That Reminds Me Of Something

By Ed Kerr
From Worship Musician! Magazine March / April 2013

Ever done one of those plans where you read through the Bible in a year? Do you read the Proverb of the Day? Regardless of what your approach is to getting Scripture into your heart and your head, you’ve probably had moments like me when you’re reading part of the Bible and you remember another verse you’ve read or memorized that supports it. A few days ago I was reading Isaiah 40:28: Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God. That reminded me of Isaiah 50:7: Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. These verses combined to remind me to hold on tightly to what I know to be true of God. Sovereign. Everlasting. My Helper. I know this.

Ever find yourself singing a favorite worship song when another song comes to mind? Just as many Scriptures can shine light on the truth of another verse, the songs we sing can reinforce each other as well. Here’s an example.

Lots of you probably have your radar up for new songs from popular worship artists that might work well for your church. Something off of Chris Tomlin’s new project, that 3rd song from All Sons & Daughters, the Paul Baloche tune with banjo. Lately I’ve found myself stirred and encouraged by “Whom Shall I Fear” from Tomlin’s Burning Lights release. It’s written by Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash and Scott Cash. Statement after statement of confidence in God’s Presence and Protection and Power rise as we sing this as a church.

When teaching the song the first couple of times, I added a section of another very familiar song to give the church a chance to take off their “we’re learning a new song and have to really focus” caps and sing something well known. So, after singing “Whom Shall I Fear” in its entirety, we added the Chorus from “One Thing Remains”. It says “Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me”.

If you can’t imagine only doing part of a song, flip the page and stop reading this. If you’re willing, though, to experiment a little, the result can be really powerful. In my example using “Whom Shall I Fear”, keep playing the intro figure after completing the song. We played the song in G, so the intro was 2 bars of G then two bars of C. After a couple of repetitions of that progression we began singing “Your love never fails...”. We sang it over the intro chord progression though, not the original progression used in “One Thing Remains”. Like this:

        G

Your love never fails, it never gives up

   G                             

It never runs out on me

        C

Your love never fails, it never gives up

   C                             

It never runs out on me

Try this yourself. Play the intro a few times. Sing the lyric over the G   C intro chords twice. Then begin playing the actual chords from “One Thing Remains”.

         Em                          C

Your love never fails, it never gives up

   G                              D

It never runs out on me (Repeat)

Let your dynamics build into the moment when you use that Em  C  G  D progression. I know you’ll feel the musical momentum.

Sing that lyric with its usual chords a few time. Then cue the band and head back to a final chorus of “Whom Shall I Fear”. Suddenly the lyric you’ve just sung together about God’s love never failing or giving up or running out gives a new layer of meaning to the Tomlin/Cash lyric. “I know Who goes before me; I know Who stands behind.” Certainly the song doesn’t need any help in being a meaningful expression of faith. Certainly each verse of Scripture we read has weight of its own. But finding verses that illuminate each other can encourage us as Children of God, and weaving bits of worship songs together can invigorate our worship of God and our insight into His great love and power.

I’ll end with a couple more examples, since I’ve felt the impact of this in my church so strongly. Besides using the chorus of “One Thing Remains” as an added statement to “Whom Shall I Fear”, the chorus of Matt Redman’s “You Never Let Go” works powerfully, too. In another song, the bridge of “Glory To God” (Fee/Beecham) pairs powerfully with the chorus of Gungor’s “Beautiful Things”. Visit my website, kerrtunes.com, to find charts of these examples and other suggestions for such pairings.