “The Lord is the song of God.”

So this important piece of Scripture captures the imagination as it makes clear that… Jesus Himself IS the Song. Christ is the divine song with flesh on. He embodies the Song of the universe. Jesus is God’s Song to the world. The life of Christ is itself a Song. The Christ-Song is a perfectly constructed piece of eternal music in the flesh. Just as a song is the composer’s method of self-expression, Jesus is God’s perfect and ultimate form of Self-expression. As our Savior, Jesus is the Song of Salvation. As the Redeemer, He is the Song of Redemption. As the Deliverer, He is the Song of Deliverance. As the Wonderful Counselor, He is the Song of Wisdom. As the Prince of Peace, He is the Song of Shalom.

Might we be so bold as to add another I AM to John’s gospel list? I AM the Song. The Lord is my song, He is The Song. This idea makes it practically sacramental. Christ’s claim, I Am the Bread of Life, for example, was fulfilled in the Eucharist when we literally welcome the Bread of Life, the broken body of Jesus, into our very being. Likewise, when we sing the Song of Jesus, when we participate in Jesus as the Song, He becomes a part of us, body, soul and mind. The Christ-Song is the spiritual music in our lives.

Just as music, God’s greatest gift to mankind and the very language of heaven, has an infinite number of possibilities, the Christ-Song has an infinite number of styles, applications, qualities, moods. So it makes sense that the life and mission of Jesus can be explored by taking a careful look at the elements of a song. To study the aspects of the Christ-Song in the Gospels begs us to explore the elements of a song, any song. Hopefully, this study of the elements of the Christ-Song will make Him unforgettable, much like When words are put to music, they become unforgettable. When the living Word becomes the lyrics to a song, much the same happens. Hopefully, embracing Jesus Christ as the Song will make Him unforgettable as well. The elements of the Christ-Song can be explored through these twelve elements of most songs:

