NEW MUSIC
remind you of God’s complete reign in all things
while bringing clarity to the unending love of
God for all people.
Some of the better cuts include the album
opener which is an infectious cry for God to
pour out His transforming power to the nations
and Brian and Jenn Johnson's "By the Grace of
God” is a glorious love song to the Savior with
its hymn-like quality and memorable chorus.
"I Will Rise" showcases the vocal prowess of
Kristine DiMarco as she passionately sings
about the importance of holding nothing back
from our God because He held nothing back
for us on the cross.
On a side note, there are a few moments on
this album where (in my opinion) the lyric gets a
little theologically off track. For instance, “Come
Out of That Grave” is a really powerfully done
song about the resurrection power of the name
of Jesus. The tricky part though is that the
focus of the song seems to be more about the
power that we have to raise the dead - rather
than God’s power to bring hope and salvation.
I have to say though that there was not one
song here that was not well done vocally and
musically. The arrangements are well thought
out and the mix is superb. There are a lot of
great songs and if you can get past a few
theological mis-steps, this might be the best
Bethel album ever.
SONG FOCUS
“HOLY WATER”
We The Kingdom
One of the songs that will find a permanent spot
in my Sunday setlist whenever we return to live
in-person worship is the southern rocker “Holy
Water” by Nashville based, We The Kingdom.
The song itself has prompted a lot of discussion
amongst different denominations about the
importance and practice of baptism but that will
not be the focus of this song review as I leave
that up to your individual church’s position on
the matter. Now to the song...
First of all, I absolutely love Southern Rock,
Blues and Gospel. It seems that thankfully so
many artists in the past two years or so are
tapping into the history, groove and feel of the
southern bend of Americana regardless of the
main genre of music they are known for. There
is also a real lack of great worship songs about
baptism and the sacramental nature of water
mixed with word that the Bible tells us does
something supernatural and was commanded
by Jesus. Mix these two ideas together, add
some driving drums and down-home guitars
with killer harmonies and boom, you have
yourself a really great song!
The intro features an acoustic guitar strum and
bluesy groove as Ed Cash sings about how God
finds us wandering though the desert desperate
for God’s living water to fill our souls again.
The chorus transitions us to some expressive
lyrical pictures as Ed’s daughter, Franni takes
over and describes how God’s mercy and
forgiveness touches every part of our body
and soul as she sings; “Your forgiveness is like
sweet sweet honey on my lips. Like the sound
of a symphony to my ears. Like holy water on
my skin.” These beautiful word pictures remind
us that there is nothing better to hear, to taste
or to feel than the forgiveness, renewal and
acceptance that our God gives.
The interlude follows which brings up the
musical energy a bit before de-crescendoing
into verse two which speaks of the importance
of baptism and being born again. Franni’s vocal
expressions are so good during verse two you
can’t help but feel the hunger for rebirth that we
all need come through in her voice.
The second chorus follows with a bit more
intensity before scaling back to the bridge with
just a few block chords from the piano and light
rim shots on the snare. Lyrically, the bridge is
a solid reminder that we need God’s grace
every single day and how we so often take it
for granted. The song ends with back to back
chorus’ and we are left with a melody that will
be stuck in our heads for weeks.
The overall feel of the song is joyful and uplifting
and the melodies are fairly simple to pick up.
Most worship teams will easily be able to
emulate the musical parts and to put it simply,
this is a great song.
Gerod Bass
Worship leader in Tacoma, WA. Mentor with Worship
Catalyst. Singer, songwriter, guitarist with a passion
for impacting lives for the sake of the Gospel.
www.oslc.com
July 2020
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