Shai Linne (Feat. Beautiful Eulogy) – Supreme

Shai Linne began his career in 2002 and released his first album, The Solus Christus Project, in 2005.  He has seven other albums out in the wild, including:

• The Atonement (2008)
• Storiez (2008)
• The Attributes of God (2011)
• Lyrical Theology, Pt. 1: Theology (2013)
• Lyrical Theology: Part 2: Doxology (2014)
• Still Jesus (2017)
• Jesus Kids (2018)

He caught himself in a whirlwind of controversy in 2013 with his single Fal$e Teacher$, where he attacked the Prosperity Gospel and called several preachers “false teachers”, including Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copland, T. D. Jakes, Benny Hinn, and Joyce Meyer.

He currently serves as assistant pastor at Del Ray Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Shai-linne-supreme-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?

Linne, along with his friend, communicates a metric ton of information about God and Linne, with only two statements that err.

God

• Jesus is God
• Supreme over all creation
• Is the truth
• Rescues mankind out of the stink of death into life with Him
• Is faithful
• Worships man (this is false)
• Died for sinners
• Destroyed Satan’s work
• Was born of a virgin and placed in a manger
• Angels sang of His coming (they spoke, not sung)
• Christ is the great I AM
• Jesus is the lamb of God who takes away our sins
• Christ resurrected
• Self-existent
• Blessed
• In some cases, hard to comprehend
• Omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent
• Promises internal peace to His followers
• Heavenly hosts bow down to Him
• Healer
• Fulfills Old Testament Laws
• Destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah
• Is real
• Exposes thieves
• His light defeats darkness
• Left His glory to rescue us
• Gentle
• Did not have a global ministry as a man
• Defeated Satan
• No comparison to knowing Him
• Heavens declare His glory
• Loves to hear the prayers of the righteous
• Eternal
• Potter
• Provider
• Adopts

Linne

• Joyfully praises God
• Fishes for people
• Does not follow Jesus due to rumors
• Shares Christ with others and invites others to “shout from the rooftops”
• Has zero reason to doubt God
• Wrote this song to help others avoid hellfire
• Boasts in God
• Man of his word
• Serves God
• Purchased by God
• Will experience the final resurrection into God’s eternal Kingdom
• Gets to call God Abba (meaning “daddy”)
• Clay
• Adopted

He also states that those who choose not to follow Jesus will experience eternal destruction in the “furnace”.

Finally, the mistake Linne makes that God worships man is unfortunate because of its sacrilegious nature.  I must offer a stiff penalty to balance out what is otherwise an excellent collection of Biblical goodness.

Score: 7/10

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

Most of these lyrics are a treasure trove of Scriptural goodness; However, Verse 1, line 5 implies that God worships us and in Verse 1, line 2, the angels did not sing.  As in section 1, I must severely penalize this song due to its blasphemous line.

[Verse 1]

Line 1: The word ‘Hallelujah” is a compound Hebrew phrase, with “hallelu” meaning “a joyous praise in song” and “jah” or “yah”, which refers to the Tetragrammaton YHWH. Put together, Linne states that he “joyfully praises God in song” when using this word.

Since Jesus is God (Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 43:10-11, Matthew 1:23, Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 5:17-26, John 1:1-3, John 1:14, John 5:17-18, John 8:23-25, John 8:28, John 10:30-33, John 14:9, John 20:28-29, Philippians 2:5-6, Colossians 1:16-19, Colossians 2:8-9, Titus 2:13, 1 Timothy 6:14-16, Hebrews 1:10-12, Revelation 1:8, and Revelation 22:13), Linne is correct when stating that Christ is sovereign over creation (Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 4:39, Deuteronomy 10:14, Joshua 2:11, Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 29:10, Psalm 45:6, Psalm 50:7-15, Psalm 93:1-2, Psalm 115:3, Psalm 135:6, Isaiah 43:13, Isaiah 45:9-10, Isaiah 46:10, Lamentations 5:19, Daniel 4:35, Romans 9:19-21, Ephesians 1:11, Hebrews 1:8, James 4:15, Revelation 4:11, and Revelation 20:11).

