Photo by Syahirah Salleh
Australian-based CCM band CityAlight is a collection of parishioners at St Paul’s Castle Hill. Its music undergoes a rigorous process that passes through the eyes of several musicians, pastors, and lyricists to ensure Scriptural integrity.
They released two albums and one EP: Yours Alone (2014), Only a Holy God (2016), and Yet Not I (EP; 2018).
If you have some time, check out my review of CityAlight’s song Yet not I but through Christ in Me.
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. I strongly encourage you to consider the potential blessings and dangers of this artist‘s theology by visiting Resources.
1. What message does the song communicate?
God knows how long CityAlight will live, created them for a personal relationship with Himself, grants them armor that defends them against the onslaught of the enemy, gives them trials and tribulations that develop their wellbeing (though at the moment, may seem terrible), and will one day bring them into His Heavenly Kingdom. It is here that CityAlight finds their treasure, responding to the God of salvation in worship.
Score: 10/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
All of it agrees with the Bible.
Lyrics posted with permission.*
[Verse 1]
Mine are days that God has numbered
Job 14:5 tells us that God knows the number of days and months of men. This is so because God knows all things (1 Kings 8:39, 1 Chronicles 28:9, Psalm 44:21, Psalm 139:4, Psalm 147:4-5, Isaiah 40:28, Matthew 10:30, John 16:30, John 21:17, Acts 1:24, Hebrews 4:13, and 1 John 3:20). This includes the days of CityAlight.
I was made to walk with Him
CityAlight was created to have a personal relationship with the Almighty (Acts 17:27, Romans 8:15, John 15:1-11, and Romans 11:16-24).
Yet I look for worldly treasure
And forsake the King of kings
Their natural inclination is to disobey God and do whatever they want (Jeremiah 17:9, Matthew 15:19, and Mark 7:21-22).
But mine is hope in my Redeemer
Though I fall, His love is sure
For Christ has paid for every failing
Christ died while CityAlight were sinners, demonstrating how much He loves them (Romans 5:6-8). He paid for their lawbreaking (Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, John 19:30, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:6-10, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 1:3-4, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:15, Hebrews 9:22, Hebrews 9:26, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:1-2, and Revelation 5:9).
I am His forevermore
Through Christ’s death, CityAlight has become adopted sons and daughters of the Most High (John 1:12-13, John 14:18, Romans 8:14-17, Romans 8:23, Romans 9:1-8, Galatians 3:26, Galatians 4:5-7, Ephesians 1:3-14, Ephesians 2:11-22, Hebrews 9:15, and 1 John 3:1-3).
[Verse 2]
Mine are tears in times of sorrow
Darkness not yet understood
Through the valley, I must travel
Where I see no earthly good
But mine is peace that flows from heaven
And the strength in times of need
I know my pain will not be wasted
Christ completes His work in me
CityAlight recognizes that trials, at the moment, seems like it’s not beneficial. Yet, they know that it’s ultimately for their good (Romans 5:3-5, Hebrews 12:4-11, and James 1:2-4), completing His work in them (Philippians 1:6).
[Verse 3]
Mine are days here as a stranger
Pilgrim on a narrow way
Though CityAlight lives in this world temporarily, it is not their permanent residence. They will one day live to be with God, in the house that He prepares for them (John 14:3).
One with Christ I will encounter
Harm and hatred for His name
Jesus tells His followers that they should not be surprised if they are hated on account of Him (John 15:18-25). CityAlight is prepared for this likely scenario.
But mine is armour for this battle
Strong enough to last the war
References the familiar armor of God, described in Ephesians 6:10-18.
And He has said He will deliver
Safely to the golden shore
That is, to the golden city as described in Revelation 21:18.
And mine are keys to Zion city
Where beside the King I walk
Not the Old Testament easternmost hill of Jerusalem built by King David, but the New Testament heavenly Zion (Psalm 2:6, Psalm 132:13-14, Micah 4:7, Hebrews 12:22-24, and Revelation 14:1).
For there my heart has found its treasure
Christ is mine forevermore
CityAlight references Matthew 6:21 and Luke 12:34, affirming that Christ is their treasure rather than worldly pursuits.
