Rating:
Theological Correctness: 4.5/5
Use of Group Pronouns: 5/5
Focus on Victory: 5/5
The Lordship of God: 5/5
Musicality: 4/5
Total: 4.7/5
Please read the details about our rating standard here!
Lyrics:
Come set Your rule and reign
in our hearts again.
Increase in us we pray.
Unveil why we're made.
Come set our hearts ablaze with hope
like wildfire in our very souls.
Holy Spirit, come invade us now.
We are Your church.
We need Your power in us.
We seek Your kingdom first.
We hunger and we thirst.
Refuse to waste our lives
for You're our joy and prize.
To see the captive hearts released.
The hurt, the sick, the poor at peace.
We lay down our lives for Heaven's cause.
We are Your church.
We pray revive this earth.
Build Your kingdom here.
Let the darkness fear.
Show Your mighty hand.
Heal our streets and land.
Set Your church on fire.
Win this nation back.
Change the atmosphere.
Build Your kingdom here.
We pray.
Unleash Your kingdom's power
reaching the near and far.
No force of Hell can stop
Your beauty changing hearts.
You made us for much more than this!
Awake the kingdom seed in us!
Fill us with the strength and love of Christ.
We are Your church.
We are the hope on earth.
Build Your kingdom here.
Let the darkness fear.
Show Your mighty hand.
Heal our streets and land.
Set Your church on fire.
Win this nation back.
Change the atmosphere.
Build Your kingdom here!
We pray!
Build Your kingdom here.
Let the darkness fear.
Show Your mighty hand.
Heal our streets and land!
Set Your church on fire!
Win this nation back.
Change the atmosphere!
Build Your kingdom here!
We pray!
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This song has a lot of interesting things to chew on, so let's dive right in.
Theological Correctness:
The song is ripe with New Creation theology and the establishment of God's kingdom on earth, making it very refreshing in the sense that it's not about "forsaking this rock and going to heaven." It seems to fall straight in line with Rev. 21:1-8 and the reality that God will make His dwelling with humanity when heaven and earth are united on the last day.
My only reservation about the song's theological content is the following lyrics:
No force of Hell can stop
Your beauty changing hearts.
I'm sure God is beautiful, and of course what Christ accomplished on the cross could be considered "beautiful" I suppose, but language like this does feminize God who is otherwise portrayed as the conquering king.
Granted in ancient Jewish thought, God was acknowledged to possess both masculine and feminine qualities and assume both masculine and feminine roles:
"Mark Smith in The Origins of Biblical Monotheism adds another salient point: "Attribution of female roles to gods was by no means an Israelite invention." [91] Even the OT attributes female imagery to Yahweh (Deut. 32:18, Ps. 22:9-10, Is. 46:3, 66:9, 13) as Jesus applies female imagery to himself (as a mother hen over Jerusalem). Yahweh and other ancient deities were beyond sexuality, but nevertheless expressed themselves in "genderly" ways." [1]
Nevertheless, I think over-feminizing God runs the risk of perpetuating MTD. Also:
You made us for much more than this!
This lyric begs the question in me: Made for much more than what? This world? This life? Let us not forget that while this time on earth could be considered "training" for the New Creation that awaits us, that same New Creation will only be different in the sense that pain and suffering exist no longer. There is still life to be lived, work to be done, laws to be followed, all in the presence of God in holy perfection, unbound by the tethers of sin. But isn't that we're already trying to emulate here? To show people that we can live Resurrection lives now?
All in all I give this song's theological accuracy a very strong 4.5/5. Good job Rend Collective, you got it right with this one!
Musicality:
The song is very catchy, and very well composed. To me at least, it is almost too experience-oriented musically however. Like I mentioned in the "rating standards" link above, the musical experience can kind of overshadow the intellectual gold that can be found in lyrics. By no means am I telling Rend Collective to "stop writing well!", but it is a thing. If a person's heart and focus is in the right place, I don't think this is a danger though. We just need to all work together on making worship less of a spiritual-high experience (as priority) and more of a sacrament.
The lyrics are for the most part amazing, though to nit-pick, there is one word I would change:
We are the church
We pray revive this earth
In theological language, to revive essentially means to bring back to life; it is what Jesus did when He brought people back to life, such as the case with Lazarus. When Jesus Himself rose from the dead, He was resurrected into His glorified body that is both flesh and spirit. There is a big difference! One is temporary and only involves the physical, the other is eternal and involves both matter and spirit. If I were a part of Rend Collective, I would have written it as such:
We are the church
We pray resurrect this earth
I have also decided to mark down the musicality rating for the sake of some cliché Christian lyrical content, such as:
Come set our hearts ablaze with hope
like wildfire in our very souls...
Set Your church on fire...
Still, this song holds a strong 4/5 for musicality. Well done, Rend Collective!
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