Line 2: Jesus is the truth (John 14:6) and Linne tells everyone about Him, attempting to fish for men (Matthew 4:19 and Mark 1:17-18) and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20).  Also, although Linne was not there, 2 Peter 1:16 informs us that the truth that Linne shares comes from eyewitness testimony, not the rumor mill.

Line 3: The message Christ tells His followers should be proclaimed out loud, not kept hidden in secret (Matthew 10:27).

Line 4: That is, Christ brought us out of the stench of death into an abundant life with Him (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).  He is faithful; therefore, we have no reason to doubt Him (2 Timothy 2:13).

Line 5: This implies that God worships us and we bathe in it!  Unfortunately for Linne, this statement is blasphemous.  “Presence” is a suitable alternative for “worship” to carry Linne’s intended meaning.

Line 6: Winning souls for Christ so that they could avoid eternal damnation (Matthew 18:8, Matthew 25:41, Matthew 25:46, Mark 9:43, Jude 1:7, Revelation 14:11, and Revelation 20:10) is a noble reason to write songs.

Line 7: That is, with his life’s blood, Jesus paid the penalty for 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) and destroyed the works of the devil (Genesis 3:15, John 12:31, Romans 16:20, Hebrews 2:14, 1 John 3:8, and Revelation 20:7-10).

[Verse 2]

Line 1: References Jesus’ miraculous virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:26-38, and Matthew 1:18-25).

Line 2: Though Jesus was placed in a manger post-birth (Luke 2:7), the angels spoke, not sung (Luke 2:13).

Line 3: The same I AM in Exodus 3:14 is Jesus, stated in John 8:58.  Jesus is God who became a man (John 1:1, John 1:14, and Philippians 2:5-7).

Lines 4-8: Christ’s mission is to become the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29-1:36 and Revelation 5:1-7) by paying the penalty for our lawbreaking (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), as predicted in Isaiah 53:1-12.  He also rose again (Matthew 28:1-20, Mark 16:1-20, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29 Acts 1:3, Acts 3:15, Acts 4:33, and 1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

[Verse 3]

Line 1: This is because God is self-existent, requiring no dependence on anyone else to exist (Genesis 1:1, Exodus 3:14, Psalm 50:7-15, Psalm 90:1-2, Job 38:4-7, John 1:1-4, John 17:5, and Revelation 4:11).

Line 2: God is blessed (Psalm 113:2, Job 1:21 and Daniel 2:19-20), glorious (Exodus 16:7, Exodus 24:17, Exodus 40:34-35, Leviticus 9:23, 1 Chronicles 29:11, Psalm 3:3, Psalm 8:1, Psalm 19:1-4, Isaiah 6:1-3, Isaiah 40:5, Isaiah 42:8, Isaiah 58:8, Isaiah 60:1, Habakkuk 2:14, John 1:14, John 17:22, Romans 3:23, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Philippians 4:19, Hebrews 1:1-3, Revelation 21:10-14, and Revelation 21:23), and, as stated in Verse 1, line 1, is sovereign over creation.

Line 3: There are some occasions where God is hard to understand (2 Peter 3:16) Linne is not making an absolute claim that everything is difficult.  We already addressed God’s independence in line 1.

Line 4: God is omnipresent (1 Kings 8:27, Psalm 139:7-12, Proverbs 15:3, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Colossians 1:17, and Hebrews 4:13) and likely references the “and God said” statements in Genesis 1:1-31.

Line 5: That is, internal peace to those who follow Him (Matthew 11:28-30, John 14:27, John 16:33, 2 Corinthians 13:11, Philippians 4:6-7, Colossians 3:15, 2 Thessalonians 3:16, and James 3:17).  Jesus also claimed that He did not come to bring peace on earth, but a dividing sword (Matthew 10:34 and Luke 12:49); However, once again, Linne is making a general claim that is true: God indeed speaks peace.

