A First Try...

Here's a first try at a review of a song for this new website that Kevin, Craig and I are putting together. I chose this particular song because as I was picking songs this past week I came across this one in the repertoire of our band and wasn't sure what I thought of it. Upon further more careful reflection, I'm inclined to use it. I'm not exactly sure who the author is as I found different authors listed on different websites. I welcome feedback on the format (how does this work as a review) and the content of the review itself (though I hope you will post any feedback on the content of the review on our new website which should be up shortly). Here's my review:

Beautiful One
By Jeremy Camp(?)

Links:
Lyrics
Jeremy Camp

The primary message of this song is a rhapsodic declaration of one’s love for the Beautiful One, that is presumably the LORD (presumably so given that none of the Trinitarian names are used: Father, Son, or Holy Spirit). Thus, this is not a song that focuses on only one person of the Trinity. In fact upon closer inspection, this could be considered a fully Trinitarian song. The first verse speaks of the Beautiful One in the cross (the Son), the second verse speaks of the Beautiful One in creation (the Father, “creator of heaven and earth”[1]), and the third verse speaks of the work of the Beautiful One in opening one’s eyes and capturing one’s heart (the Holy Spirit?, “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit”[2]). In this respect, Beautiful One, avoids the pitfalls of several contemporary praise songs’ singular focus on one person of the Trinity to the neglect or exclusion of the other persons of the Trinity.

But what are we to make of this name “Beautiful One” which is used over and over again? The language used in Beautiful One is probably most clearly connected with the language of the Song of Solomon: “Ah, you are beautiful , my love; ah, you are beautiful ; your eyes are doves. Ah, you are beautiful , my beloved, truly lovely.”[3] Although, in the Song of Solomon the declaration of the beauty of the beloved is always toward the bride from the bridegroom (or from the bride about herself[4]). If a Christian interpretation of the Song of Solomon posits God or Jesus as the bridegroom and the bride as the church, then these declarations of beauty in the Song of Solomon are coming from God to the church. [5] Or maybe because the poetic genre of the Song of Solomon, this kind of interpretation of who is declaring whom beautiful is too rigid. Poetry often has multiple senses for any given line or phrase. Other than this possible interpretation of the Song of Solomon, “beautiful” is not used to refer to God in the NRSV or TNIV translations of the Bible.[6] Perhaps this use of “Beautiful One” as a name of God is influenced more by a romantic notion of the relationship between God and God’s people borrowed from the general tenor of the Song of Solomon than a biblical notion of God’s name.

Several other biblical allusions are used throughout the song. Some of them are: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard” (1 Cor 2:9), “Your glory fills the sky” (Psalm 19:1 or Romans 1:20), and “You opened my eyes to your wonders anew” (Psalm 119:18).

One theological quibble I would have with this song’s implied soteriology is the phrase “you captured my heart.” Coming from a Wesleyan perspective this sounds a bit too Calvinistic to me. I am not sure God “captures” one’s heart though God does work preveniently to allow one’s heart to respond freely to God’s love (“We love because he first loved us”[7]). I suspect the phrase comes again from the Song of Solomon which says, “You have ravished my heart” (NRSV) or “You have captured my heart” (The Message).[8] Once again, in this passage of the Song it is the bridegroom speaking to the bride. If this soteriology is implied it is very subtle and does not appear elsewhere.

Some may take issue with this song’s personal and singular focus and with its repetition of the first person singular pronouns “I” and “me.” And while this is true (the song does not have a community focus), and a steady diet of “me” and “I” songs to the neglect of any “we” songs is probably not a very well-rounded diet, any given song’s singular focus (this one included) is no worse than any given psalm’s singular focus (the Psalms have 786 instances of “I,” 675 of “me” and only 84 of “we”). Moreover, Beautiful One’s phrase, “Your cross has spoken mercy over me” is reminiscent of John Wesley’s sermon Justification by Faith. Wesley says, “Justifying faith implies, not only a divine evidence or conviction that ‘God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself;’ but a sure trust and confidence that Christ died for ‘my’ sins, that he loved ‘me,’ and gave himself for ‘me.’”[9]

Conclusion: The song’s implied Trinitarian structure and its abundant use of biblical allusions make this an overall strong song theologically. While it has it’s potential pitfalls (it’s subtle Calvinistic soteriology), depending on one’s theological framework this may or may not be a liability. I would use this song but would use it in the context of other more community focused songs. I would also use this kind of adoration and love language in proportion to its use in scripture. Thus, too many “I love you” or “I adore you” songs might neglect other just as important love emphases in other parts of scripture such as “love your neighbor as yourself.”[10]

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[1] Apostles’ Creed

[2] 1 Cor 12:3

[3] Song 1:15-16 (NRSV)

[4] Song 1:5

[5] Rev 21:2

[6] Jerusalem and Mt. Zion are called “beautiful” in Psalm 48:2 as is the “branch of the Lord” in Isaiah 4:2 and Israel in Ezekiel 16.

[7] 1 John 4:19

[8] Song 4:9

[9] http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umhistory/wesley/sermons/5/

[10] Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39, and Romans 13:9.