[Refrain]
Come rejoice now, O my soul
For His love is my reward
Fear is gone and hope is sure
Citylight appeals to their listeners to join in their rejoicing, finding forgiveness and enter into a relationship with God. There is no more need to fear if we put our trust in God (Genesis 15:1, Joshua 1:9, Deuteronomy 31:6, 1 Chronicles 28:20, Psalm 23:4, Psalm 27:1, Psalm 34:4, Psalm 56:3-4, Psalm 94:19, Psalm 115:11, Psalm 118:6, Isaiah 35:4, Isaiah 41:10-13, Isaiah 43:1, Isaiah 54:4, John 14:25-27, Romans 8:15, Romans 8:38-39, 2 Timothy 1:7, Hebrews 13:5-6, 1 Peter 3:13-14, 1 Peter 5:6-7, and 1 John 4:18).
Christ is mine forevermore!
Repeats the final line of Verse 3.
Come rejoice now, O my soul
For His love is my reward
Fear is gone and hope is sure
Christ is mine forevermore!
Come rejoice now, O my soul
For His love is my reward
Fear is gone and hope is sure
Christ is mine forevermore!
Repeats lines 1-4 twice.
[Outro]
And mine are keys to Zion city
Where beside the King I walk
For there my heart has found its treasure
Christ is mine forevermore
Christ is mine forevermore
Christ is mine forevermore
Repeats the last few lines of Verse 3.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
Given the explicit references to Jesus and God, it will be obvious that it’s a Christian song. Unbelievers will likely understand CityAlight’s core message, that they put their hope in God.
CityAlight makes plenty of references to Scripture that will likely sail over their heads without a good understanding of their background. This includes concepts such as Zion, the armor of God, and pilgrimage.
Score: 7/10
4. What does this song glorify?
This song glorifies God, contrasting the riches of knowing God with the darkened state of a life apart from Him.
Score: 10/10
Closing Comments
CityAlight’s Christ Is Mine Forevermore is a great song. Its Christ-centered focus reminds Christians that we were made for worship, joining CityAlight in praising the God who saves, protects, and adopts. We look forward to the great city on a hill, spending our eternity with Him. These bring God glory.
Unbelievers might find it more difficult to comprehend things such as Zion, the armor of God, and pilgrimage without further study.
I highly recommend this song for corporate worship. Seeker-sensitive churches might want to consider if their congregation will be confused by the rich, deep theological ideas mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Final Score: 9.5/10
Artist Info
Track: Christ Is Mine Forevermore (listen to the song)
Artist: CityAlight
Album: Only a Holy God
Genre: Hymn
Release Year: 2016
Duration: 5:28
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
*Copyright © 2016 CityAlight Music (APRA) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Updates:
06/18/2022 – Changed Introduction from “Castle Church” to “Castle Hill”.
06/11/2021 – Per Artist Theology announcement, I expanded the red text to encourage others to study CityAlight’s theology.
03/23/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.
05/14/2020 – Neal Cruco is correct about the context of Verse 2. It is about overcoming tribulation, not old/new self. I updated my commentary to reflect this revelation.
Comments
Mandy
I love this song! Thank you for breaking it down and finding scripture to support the verses.
I just have one question…mine are keys to Zion City…. I understand in Matthew 16:19 we are given the keys to the kingdom of heaven (on earth) but isn’t Zion City the literal heaven we’ll experience in the afterlife?
Vince Wright
Mandy,
Thank you for your compliments and question! In short, yes.
-Vince Wright
Susan R Gilchrist
Thank you Vince for these verses. I see a different perspective of “mine” when reading these… more along the line of devotion or self commitment. These are very helpful! Thanks!
Susan R Gilchrist
This song was our closing at church last night. The message just grips my heart. God created us, numbered our days, yet we tend to look for worldly treasure and forsake him (how like the Israelites after being released from Egypt we are!) Then the promise, though I fall His love is sure, For Christ has paid for every failing, I am His forevermore.
However, the lyrics at the end shift. The lyrics shift from – I am His (secure)… to… He is mine (human centered). That troubles me. We move from God’s power (nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, Romans 8:35-39) to our desire – Christ is mine, which is often sadly inconsistent, unreliable (even as Peter, Christ’s own disciple, denied Him 3 times). Even in heaven above, Christ is not ours, we are His. We are His children and the sheep of His pasture. We are secure in Him, not ourselves. I know the intent of the song is good, I just struggle with that one phrase, “Christ is mine.” I would love to sing it, “I am His forevermore,” or “I am Christ’s forevermore.” That would keep the focus centered on God’s sovereignty.
