Hopefully when one sings or hears a hymn or praise chorus they will be able to recognize biblical and theological themes. In the two songs that I have chosen the imagery is present and powerful. These two songs are among my favorites and hopefully I will do them justice within this paper.
The words to "How Great Thou Art" are about experience and events; past, present, and future. It tells of what God has created and sustained, how salvation comes about, and what will happen in the end. This hymn starts on earth and ends in heaven. It is truly about God, and not about us.
Through the first two verses one cannot help but know that God exists and that he created all things. If one were to be high on a mountain top, looking at the starts, hearing birds sing or thunder roll, they cannot help but think that it was not an accident that this was created. In the beginning, there was God and all things were made by Him and through Him. God created it and it was good. To be able to walk trough the woods and forest glades and know that God created it can be attributed to natural theology. Natural theology is theology deriving its knowledge of God from the study of nature independent of special revelation.
The third verse, along with the resurrection, is what Christianity hinges on. It is because of God sending his Son, Jesus, to die a horrible death so that we may have life. Jesus being 100% God and 100% man lived a perfect life, free of sin. He died for a world of sinners, a world that doesn't accept him or want to hear about him. There is nothing that we can do except to accept him and have faith in him. We should have to pay, but Jesus took are place willingly so that we could have communion with God.
Whenever it is that end happens Jesus will come and take us home. What a glorious day that will be. Every knee shall bow and tongue confess.
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If one was to consider "Awesome God" a praise chorus they would only sing the chorus. The chorus goes like this;
Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
For example, one line, “Soon our pilgrimage will cease; Soon our happy hearts will quiver, with the melody of peace,” which is saying that one day we will die, and you can’t stop that. “Lay we every burden down; Grace our spirits will deliver, and provide a robe and a crown,” also reveals that you should appreciate what we’ve had, and what was given to us. This song is telling you, in every line, that you can’t live forever, but appreciate what you have, while you
Crosby, Fanny, S. T. Kimbrough Jr., and Carlton R. Young. Blessed Assurance: Hymns Of Fanny J. Crosby. Singapore: Global Music and Media Productions, 2008. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials. Web. 25 Nov. 2014
..., but still pleads for God to "take me in" (ll. 41), and promises to "pay...in happiness" for mercy. Once again, the speaker demonstrates the same desires for physical treasures that he expresses in the first stanza as he asks God to "give mine eye / A peephole there to see bright glory's chases" (ll. 39-40). Even in the God's kingdom, the speaker reveals his humanity as he focuses on ornamentation which starkly contrasts with God's divinity as He has the ability to show love even for sinners.
Song of Songs. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein. Vol. V. XII vols. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
The second stanza starts off saying much the same thing. It expands upon the idea of wanting the Lord to mold his heart an...
8. Waley, Arthur, and Joseph Roe. Allen. The Book of Songs. New York: Grove, 1996. Print.
...nature of God, the world, and human beings, the Bible is a source from which a reasonably comprehensive worldview may be constructed. Many narratives or teachings of Scripture speak directly to the various elements of a worldview” (Palmer, pp 93) .
World Book Online Reference Center. 2006. The 'Standard' of the ' 11 Nov 2006 http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar286540>. Van Camp, Leonard W. The "Hymn.".. World Book Online Reference Center.
Amazing Grace is a legendary song” published in 1779”(www.princeton.edu/-achaney/tmve/wiki100/docs/Amazing-Grace.html) that is also a poem where there are verses in this poem that suggest that the composer John Newton (1725-1807) was going through a pivotal point in his life and he felt that by writing these harmonic verses in rhythmic metaphors could captivate and inspire not only those that read “Amazing Grace” but especially everyone that listened to its meaning. Conviction can come at a time when it seems you are most likely going to die from an act of God, and all the wrong that someone has done becomes a consciously enormous burden when they start to consider what the after life may have as punishment or reward. There are many different responses to this poem. Most of the responses are positive, but when you look at the author John Newton’s life you will start begin to understand the gist of what he is saying and the meaning behind them. The point of view, tone, and content are some elements that prompt some very interesting responses that may alter ...
These tenors represent the full spectrum of emotions and strength in life. It is as if he is discussing god and the life you have been given. It is gentle enough that you often feel strong and powerful but also strong enough to humble you.
When God created the world “by faith is we understand that the world were framed by the word of God, so that the things which we see how did not come into being out of things which had previously appeared” (Athanasius...
(Rom. 3:25) So that we can be saved and not condemned. Thus Jesus paid the ransom for
The speakers points out to his readers is that nature needs to be appreciated deeper like it was before. The speaker tells his readers that they need to find God behind nature 's abilities. The speaker tells the reader that in the midst of enjoying nature it is forgotten to see God 's power. The speaker only knew of one person who could fully understand nature when he was young. The person who could fully understand nature was Christ. When Christ was born, the earth was focused on him because he is the first and the last. Yet, as a infant he was ignorant to his power and his mission. The speaker starts to wonders if the history of life nature knows will pass by without letting anyone know.. The speaker believes that knowledge of the power behind nature should not to be hidden. The hidden knowledge, is that the beauty of the world is made by God, and within his creation he knows all
Every day God created something new and blesses it. God created nothing irrelevant or unworthy. Entirely everything he created served a purpose. Also all he had created came from nothing. The fish were undeniably produced out of the waters, and the beasts and man out of the earth; but that earth and those waters were made out of nothing. God created what is known as the world today and everything that exists on the earth. Reading Genesis 1 gives all mankind an idea of how life started and how the earth was formed to be this magnificent place. The earth is very complicated yet God could solve all of the problems and create blessings. He gave us light and darkness, day and night, water and land. He created all living creature including mankind.
The chorus further emphasizes the strength of his belief through the bad times and the good, even when God is not physically present, and “even on the morning after” the trials of night. The second verse displays a desire to stay close to God and not stray from faith and contentment with what is provided. It is almost like Dylan writes “no matter what they say” as an encouragement or reminder to himself to stay strong in what he believes. The second chorus makes the same points as the first but rewords them. The last verse is a last request to God to help Dylan remain devoted and “set apart.”