With the great volume and variety of worship music available, none of us should have to settle for bad worship songs. We should be able to select hundreds or even thousands of top notch songs very easily.
What makes a song a good worship song? Is it enough to contain words like God or holy? How about vaguely spiritual sounding phrases? Should Jesus be mentioned? We think an excellent worship song should contain as many as possible of the following elements:
- A direct expression of adoration (God, you are...)
- A progression of ideas that culminates in a coherent story
- A focus on God, not us
- A certain amount of profundity
- A singable, interesting melody
- Scripture quotes or coherent allusions to Scripture
- Doctrinal soundness
- contain lyrics that create uncertainty or cause confusion
- be excessively metaphorical
- be excessively repetitive
- imply that Jesus is your boyfriend
It's worth noting the most worship songs contain at least something good. That is, there might be a musical idea or a lyric that has merit. Such is the case with today's song, "Jireh."
Detour
Before we get to the song itself, we should look at the word "Jireh." "Jireh" occurs over 1300 times in the OT, but there are only three places where it's translated "provide," solely regarding the story Abraham about to sacrifice his son:
Before we get to the song itself, we should look at the word "Jireh." "Jireh" occurs over 1300 times in the OT, but there are only three places where it's translated "provide," solely regarding the story Abraham about to sacrifice his son:
Ge. 22:8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.Ge. 22:14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
The overwhelming usage of the word is to describe that act of seeing or looking:
Job 28:23-24 God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells, 24 for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
The actual word used when something is "provided" is nathan:
Job 36:31 This is the way he governs the nations and provides food in abundance.
We were surprised indeed to discover that "Jireh" has little to do with God being our provider.
The Lyric
Verse 1 - I’ll never be more loved than I am right now
Wasn’t holding You up so there’s nothing I can do to let You down
Doesn’t take a trophy to make You proud
I’ll never be more loved than I am right now
Verse 2 - Going through a storm but I won’t go down
I hear Your voice carried in the rhythm of the wind to call me out
You would cross an ocean so I wouldn’t drown
You’ve never been closer than You are right now
Chorus - Ji - reh You are enough
Ji - reh You are enough
I will be content in every circumstance
Ji - reh You are enough
Interlude - Forever enough
Always enough
More than enough
Verse 3 - Don’t wanna forget how I feel right now
On the mountaintop I can see so clear what it’s all about
Stay by my side when the sun goes down
Don’t wanna forget how I feel right now
Bridge - I’m already loved
I’m already cho - sen
I know who I am
I know what You’ve spo - ken
I’m already loved
More than I could imagine
And that is enough
Vamp - If He dresses the lilies with beauty and splendor
How much more will He clothe you
How much more will He clothe you
If He watches over every sparrow
How much more does He love you
How much more does He love you
More than you ask, think or imagine
According to His power working in us
It’s more than enough
This is actually a really good song in so many ways. It has a great gospel style, it is well performed, and it is not shallow or superficial.
However, Jireh is really an identity song and not a worship song, since there are no stanzas that articulate something about the glory of God. There is an implied statement regarding His faithfulness (Stay by my side when the sun goes down), but no lyric turns to God and declares His wonders.
It's an identity song because the consistent theme is describing who we are in Christ. We don't really have a quibble with this since so much of the contemporary Church seems to be locked into the false idea that we are unworthy sinners and filthy worms (see our discussion of these here and here), despite the fact that the Bible tells us we are new creations (2Co. 5:17). So such songs are useful for their teaching aspect.
But we've noticed there have been quite a few identity songs coming on the scene in recent years, like (Who You Say I Am and Who the Son Sets Free, both by Hillsongs, and No Longer a Slave To Fear and Will Not Be Shaken, both by Bethel. Although there is truth communicated by these kinds of songs it is too easy for them to come off as sounding self-focused. We think congregational worship should be directed to God in wonder and adoration.
Further, the verse lyrics to Jireh do not lay on the beat in a natural manner. The first half of a stanza (Going through a storm but I won’t go down) lead to the next stanza (I hear Your voice carried in the rhythm of the wind to call me out) which does not fall on the same beat and is quite a bit longer. This results in trying to fit all the lyrics into a too small musical space.
The crowded syncopated rhythms of the song actually lead to the insertion of extra beats leading into the chorus and also in the repeats of the bridge. This is ordinarily not a big problem, and can be musically interesting. However, the main reason these 5/4 measures are inserted is to give some needed space.
Verse 1
The song begins with a truth, that God's love for us doesn't change. But the following stanzas offer obscure statements. What does it mean to hold up God? Why is that connected to letting Him down? What is it about us that would make God proud of us? Is this a biblical idea that God is proud of us?
There may be answers to these questions. But congregational worship should not bring to mind questions or confusion.
Verse 2
We are beginning to think that some of these lyrics were chosen for their clever turns of phrases and not for the purpose of carrying the story. The songwriters tell us that the storm won't bring us down because His voice is carried by rhythm of the storm's wind, and that voice calls him out. But why is the stormy wind, obviously a problem, the same wind that carries His voice? It almost sound like the songwriter is telling us the storm is God's doing because His voice is in it.
And what does it mean that this voice calls us out? Calls us out of the storm? Calls us out to something good? Calls us out of bad thinking?
The Chorus
"Jireh" is not God's name, it is one of His characteristics. The chorus seems to use the word as a name, but this is akin to calling your employer "paycheck guy." And as we noted above, "Jireh" means He sees, not that He gives us all that we need.
Verse 3
The songwriter doesn't want to forget a particular feeling he's having. What is that feeling? Is it that he's loved (vs. 1)? That God won't desert him (vs. 2)? Probably not, because the songwriter is not telling a story. The verses are self-contained, so the previous verses do not connect to each other or this verse.
So the feeling he doesn't want to forget is what it's like to be on the mountaintop where he sees so clearly. The sun going down therefore implies that he can no longer see clearly and needs God by his side to help him, as if his previous clear vision on the mountaintop did not need God. But what's important is the feeling he doesn't want to forget. This is confusing.
Closing Lyrics
Perhaps the most delightful thing about this song is the vamp. It is elegantly constructed, musical, and uplifting in a way we did not expect. Plus it has the added benefit of being a Scripture quote (Mt. 6:30, Mt. 10:29). Then it leads right in to another Scripture quote [Ep. 3:20] which builds perfectly on the idea of the magnitude of God's love for us.
The poignancy of this section almost makes the verses seem clunky. The only thing about this section we don't like is that it is addressed to the people, not to God. But we really don't mind this because after spending the entire song singing to God about how much He loves us, it seems quite appropriate that the song becomes a teaching, or perhaps an exhortation.
Conclusion
There is a lot to like about this song. It does a lot of things well, and it isn't shallow or vapid. It has something to say, although it doesn't do so as fluidly as it could. It probably needed a little more time in the back room to be worked out.
Although we do not oppose this song, we will not recommend it.
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