Charles J Busada
I guess that we can go through deeper theological arguments in support of the phrase “Christ is mine,” but here is one simple one. . . . We are the bride of Christ. Christ is our eternal and true husband. Christ will be our husband and we will be in white before him at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Right now, all I can say is that I am betrothed to Christ. This means that I am Christ’s and by a covenantal promise, Christ is my betrothed. Christ is mine. He will never leave me nor forsake me for he has promised himself to me. He is my savior. He is mine. This is an incredible beauty of the New Covenant. Christ does not only vow to save us, but he has vowed to love us eternally. So, in Ephesians 6 when husbands are told to “Love your wife as Christ loves the church,” this means that we are to sacrificially love our wives. But human marriage is “until death do you part,” but the eternal marriage is forever. Christ is my husband for eternity.
Susan R Gilchrist
Thanks for your reply. I see your point. I don’t want to spoil this for others but I guess the “Mine” reminds me of a selfish 2 year old. “MINE! Mine! MINE!” Along those lines I think of “mine” as sole ownership. He is mine, but not just mine, and not because of anything I have done or merit, but because of who He is and what He’s done. I’ll have to consciously twist my brain around to bring up a different visual picture the next time as I sing it. Thanks!
Charles J Busada
Praise the Lord Susan. You just gave one of the most comprehensive explanations of the Gospel ! Yes, Jesus Paid it all. He took on Adam’s race to save it, to own it, to be Lord over it and to give himself to sinners. Yes, he gives himself to me so that he fulfills his through-the-Bible promise. “I will be YOUR God, and you shall be my people.” Yes, he is MY GOD! and my Lord! I do not own Him, I have no claim on Him except what he has given me by pure grace. Now, we need more songwriters that will put these words on our lips in worship.
And the Bible is not my story, it is His story of grace, redemption, and victory!
Vince Wright
Susan,
While doing another review, I researched and found a few Bible verses that describe God as “mine” that I should have included in this review. Take a look at Psalm 63:1, Psalm 118:28, Isaiah 25:1, and John 20:28. The last one references Jesus.
-Vince Wright
Derrick Schiffner
Here’s a question. How is the Love of God a reward for men? Being a berean I see this statement to say I can earn love. And that contradicts love as a gift. This song does may have many good statements but to turn Gods love into a reward is to say works are required to merit Gods love. And therefore Love is not a free gift but an earned reward. What do you think of that?
Vince Wright
Derrick,
Great question!
The word “reward” according to Merriam-Webster means “to give a reward to or for” or “recompense”. According to this Got Questions page, the doctrine of atonement is the highest example of recompense, or His payment in exchange for our sin. It is an unearned reward, but a reward nonetheless.
I both agree and disagree that God’s love is a free gift. I agree in the sense that it’s freely offered to me, and all I have to do is accept it. It’s not free in the sense that God paid a terrible price to offer it to us. As the saying goes, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”. Salvation included.
If we go with a different definition, “something that is given in return for good or evil done or received or that is offered or given for some service or attainment”, then I can see why you might take exception. It would be God’s love earned from doing good works, which is unbiblical. Yet, recompense seems to be the definition that best fits the context of this song. Especially when we consider lines like “For Christ has paid for every failing” and “Christ completes His work in me”.
I hope that helps.
-Vince Wright
Derrick Schiffner
Thanks for the link to the dictionary definition which states a reward is “ something that is given in return for good or evil done or received or that is offered or given for some service or attainment“. So to take the line “His love is my reward”. Is to say his love is given to me in return for something I have done. His love is a gift. But his love is not my reward. By the use of the words my reward I am being given something for some service. The statement is ambiguous. But his love is not a reward or a return for something we have done. “For God so Loved the word that he gave”. Gifts are free. Absolutely it costs the giver. But my reward? What have we done to earn his love?
Charles Busada
Derrick, this theme of God as our reward runs through all of the Bible. It starts out in Genes 15.1 that begins with the words, “after this”. The “this” is the battle that Abram fought with five kings and the real, but mystical appearance of the great priest, Melchizedek. God speaking to Abraham. Genesis 15 consists wholly as an encounter between the Yahweh and Abram. God knows Abram’s fears and he tells Abram the answers to his questions even before Abram asks them.
Gen 15.1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.