1. The Overture. Was there any person in Scripture that gave us all a preview of the Christ-Song, a musical piece that would set the tone, and hint at the melodies and themes, of the Song Who Was/Is Jesus? Was there a person whose life prepared the way for the main performance of the Christ-Song, and provided a sense of continuity from the God-Song to the Christ-Song?
2. The Prelude. What in Scripture helps to introduce us to the Christ-Song? Is there a biblical passage that could serve as the introduction, creating an expectation of the song to follow? What could serve as the prelude to the Christ-Song, inspiring an interest in Him, preparing the listener to lean into the main body of the Song? Is there something in the Word that would capture our imagination and prepare us to listen, an event that would whet our appetite for Christ?
3. The Melody. What was there in Christ’s life that could serve as the basic tune of His Song? Did Jesus arrange a main musical line of notes in His life that made Him effective, singable, a line of notes that established his identity? Was there a simple, appealing pattern in His personality that drew people to Him, something that attracted others to His Song? What was there in the life of Jesus that proved to be a spiritual hook, that part of Him that people couldn’t seem to get out of their minds and hearts? Was there a melodic line in the life of Jesus that defined the character of His Song and represented His mission?
4. The Harmonies. Was Jesus able to blend together different aspects of His life that enriched the melody and message of His Song? Did the Christ-Song include an effective combination of different sounds that gave His life texture and depth? Were there a variety of sounds in His mission that Jesus brought together that supported the main melody, that added layers of beauty and meaning to His Song?
5. The Rhythm. Did the Christ-Song have a steady undercurrent that suggested a tempo, a pulse, that kept His life moving forward? Was there something vital to Jesus that formed an effective movement in His daily life? Was there an aspect of His life that He turned to often enough to establish a foundation for the flow of His life? What was there in the Christ-Song that enabled Him maintain a consistent pace to His daily mission? Was there anything in Christ’s life that he depended on that enabled Him to move in the Spirit?
6. The Lyrics. In what ways was the Christ-Song inspired by the Living Word? Did the verses of the Song repeat the main themes of the song but in different words? Were the lyrics in each verse creatively composed in a compelling variety of ways? Did the Christ-Song contain lyrics that illustrated the central truths of His message? Do the lyrics of Christ’s life express a number of ways to express the main ideas in His life mission? Did the Christ-Song enjoy a catchy chorus that repeated itself winsomely as it joined together the meaning of the verses?
7. The Bridge. Was Jesus open to creating breaks in His day’s rhythms and routines, welcoming opportunities that changed the direction of His intended activities? Did the Christ-Song include a variety of different directions that were consistent with His melody and yet broke the sameness of His ministry? Did the Christ-Song suffer from getting stuck in a rut, predictably repetitive and in desperate need of a change in the action? Was Jesus flexible enough to change the tempo and pace of His ministry even when He didn’t expect it?
8. The Dynamics. Did the Christ-Song contain interesting changes in mood and emotion? Was Jesus comfortable with frequent changes in the loudness or softness of His actions, expressions of His power as well as His humility, of His turbulence as well as His peacefulness. Did the Christ-Song effectively arrange all these changes in a coherent way, a unified way? How did Jesus fit together all these changing dynamics in His life in a way that made sense to those around Him? How did the Lord integrate his angry clearing of the Temple with ministering to children immediately afterward? With conducting exorcisms one minute and having calm and composed conversations the next? With experiencing grief just before renewal of life? With the torture of the Cross just days before the triumph of the Resurrection? With a true mountaintop experience just prior to a demonic experience in the valley just below? How did the Christ-Song manage these extreme dynamics?
9. The Key. What is the one element of the Christ-Song that determines how the song will be sung? What is the one vital ingredient of the song that will set the whole direction of the song’s sound? What is the most important of all the aspects of a song that must be decided before it is ever performed? What element of the Christ-Song established the setting for the song as intended by the composer of the song? And what must never be compromised, must never go off-key, if the song is to stay true to its purpose and effectiveness? Is there one aspect of the Song of Jesus that must stay consistently on track or the entire song will be unacceptable, will ring false to its reason for being?
10. The Genre. Through all the ups and downs of Jesus’ life, what style of music did His Song contain in His ministry? With the profound variety of situations, moods, actions in Christ’s life, was there one musical language He sang, or were there any number of musical styles that He represented during His time on earth? It seems that music has infinite possibilities, and the styles of the Christ-Song were expressed in profoundly different ways. He sang the blues in Gethsemane, didn’t He? He aggressively barked out hardcore punk music as He went all anti-authoritarian clearing out the Temple, right? Maybe we should explore a soundtrack of the various styles of the Christ-Song and in the process be better able to understand the life of Christ.
11. The Voice. If the Lord Jesus could be understood as the divine Song in the flesh, then what about His singing voice? What would His musical voice have sounded like? Was it a duplicate of His Father’s, like so many fathers and sons? Was it changeable, depending on the situation, like most of us? Did His voice have a distinctive pitch, or perhaps was it a bass or a baritone? For some reason, none of the Gospel authors even thought to mention the human voice of Christ, just as we don’t know His height, weight, body type, or even what His face looked like.  Why is that? We do know that Jesus sang His prayers and Scriptures every day like every other faithful, practicing Jew. We do know His sheep know His voice (John 10), and that “everyone who loves the truth” hears His voice (John 18:37). And don’t we all yearn for the Last Day, “when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son.” (John 5:28-29). Perhaps Christ will sing everyone out of their graves on that Last Day, just like Aslan did as He sung creation into being on the First Day. (The Magician’s Nephew).
12. The Outro. How can the Christ-Song linger on, continuing into the future? What is the piece of music that maintains continuity with the main piece, and extends its influence, its divine sound in the world after the primary piece of music is concluded? Is there an extended version of the Christ-Song that does not have a fadeout but instead keeps building up to a crescendo? Can there be a Spirit to the Christ-Song that will keep the Song going into eternity?

So then… We sing to Jesus. We sing because of Jesus. We sing about Jesus. And, we sing Jesus. Christ Himself is the Song of God, and we follow Christ by trusting God and singing whole-heartedly into the Christ-Song. The Lord desires for each of us to sing Him into our lives, to join with Him in expressing God’s music to the world.