NEEDTOBREATHE – Multiplied

Breathe in, breathe out.  Breathe in, breathe out.  I NEEDTOBREATHE!  Multiplied times.  Ok, that was bad.  Really bad.  Multiplied bad.

Dad jokes aside, NEEDTOBREATHE has been rockin’ it for two decades.  They released three independent albums, The Feature, Fire and Turnaround before signing with Lava Records in 2005. They released six studio albums, including Daylight, The Heat, The Outsiders, The Reckoning, Rivers in the Wasteland, and Hard Love.  They also won ten GMA Dove Awards, including Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year, (2009-2013) Group of the Year (2010-2012), and Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year (2010 and 2012).

This review is for Multiplied from their album Rivers in the Wasteland.  Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Needtobreathe-multiplied-lyrics.

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 contains eight unique lines of content, repeated at least three times apiece and stretched with instrumental to a whopping 4 minutes and 35 seconds long!  Yet, somehow I am not bothered by this as with other songs.  It contains four major elements that I will expand upon in section 2:

1. God’s love is like light;
2. God’s love will find us;
3. We surrender to God’s love; and
4. A prayer for His multiplied blessings through our efforts.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

All if it lines up with the Word of God.

[Verse]

Lines 1 and 2: Radiant is an adjective that means “radiating rays or reflecting beams of light”, according to Merriam-webster.  In other words, God’s love that exists inside us can be equated to His light that is contained within, a simile that exists in Psalm 119:105, Psalm 119:130, Matthew 5:14-16, John 1:1-8, John 8:12, Ephesians 5:8, Ephesians 5:14, 1 John 1:5-7, and 1 John 2:7-11.

Lines 3: That is because God is omnipresent (see 1 Kings 8:27, Psalm 139:7-12, Proverbs 15:3, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Colossians 1:17, and Hebrews 4:13).

Line 4: Not to be confused with God as a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24 and Hebrews 12:29), that is, His Judgement upon us, here NEEDTOBREATHE likens how God’s love will always detect us to that of an unquenchable flame.

[Chorus]

Line 1: Mercy is an attribute of God as described in Exodus 33:19, Psalm 86:5, Psalm 145:9, Lamentations 3:22-23, Luke 6:36, Romans 9:15-16, Ephesians 2:4-5, Titus 3:5, Hebrews 4:16, and 1 Peter 1:3.

Line 2: An act of laying down one’s own will to conform to God’s (see Isaiah 64:8, Matthew 10:38, Matthew 11:28-30, Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34-38, Mark 10:28, Luke 9:23, Luke 14:27, John 15:1-11, Romans 6:13, Romans 12:1-2, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 2:5-8, Hebrews 11:6, James 4:7-10, and 1 Peter 5:6).

Lines 3 and 4: A prayer offered to God for multiplied blessings that span across the globe, as promised to Adam (Genesis 1:28), Abraham (Genesis 22:17), Jacob (Genesis 48:4), and of course, God’s Word among His people (Acts 12:24).  NEEDTOBREATHE also offers petition for multiplied praise towards God, as eloquently fulfilled and captured in Isaiah 6:2-13, Revelation 4:6-8, and Revelation 15:1-4.

[Outro]

Repeats Verse.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

NEEDTOBREATHE is so clear in their communication such that unbelievers can easily understand them.  Their use of simile with everyday and poetic language is beautifully written and difficult to misinterpret.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

The glory of God persists throughout each line.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

NEEDTOBREATHE’s Multiplied is short, sweet, and clear.  It succinctly and repetitively makes four points that are biblically accurate.  All four points are easily understood by secular individuals and glorify God.

At the very least, this song is much better than my humor.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: Multiplied (listen to the song)

Artist: NEEDTOBREATHE

Album: Rivers In The Wasteland

Genre: Rock

Release Year: 2014

Duration: 4:35

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

Updates:

06/01/2021 – Fixed section 2 to place summary text before [Verse] instead of after.