The Modern Post – Rejoice

Dustin Kensrue originally formed Thrice in 1998, leaving it for a few years for his independent project, The Modern Post. It enjoyed a brief stint, releasing debut EP Grace Alone (2012), The Water & the Blood (2013), and Christmas EP Lowborn King (2014). He left it in 2015, returning to his roots with Thrice as its frontman.

Also, check out my review of Grace Alone.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/The-modern-post-rejoice-lyrics.

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1. What message does the song communicate?

The Modern Post speaks to their audience, asking us to taste and see the might and majesty of the Almighty, boldly and courageously approaching His throne with astonishment, with deep reverence and respect. The same God who commands the universe also sent His son, Jesus, Christ, to pay for the redemption of undeserving sinners. This shows how much He loves us! He will never leave or forsake us, still alive today to walk with us.

As His adopted sons and daughters, we, who are the children of the promise, have been granted a new Spiritual discipline of genuine praise. The Modern Post invites us to join them with rejoicing, praising the Father for the wonderful things our King has done. In addition to saving our souls, He also uses trials to make us better, emboldening us to praise Him through it. Our Father is worthy of our praise!

Score: 10/10

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

All lines are in agreement with Scripture.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1 and 2: An appeal made to The Modern Post’s audience to stand before God in astonishment and trembling, much like the crowd when Jesus healed a paralytic in Matthew 9:6-8, Mark 2:10-12, and Luke 5:24-26, and rose a dead man in Luke 7:11-17. Mary Madeline, another Mary, and Salome had a similar reaction in Matthew 28:1-9 and Mark 16:1-8 when they found the empty tomb and a resurrected Jesus. They also fell down in worship.

Line 3: Similar to Deuteronomy 4:29, 1 Chronicles 16:11, Deuteronomy 4:29, Psalm 27:4, Psalm 34:8, Psalm 63:1-2, Psalm 84:2-11, Psalm 145:11, Matthew 6:33, and Acts 17:27-28, The Modern Prophet asks us to observe God’s strength and renown.

Line 4: Contrasting previous lines, we ought not be so afraid of God that we cannot come to Him. Both the Son in Mark 14:36 and the Holy Spirit in Galatians 4:6 use the term “Abba” in reference to the Father. This word is the most intimate word used to describe their relationship with the Father. A close equivalent is “Daddy”, used only by my daughter in reference to me. It signifies me as her protector, counselor, provider, and most trusted confidant. These are also true of our Heavenly Father!

According to Romans 8:15, we as the Father’s adopted 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, 1 John 3:1-3) get to cry out to the Him as Abba! This signifies the closeness of our personal relationship and ought to embolden us to enter His throne with thanksgiving on our hearts (Psalm 100:4) and with great confidence (Ephesians 3:12 and Hebrews 4:16).

Lines 5-8: The same God who has sovereignty over the heavens and the earth (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, Revelation 20:11) also shows love towards us. Verse 2 tells us how He did it.

[Chorus 1]

Lines 1-4: A similar call to action exists in Psalms 134:1-3, connecting praise with His creative power mentioned in Verse 1. God is described as King in Exodus 15:6, Exodus 15:11, 1 Chronicles 29:11, 2 Chronicles 20:6, Psalm 24:10, Psalm 93:1, Psalm 110:2-3, Psalm 104:1, Psalm 145:5, Psalm 145:12, Job 37:22, Isaiah 24:14, Isaiah 26:10, Hebrews 1:3-4, Hebrews 8:1, Revelation 4:1-11, and Revelation 19:7-16, celebrating it with reverence (Psalm 2:11 and Hebrews 12:28-29). Psalm 99:1 succinctly captures all of these concepts into one tightly packed verse!