Line 6: As explicitly stated in Nehemiah 9:6 and Luke 2:13-14.

Line 7: Another reference to God’s sovereignty.  See commentary in Verse 1, line 1.

Line 8: We boast in God (Psalm 20:7, Psalm 34:2, Psalm 44:8, Romans 15:17, 1 Corinthians 1:31, 2 Corinthians 10:17, and Galatians 6:14).

[Verse 4]

Line 1: Another reference to God’s supreme authority over creation (see Verse 1, line 1), followed by God as healer, and the One who came to fulfill the Old Testament Law (Matthew 5:17-18).

Line 2: He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:1-29, Ezekiel 16:49-50 and Jude 1:7) and will expose the wickedness of cheaters (
Numbers 32:23 and Luke 12:2-3).  Given that no other gods exist (Deuteronomy 4:35-39, Deuteronomy 32:39, 1 Kings 8:60, Isaiah 44:6-8, Isaiah 45:5, Isaiah 45:21-22, Isaiah 46:9, and Joel 2:27), Linne is correct in that ours more real than all others.

Lines 3 and 4: Scriptures state that God’s light drives out darkness (Psalm 107:10-16, Luke 1:79, John 1:1-13, John 12:46, Ephesians 5:8, Colossians 1:13, and 1 Peter 2:9) and an indirect reference to His omnipotence (Genesis 1:1-31, Job 11:7-11, Psalm 33:6, Jeremiah 32:17, Romans 4:17, Hebrews 1:3, and Jude 1:24-25).

Line 5: God left His glory to save us (Philippians 2:5-11).

Line 6: Generally gentle Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30) did not have a global ministry but stayed put in Judea/Galilee.

Lines 7 and 8: The rope-a-dope is a boxing technique where one boxer takes non-injuring punches to tire out their opponent (think Rocky movies).  It’s not a perfect analogy given that Satan’s temporary victory brutally killed Jesus, but I get what Linne means.  Jesus’ resurrection proved that the Devil’s onslaught on Christ was not final.

[Verse 5]

Lines 1 and 2: I’ve already commented on Christ’s resurrection in Verse 2, lines 4-8 and transformation from death to life in Verse 1, line 4.

Line 3: Linne lets his yes be yes and no be no (Matthew 5:37 and James 5:12) and surrendered his life to serve God (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).

Line 4: Quotes part of 1 Corinthians 6:20 using clever wordplay.

Lines 5-8: References the final resurrection (Luke 20:34-38, Acts 24:15-16, Romans 6:1-5, Romans 8:11-13, 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 1 Corinthians 15:50-56, 2 Corinthians 4:13-14, and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), where we will spend our eternal life with God (Mark 10:29-30, John 3:15-16, John 3:36, John 4:14, John 5:24, John 5:39-40, John 6:27, John 6:40, John 10:28, John 17:3, John 20:31, Romans 5:21, Romans 6:22-23, Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Galatians 6:8, 1 Timothy 1:16, 1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Timothy 2:11, Hebrews 5:9, 1 Peter 5:10, 1 John 2:23-27, 1 John 5:10-13, 1 John 5:20, Jude 1:20-21, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 7:16-17, and Revelation 21:3-4).

[Verse 6]

Lines 1 and 2: There is no comparison to the value in knowing Jesus (Philippians 3:8).

Line 3: The heavens declare God’s glory (Psalm 19:1-4 and Romans 1:18-20).

Line 4: I’ve already commented on God’s omnipresence in Verse 3, line 4.  He is also omniscient (Omniscience) and loves to hear the prayers of the righteous (Proverbs 15:8).

Lines 5-8: More reference to God’s sovereignty (see commentary in Verse 1, line 1) mixed with His eternality (Deuteronomy 33:27, 1 Chronicles 16:34, Job 36:26, Psalm 48:14, Psalm 90:2-4, Psalm 102:12, Psalm 102:26-27, Proverbs 8:23, Isaiah 40:28, Isaiah 41:4, Habakkuk 1:12, John 17:5, Romans 1:20, 1 Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 1:4, Hebrews 1:11-12, 1 Peter 1:20, 2 Peter 3:8, Revelation 1:8, Revelation 11:17, and Revelation 22:13).