God is Abram’s great reward, and ***Abram has yet to even enter into God’s covenant. God does it all.*** We do not earn what we cannot achieve. The work of Jesus Christ in fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant is the work behind our reward. That is the Gospel. And this gift of God Himself to us is pure love.
When the ”word of the Lord” comes to Abram in a vision God brings reassurance that He is Abram’s supply. Abram was asking God questions regarding His promises. He asks both about his childlessness and he asks for some kind of guarantee that he truly can know he will one day possess Canaan. In this chapter, God responds, and Abram believes. God’s leads Abram through a covenantal ritual involving slaughtered animals, as well as a prophecy about the future of Abram’s descendants before the time will come to occupy the Promised Land.
That covenant was ratified while Abram was in a trance-sleep. Abram never walked through the slaughtered animals, the pre-incarnate Christ did. Christ kept Abram’s part of the covenant out of love, and we, adopted sons to God through Christ receive the joy of that reward. That is the God of Love, Himself.
At least, that’s how I see it.
Derrick Schiffner
That’s interesting Charles. I was considering that story too. But reward and gift are two different words and mean two different things. Just saying if you go to the New Testament you have no scripture that would use the word “his love is my reward”. His love is a gift yes. But not a reward. My point is simple the language “his love is my reward” is confusing and contradictory It fails the berean test of being logical and biblical. And confuses the concept of unmerited favor/Grace/gift the language of love in the Bible. And this song wants to secure a believer by foundational truths found in the Bible it has a salvation tone not a discipleship tone. Discipleship is costly and is rewardable. “But God demonstrated his own love towards us that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” Romans 5:8. This salvation tone verse clearly shows we are undeserving of his Love. And to confuse that is to cast doubt. You may not want to agree with me and that is fine. But in sharing the great and awesome truths that eternal life is a free gift must be free from ambiguity and remain free.
Charles J Busada
Derrick, forgive me please for the length of this dribble.
It is interesting that you ended your post that funny that you end with a charge that the free gift of eternal life should not be ambiguous. The thing about CityAlight is that their songs all have a theme and tell stories. It is so rarely found these days with modern songwriters. So, if we let their song interpret their song we have this: Here is the key (I think that this is the bridge).
“But mine is hope in my Redeemer
Though I fall, His love is sure
For Christ has paid for every failing”
That is the point of the entire song. So, why is His love OUR reward? It is because God has given us the free gift of Christ, his person and his works.
That is the Gospel.
Consider Toplady in Rock of Ages: “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.”
Everything that we do is tainted with sin: so why should we get any reward at all?
I am a retired pastor. I remember years ago that a member of my church came to me and told me that I was heavy on doctrine but light on application. He said, “I want to know not just what the Bible is saying, I want to know how it applies to me.”
I remember how shocked he was at my answer. I told him that “Nothing in the Bible applies to you!”
And while he was bugeyed, I explained. Christ Himself has told us on the road to Emmaus that the Scriptures “testify of me.”
So, I responded, “the Bible applies to Christ.”
We benefit from Christ’s blessings, as we are “accounted” as righteous by the faith that God gives us through by grace through faith. All is of Grace. So, we study the Scriptures to learn about Christ, and the great redemption He gives us through His works. He kept the law that we cannot keep. He is the Seed of David that would build us an eternal temple. He is the son of Abraham, He is the new Adam He is the Great High Priest Etc etc. The Father’s great love to Christ is through Christ’s works of love and obedience.
So, it is in the covenants where we fit in.
So, Jesus endured the shame of the cross for the joy set before him. Is it not amazing that we are that Joy? That is amazing love that is so excellently expressed in Townsend’s “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us.”
So bottom line. Christ loved and obeyed His Father. His reward for that love is that he remains Lord of His redeemed for eternity.
“What wondrous love is this
that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse
for my soul”
So, here is a basic syllogism.
Major Premises.
I am depraved and full of sin
Even my “good works” are tainted.
God’s wrath is upon all sinners, of which I am one.
Christ is perfect, his works are perfect, and deserving of God’s love.
Minor premises.
I deserve God’s wrath apart from Christ.
Christ deserves His Father’s love
I am in Christ, and Christ is in me through God’s Covenants.
Conclusion
God sees me as “perfect, and my works as perfect, and I DESERVE God’s love. When God looks at me he sees Christ in Me, my hope of Glory.