[Verse 2]

Lines 1 and 2: See commentary on adoption in Verse 1, line 4, second paragraph. The named “promise” references Genesis 22:17 and Genesis 26:4, that Abraham would have descendants “as numerous as the stars”. These are not merely natural children that would become Israel, but also gentiles grafted into the Kingdom of God, confirmed by Paul in Romans 9:6-9 and also mentioned in Galatians 4:28-31.

Lines 3-5: References the penalty that the Father’s Son paid on our behalf, paying for our sins (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 making redemption possible (Romans 5:10, Romans 11:15, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, Ephesians 1:3-10, Ephesians 2:15-18, and Colossians 1:20-22). It is all for the benefit of a world marred by the slavery of sin (John 8:34, Romans 6:6, Romans 6:20-22, and 1 Corinthians 6:12), shown how much God loves us through action rather than mere words (John 3:16 and Romans 5:6-8), giving us an example to follow (1 John 3:18). Christ cannot lose any who are His (John 6:39). He won’t let us go (Deuteronomy 31:6).

[Verse 3]

Lines 1 and 2: Jesus died not for physical illness and pain, but spiritual deadness and anguish (see Verse 2, lines 3-5). Though He healed physically, He came to heal our broken relationship with God. He came not for those who think they are good, but those who know they are wicked (Luke 5:31-32, Mark 2:17, Luke 5:31-32, and Luke 19:10).

Lines 3 and 4: A subtle nod that contrasts the death of Christ (see Verse 2, lines 3 and 4) with the resurrection of Jesus (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).

Lines 5-8: God is in the business of taking the terrible things that happen in our lives and turning it around for His good and perfect purposes. Genesis 50:20 captures this perfectly. This grants us the courage to face our trials and tribulations knowing that God is pruning us to become better people (John 15:1-11 and Hebrews 12:4-11); Therefore, we ought to rejoice in these tests (Romans 5:3-5 and James 1:2-4).

[Chorus 2]

Line 1: This is a promise that God offers us: that He hears our cries offered in accordance to His will (John 5:14).

Line 2: References a future event, Christ’s second coming, in which He will wipe away all Christ-followers’ collective tears (Isaiah 25:8, Revelation 7:17, and Revelation 21:4).

Line 3: See last sentence of my commentary on Verse 3, lines 5-8.

Line 4: That is, He puts a new song in our mouths (Psalm 40:3). Not a new melody to add to our repertoire, but the discipline of offering praise to God.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

The Modern Post’s choice of words makes it difficult for unbelievers to interpret this song outside of Christianity. First, they use the names “God”, “Lord”, and “Jesus” that are obviously religious. Second, Christ’s sacrificial blood. Third, there is a hint of Christ’s resurrection found in Verse 3. These make it difficult to interpret this song outside Christian circles.1

They will understand the basic message, that Christians praise their Father for His great love for us. They will comprehend the call to seek God with fear and trembling, but may find it difficult to know about the children of the promise without deep research.

It might be possible that those outside the camp of Christ will be confused about Jesus’ carrying sickness and sorrows. How does His sacrifice remove things like the recent Coronavirus? Still, the main thrust of this song will not be lost on them.

Score: 7/10

4. What does this song glorify?

Despite any possible unbeliever confusion, it fully glorifies God through its call to action, that we as believers should worship God because of His great love for us, demonstrated by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and restoration of a relationship with Him that we broke.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

The Modern Post’s Rejoice is an excellent song. It accurately describes God’s lordship over creation, sending Jesus to redeem unworthy slaves of sin to Himself and praising Him in response. This brings glory to God. Unbelievers may misunderstand how Christ’s sacrifice heals us, but they will comprehend the overall message.

Given that its focus is to call us to praise, this song might be useful in corporate worship as an opening song. Openers are meant to transition our hearts and minds from the daily grind of life to praise and worship, with reminders as to why we bother in the first place.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Rejoice (listen to the song)

Artist: The Modern Post

Album: The Water & the Blood

Genre: Rock

Release Year: 2013

Duration: 3:04

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Updates:

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.