“I COULD SING OF YOUR LOVE FOREVER” BY HILLSONG
Lyrics:
[Intro:]
Over the mountains and the sea
Your river runs with love for me
And I will open up my heart
And let the Healer set me free
I'm happy to be in the truth
And I will daily lift my hands
For I will always sing of
Of when Your love came down
[Chorus:]
I could sing of Your love forever (x4)
[Bridge:]
Oh I feel like dancing
It's foolishness I know
But when the world has seen the light
They will dance with joy
Like they're dancing now
I could sing of your love forever (5x)
1.1. Questions & Answers
Question 1: How many references to “I” can be observed in the lyrics of this song?
Answer 1: A total of fourteen, including the repetitions of the lyrics.
Question 2: How many references to “you” or “yours” can be observed in the lyrics of this song?
Answer 2: A total of eleven, including the repetitions of the lyrics.
Question 3: Who is “you” or “your” a reference to?
Answer 3: “You” or “your” is not clearly defined within the lyrics of the song.
Question 4: Who do the lyrics of this song exalt?
Answer 4: A review of the lyrics will answer this [Emphases added]:
“I WILL open up my heart”
“I AM happy to be in the truth”
“I WILL daily lift my hands”
“I WILL always sing of…”
“I COULD sing of…”
“I FEEL like dancing.”
Question 5: Where is the reference to the God of the Bible and or Jesus Christ His Son in the lyrics of this song?
Answer 5: There are no references to the God of the Bible and or His Son Jesus Christ.
Question 6: Who is being praised in the lyrics of this song?
Answer 6: Neither the God of the Bible or Jesus Christ His Son are clearly being exalted in the lyrics of this song.
1.2. Discussion
The Bible teaches Christians that they are to praise the name of the Lord; praise Him according to His works and praise HIS glories (comp. w/ Psalm 107:8); praise Him in truth, praise Him with specific words, Bible words, according to His revealed truth (John 4:24, 1Corinthians 14:8). Christians are supposed to be singing with understanding to edify themselves, and not simply repeating lyrics without thinking about what they are saying, such as can be found in this and others examined in this paper as indicated in Scripture: 1Corinthians 14:15, What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. Another interesting point, is that when we have songs such as this enter into the church that use ambiguous vocabulary, rather than being specific, it does not help us: 1Corinthians 14:8, For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? Another writer (Simpson, 2014) comments on the theology of this song:
“It is a nice sentiment to sing that you could sing of the love of Christ forever. However, there are at least a couple of serious problems with this song. As stated previously this song has too few lyrics which means you will be repeating those lyrics over and over again until you get into a trance. There is also false doctrine in the lyrics of this song: When the world sees the return of Jesus Christ they will NOT be dancing, NOR are they dancing now in anticipation. They will NOT dance with joy but be sorrowful”
Simpson’s final statement above can be supported biblically in the following verse: Luke 13:28, “there will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.” The world neither knows Him or those who are true believers. It is clear that the world follows the devil and does not rejoice at the coming of the Messiah, but rather joins with the antichrist to fight Him. The reason the world does not know believers is that it did not know Christ because: 2Corinthians 4:4, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God”; Revelation 13:3, “One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast”; Revelation 13:8, “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world”; Revelation 16:14, “They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.” It is unclear where those who wrote this song got their theology, but it is poor doctrine and a good reason to “test” all CCM music.
Lyrics:
[Intro:]
Over the mountains and the sea
Your river runs with love for me
And I will open up my heart
And let the Healer set me free
I'm happy to be in the truth
And I will daily lift my hands
For I will always sing of
Of when Your love came down
[Chorus:]
I could sing of Your love forever (x4)
[Bridge:]
Oh I feel like dancing
It's foolishness I know
But when the world has seen the light
They will dance with joy
Like they're dancing now
I could sing of your love forever (5x)
1.1. Questions & Answers
Question 1: How many references to “I” can be observed in the lyrics of this song?
Answer 1: A total of fourteen, including the repetitions of the lyrics.
Question 2: How many references to “you” or “yours” can be observed in the lyrics of this song?
Answer 2: A total of eleven, including the repetitions of the lyrics.
Question 3: Who is “you” or “your” a reference to?
Answer 3: “You” or “your” is not clearly defined within the lyrics of the song.
Question 4: Who do the lyrics of this song exalt?
Answer 4: A review of the lyrics will answer this [Emphases added]:
“I WILL open up my heart”
“I AM happy to be in the truth”
“I WILL daily lift my hands”
“I WILL always sing of…”
“I COULD sing of…”
“I FEEL like dancing.”
Question 5: Where is the reference to the God of the Bible and or Jesus Christ His Son in the lyrics of this song?
Answer 5: There are no references to the God of the Bible and or His Son Jesus Christ.
Question 6: Who is being praised in the lyrics of this song?
Answer 6: Neither the God of the Bible or Jesus Christ His Son are clearly being exalted in the lyrics of this song.
1.2. Discussion
The Bible teaches Christians that they are to praise the name of the Lord; praise Him according to His works and praise HIS glories (comp. w/ Psalm 107:8); praise Him in truth, praise Him with specific words, Bible words, according to His revealed truth (John 4:24, 1Corinthians 14:8). Christians are supposed to be singing with understanding to edify themselves, and not simply repeating lyrics without thinking about what they are saying, such as can be found in this and others examined in this paper as indicated in Scripture: 1Corinthians 14:15, What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. Another interesting point, is that when we have songs such as this enter into the church that use ambiguous vocabulary, rather than being specific, it does not help us: 1Corinthians 14:8, For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? Another writer (Simpson, 2014) comments on the theology of this song:
“It is a nice sentiment to sing that you could sing of the love of Christ forever. However, there are at least a couple of serious problems with this song. As stated previously this song has too few lyrics which means you will be repeating those lyrics over and over again until you get into a trance. There is also false doctrine in the lyrics of this song: When the world sees the return of Jesus Christ they will NOT be dancing, NOR are they dancing now in anticipation. They will NOT dance with joy but be sorrowful”
Simpson’s final statement above can be supported biblically in the following verse: Luke 13:28, “there will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.” The world neither knows Him or those who are true believers. It is clear that the world follows the devil and does not rejoice at the coming of the Messiah, but rather joins with the antichrist to fight Him. The reason the world does not know believers is that it did not know Christ because: 2Corinthians 4:4, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God”; Revelation 13:3, “One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast”; Revelation 13:8, “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world”; Revelation 16:14, “They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.” It is unclear where those who wrote this song got their theology, but it is poor doctrine and a good reason to “test” all CCM music.