That is the Gospel.
Good songs tell stories, we have so few good songs these days. We have a bunch of religious cliches strung together that just rhyme. But God gives us stories. That is how we learn. Hooray for CityAlight.
That’s my take.
What is ambiguous? I can think of thousands of examples, but these words were sung in our church recently.
“Your joy awaits my praise.”
That is in Elevation Worship’s song “Grateful.”
Now, what in the world is that supposed to mean? 🙂
Derrick Schiffner
I appreciate you taking the time to dribble. It’s not so fuzzy to me now. Your conclusion gives me the context. I don’t think people will think contextual and fill in the blanks as they sing those words. I think people will sing the words because they rhyme but not understand. That was hard for me to work through and hard for all you guys to explain. Just saying. But thank you!
Charles J Busada
Derrick, (more dribble). I think that this is why Vince has a category in his rating process on “How would an outsider interpret this song?” That is a double-edged sword. Vince replied to me,
“My readers have informed me that my reviews necessarily hamstring deeply theological music which requires deep study from outsiders (and a low score); However, I think it’s helpful to know for churches who are especially seeker-sensitive, using milk songs instead of meat.” Well said, and you, obviously, are not an outsider, but still, I agree that many believers who sing this song will not get it. It will go over their heads.
But, this is why worship leaders and pastors should take a real-and-active-interest in the songs that we sing. What a wonderful opportunity we would have that, just before singing a song, we explain to the congregation what the song is actually saying! But most of our songs these days are not saying too much at all.”
This is, what I believe — that Paul meant by saying that we should “speak to one-another” with Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs. Paul was emphasizing that our singing should actually communicate the Gospel to us. We are to sing with understanding.
Otherwise, what we get are disjunct phrases and our songs are just so full of them. Our songs are so laden with disjunct “truths” that do not connect.
Just yesterday, I was looking at the words of “Grateful” by Elevation Worship. Now, EW is by no means a favorite band of mine but they have this line in “Grateful” that I think is “dreadful.” For this reason (and others) I would never play this song in church.
It begins:
This is the day, that You have made
Whatever comes, I won’t complain
For all my hope, is in Your name
And now Your joy, awaits my praise
First of all, it starts quoting a Psalm regarding God’s creative powers to create each and every day so that we rejoice in him. But what follows?
I won’t complain. Well, OK, that is sort of the negative way to express the same thought that I will rejoice, but the Psalms are full of complaints that still lead to rejoicing. That is the whole point of PS 22. And, don’t you think that it is really presumptuous to tell God that we won’t complain? Righteous Job complained plenty.
But here’s my point. The third line is so disjunct. “For” (meaning), “the reason for my non-complaining is that my Hope is in your name.” Now, who is going to understand this leap? What does God’s name have to do with my hope? Well, plenty, but it needs to be unpacked, and the song makes absolutely no attempt to unpack it.
And, now for the grand “silly” award. “And now Your joy, awaits my praise.” WHAT!!!?
Does this mean that God is waiting for our praise? Is he needful for it? Whatever the case, what is the whole verse about? It is nonsense, and this is what we are singing in church.
So praise the Lord for songwriters who actually care about words and meanings. May the Lord raise up bands and musicians such as CityAlight where the songs actually tell stories based on the truth. And praise the Lord that these songs can be dissected and discussed in a way that we will read good and great literature.
Our congregations deserve nothing less, and God deserves songs that honor him. Songs are sacrificial, and they mus cost us in prayer, study, re-writing (even scores of times), testing, etc before we release them to the church in worship.
What we have these days is a music-industry that puts quantity over quality, and we are suffering as a church because of this.
So, I for one, am so encouraged by your question. Please keep it up, and please bring these questions to your worship leader, and your pastor. Demand quality in our song selections. God, and we, deserve nothing but the best in our worship.