[Verse 7]

Lines 1 and 2: Once again, God is sovereign over creation (See Verse 1, line 1).  This Time, Linne invokes the intimate Hebrew term “abba”, meaning “daddy” (Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6), calling God the potter and us clay (Isaiah 29:16, Isaiah 64:8, Jeremiah 18:1-9, and Romans 9:14-24).

Line 3: Indeed, it’s shocking to find out that God loves wicked, worthless sinners who don’t deserve grace by dying for us (John 3:16 and Romans 5:6-8) and adopting us as His sons and daughters (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).

Line 4: God is our provider (Genesis 2:15-16, Genesis 9:3, Genesis 22:8, Exodus 16:1-36, Psalm 18:2, Psalm 34:10, Psalm 81:10, Psalm 84:11, Psalm 107:9, Proverbs 10:3, Malachi 3:10, Matthew 6:25-30, Matthew 7:7-8, Matthew 21:22, John 14:13-14, John 14:26, John 15:1-10, John 15:16, Romans 8:32, Ephesians 3:20, Philippians 4:19, 2 Corinthians 9:8, and 2 Corinthians 12:9).

Lines 5 and 6: Jesus’ journey from heaven to earth and back again is summarized in Philippians 2:5-11, which includes an implied resurrection.

Lines 7 and 8: Their end will be the lake of fire (Matthew 5:30, Matthew 25:31-46, Mark 9:43-48, John 3:16-21, Romans 6:23, Revelation 19:20, Revelation 20:14-15, and Revelation 21:8).

[Verse 8]

Lines 1-8: Line made his case for why we ought to follow Jesus, pleading us to join him or suffer the same fate as the snobs in Verse 1, lines 7 and 8.  I won’t retread over the rest as it’s been well-covered in other verses.

[Verse 9]

Lines 1-8: Summarizes the entire Gospel message and details found in other Verses.

[Turntablism]

Line 1: This is the final message Linne leaves his audience, that God is sovereign.

Score: 7/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Despite Linne’s deep theological concepts expressed throughout this song, he also uses language that those outside the camp of Christ for easier digestion.  Still, I can’t imagine their experience to be anything other than like drinking water out of a fire hose.  Then again, reading Scripture is similar.  So is listening to rap music in general.  It’s par for the course.

My only concern is that Linne’s statement about God’s worshipping us will be a stumbling block for Christ.  It’s not a big concern because most will either miss it or assume that Linne miscommunication.  I doubt that it will majorly affect their overall interpretation; However, my conscious will not allow me to rate this section higher than other sections.

Score: 7/10

4. What does this song glorify?

Though it glorifies God with a colossal assembly of Bible references, it does not glorify God when one of its statements imply that He worships us.

Score: 7/10

Closing Comments

Shai Linne’s Supreme is mostly excellent, with an unfortunate problem that greatly affects its rating.  It communicates what is perhaps the largest array of attributes and acts of God in a single song that I’ve reviewed, bringing Him glory.  That makes Linne’s gaffe, that God worships man, all the more repugnant.  Still, his ease in expressing these deep, theological concepts in an accessible format to unbelievers is admirable, held high as an example of how we can reach the lost with music.

For communities that accept rap music in worship that aren’t seeker-sensitive, if the word “worship” could be replaced with, say, “presence”, then I can highly recommend it for corporate worship.  However, as it stands, the statement “we bask in His worship” disqualifies it, even if we all understand Linne’s intended meaning.

Final Score: 7/10

Artist Info

Track: Supreme (listen to the song)

Artist: Shai Linne (Feat. Beautiful Eulogy)

Album: Still Jesus

Genre: Hip Hop/Rap

Release Year: 2017

Duration: 3:50

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

Updates:

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.