Song Lyrics and Biblical Context: Starfield's "Top Of Our Lungs"

Starfield's "Top Of Our Lungs" is a musically creative, catchy, and dynamic song with lyrics on the theme of dancing and celebration. One of the ingenious elements which contributes to its catchiness is the way the bass line coincides its pauses with the electric's shifts in register. (You can hear this in the opening measures of the song.)

It was a pleasant song to play on my drive to school this morning until I was caught off guard by the lyric, "Who the Son sets free, yeah, they are free indeed." What?? Apart from the grammatically incorrect "who," this line is a quote from John 8:36 and taken entirely out of context. As a student of Classics, I take ancient texts and interpretations seriously. I'm afraid I could not help but be slightly disappointed in Starfield for such inattentiveness to the literary context of such an integral text to the Christian faith.

Let's take a brief look at the context of this lyric. The verse right before this line introduces the theme of letting go of inhibitions:

Don't let your mind deny what your heart believes
Leave your inhibitions let your soul be free
This is why you were created, it's your destiny

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright

Then comes the line itself in the prechorus followed by a conclusion:

Who the Son sets free 
Yeah, they are free indeed
So let go with me 
Come on and sing what you believe

Within the context of the song, this line in effect means that Jesus has set us free to be uninhibited in singing, dancing, and shouting in praise to God

The chorus goes on to confirm this meaning:

We're gonna shout His praise at the top of our lungs
We're gonna dance for the glory of the Risen Son
We're not ashamed not ashamed of the One we love
We're gonna shout His praise at the top of our lungs

In and of itself, it is not heretical. The natural response of one who is redeemed is to praise. However, the line is taken entirely out of its original context in the Gospel of John and thus its meaning has been twisted to fit within the song's message.

Here is the verse within its context in John 8:31-36:

"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (italics mine)."

The freedom Jesus is referring to here is freedom from being a slave to sin. In other words, those who hear the word of truth from the Son will no longer have the desire to sin (be a slave to sin).

So the lyric, understood in its proper context, means that Jesus has set us free from the slavery of sin, not that he has set us free to be uninhibited in worship.

With that said, the second verse of the song fares much better. It explains that these outward expressions of praise are the result of being redeemed (set free) and that man was created for this kind of joy.

This is the praise of a people that have been redeemed
This is the joy of the Lord and the sound of the free
This is why we were created it's our destiny

One could also in a very roundabout way make the line fit into the song accurately by saying, "The Son has set us free from sin. Therefore, let us not worry about trying not to sin to earn our salvation. Let us, instead, celebrate our freedom by fully expressing our joy." If a worship leader chooses this song, he (or she) could, by offering a few words of explanation, remain faithful to the text of Scripture. Without such preparation, one can see how a congregation could easily infer that this verse is encouraging uninhibited worship.

Another song about uninhibited worship that is simpler yet more biblically sound might be Matt Redman's "Dancing Generation." 

You mercy taught us how to dance
To celebrate with all we have
And we'll dance to thank You for mercy
Your glory taught us how to shout
To lift Your name in all the earth
And we'll shout to the praise of Your glory
It's the overflow
Of a forgiven soul
And now we've seen You, God
Our hearts cannot stay silent
And we'll be a dancing generation
Dancing because of Your great mercy, Lord
Your great mercy, Lord
And we'll be a shouting generation
Shouting because of Your great glory, Lord
Your great glory, Lord

I don't know which specific biblical references Matt Redman had in mind while composing these lyrics, but here are a couple that come immediately to mind:

(bold text are closely alluded to in lyrics)

Psalm 30:11-12
You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

Psalm 66:1-3
Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.

Deut 6:4-6
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

Psalm 148:13-14

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his saints,
for the people of Israel who are near to him.
Praise the Lord!

I'm thankful for songwriters who dedicate much time and thought to producing excellent music for the church, but I am even more thankful for those who serve the church through biblically sound lyrics.

Thankful for Biblical Scholars

I thought I'd share a couple things I've learned recently from two Bible scholars I highly respect.

In Luke 9, when Jesus asks his disciples who they think he is, Peter answers that he is the "Messiah (Gk: Christ)." Now, I don't know how many times I've read this passage thinking, "Good job, Peter! You got the right answer, even though other people think he's Elijah or John the Baptist."

D.A. Carson, in his talk at the 2013 Gospel Coalition Conference, completely challenged my naive interpretation. Our understanding of the term "Messiah" is completely different from how Peter or any Jew at that time would have understand it. To Peter, the Messiah is the promised Davidic king, destined to take over the throne and rule. He was not thinking of our idea of Messiah, the one who died on the cross. When Matthew recounts the same story in his gospel, in chapter 16, Peter makes the same confession, but then when Jesus tells his disciples that he will suffer many things by the authorities and be killed, Peter rebukes him and says, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you." So clearly, Peter was not thinking of the crucified Messiah.

This explains why Jesus, in the very next verse, commands them not to tell anyone who he is. I've always wondered about that. Why doesn't he want them to tell people? I've always assumed that it was because word might spread to the chief priests and it would get him into trouble. However, if news spread to all the Jewish people that he was the "Messiah," everyone else would also have wrong expectations.

This also explains why the disciples were dejected and fled when Jesus was crucified. Even up to that point they still had not understood Jesus' repeated explanation that he must suffer and die and be raised from the dead.

So, one of the main themes in the Gospel of Luke is that Jesus is the misunderstood Messiah.

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On a different topic, I recently came across a recording of a talk by Tim Keller addressing the topic of suffering. It is one of the best 30-minute talks on suffering I've ever heard. At one point, he mentions Hebrews 12:2, one of the famous verses that anyone who has grown up in church has probably had to memorize: "...looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross..."

Here's another one of those passages I've read and heard quoted in many contexts again and again. Whenever I'd get to the phrase, "the joy that was set before him," I'd always understand it to mean that Jesus was looking forward to heaven and getting to be back with his Father, away from suffering and sinful humanity. Tim Keller, however, explained it this way:

"How did Jesus get through his furnace? Hebrews 12 says, 'For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross...' What was his living hope?... Maybe he was hoping for bliss in heaven with his father. But don't forget, this living hope is something that got him out of that. What could he possibly have been looking for that he didn't already have up there? Isaiah 53 says, "The results of his suffering he will see and be satisfied." What could make infinite suffering worth it? Isaiah says, "My righteous servant shall justify many." You are his living hope. That's the only thing he did not have in heaven, and that he had to come to earth and go to the cross and plunge himself into the fiery furnace for. You. That's what filled him with such joy, such inexorable and infallible resolve."