Forgive me for more dribbel. 🙂
Charles Busada
Vince, my only question to you is not necessarily about this song, but about the grading system. Perhaps you discuss this in your prolegomena (fancy word for all of the stuff that I’m too lazy to read), but I do think that the weighted system of “how would an outsider interpret the song” is overly weighted. The reason that I say this is that the Bible is full of hymns. We only get short glimpses of them, but they are there. Critical scholarship has ways of determining (or trying to determine) if texts (mostly of Paul) have a certain meter and certain words that Paul does not use normally. The general consensus is that Phil 2:5-11, Col 1:15-20, 1Tim 3:16, Heb 1:1-3, and 1Pet 2:21-25 may very well have had earlier literary lives as actual hymns sung by early Christian communities. Certain 1 Cor 15-20 is a Christian creed. When these songs are read we see that they are deep and not concerned, necessarily, that unbelievers will understand them. But, they are included in epistles that are given to the church. So, my conclusion is that our songs need not be placed at a level where outsiders would understand them completely. It is the job of the church to explain, even before the song is sung, what certain verses are in need of explanation. Otherwise, we end up in a position where church members are given songs that consistently taste as milk. So, discipleship suffers at the hands of evangelism. Anyway, it’s my two cents here. I wonder, though, how “And Can it Be” would stand up to the “outsider” weighted critique. I thank God that City Alight is a light shining in a rather dark corridor of modern CCM. I think another analogy might be that . . . consider a pastor preaching a sermon where all of his verses come from the Living Bible or other paraphrase. Rather, we would prefer that they come from a scholarly committee (such as the KJV, NAS, NES, NIV, etc., where the words are thoroughly reviewed by a committee and have editorial oversight. This helps to prevent unintended heretical or at least ‘confusing’ translations. Generally, paraphrases do not go through any committee, but are the work of individuals. So is our songwriting today.
Vince Wright
Charles,
Thank you for your comments!
You’re probably referring to my evaluation criteria page, which appears as a link after the introduction. When I first developed the criteria, I thought that it was fair to weigh almost all considerations equally, with a Biblical test to carry twice as much weight as everything else. The point of the “outsider” test is for us believers to understand what we are communicating to those who don’t believe and how easily they will comprehend the song. I’ve been satisfied with my criteria in terms of the overall score it produces, so I haven’t thought much about altering it. Even with a 20% weight to outsider test, this song still received 9.5/10, which is an excellent score.
My readers have informed me that my reviews necessarily hamstring deeply theological music which requires deep study from outsiders (and a low score); However, I think it’s helpful to know for churches who are especially seeker-sensitive, using milk songs instead of meat.
The songs that I prefer will probably never receive a full 10/10 due to the outsider test. I’m aware that a “perfect score” almost invariably requires Biblically sound milk music; However, I’ve had many people recognize that a lower score as a backhanded compliment to the care that the writer took to plumb the depths of the Bible.
-Vince Wright
Charles Busada
Well said! I figured that this thoughtful response would be your reply. It’s interesting though. I had heard (from a White-Horse-Inn broadcast) that recently, Willow Creek released the results of a survey. The result is that the least satisfied members of Willow Creek are the ones who have been there the longest. I think that it is fair to interpret this to say that milk gets sour over time. If the main plan of a church is evangelism, the result can be a lack of discipleship. The Great Commission demands both. Thanks for all of your work Vince.
Neal Cruco
Am I misreading the lyrics, or is verse 2 not about our old life at all? It seems to juxtapose the peace and strength that God gives us with the trials and tribulations that we go through in life. It’s basically saying “I will go through difficulty in life, and I may see no good in it, but God gives me peace and strength and uses it for my good anyway.”
Vince Wright
Neal,
Thank you for your comment! I think you’re right, I was misreading it. Line 2 is in the future tense, indicating events that have not occurred yet. It is about overcoming trials, not finding Jesus.
I’ve updated my commentary.
-Vince Wright
Val Khieya
What an awesome song!
I’ve loved Cityalight’s songs since I discovered them, they are so full of great references to scriptures, it encourages me everytime I hear them.
Great review too, the time taken to find all those references must have been not insignificant. I would only recommend a mention to Psalm 27:4 which could be considered a core theme of the song.
Thanks for this review!
Vince Wright
Val,
Thank you for your comment and Scripture passage! Yes, it takes a while to research the Scripture passages and read them in context; However, as I continue to review songs, the same themes sometimes appear again where I can copy-paste the same Verses! I’ve developed an offline file that contains Bible verses by topic. This helps me save time on future reviews.
-Vince Wright
Sun
I love this song. It reminds us of the eternal hope we have through Jesus no matter what trial or tribulation we’re going through. Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is through Jesus Christ (Romans 8:35-39)
Thanks for the review.
Vince Wright
Sun,
My pleasure!
-Vince Wright