The Story Behind the Song
The perspective of a song answers the question, “Who is the speaker/singer, and to whom is he speaking or singing?” For instance, in “How Great Thou Art,” the perspective of the hymn is Person to God—a human engaged in worship is singing directly to the Lord: “Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee.” In “Come, Thou Almighty King,” the perspective is Congregation to God, since the personal pronouns are not singular but are plural (“…Help us Thy name to sing; Help us to pray…”). Other hymns are Person to Person as we sing to each other, reminding ourselves and our neighbors Who God is and what He has done, or making a public commitment or declaration. Examples of this perspective are found in “Amazing Grace! How Sweet the Sound” and “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.” A relatively small number of hymns are written in the God to Person perspective in which the singer gives voice to God’s words to humanity: “I Gave My Life for Thee” and “Trust, Try, and Prove Me.”
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Sometimes, the various stanzas of a hymn, and possibly the refrain, are written in different perspectives. For example, the first and last stanzas and refrain of “Jesus Paid It All” are Person to Person as the singer tells those listening that she has heard God’s offer of salvation (first stanza) and that she trusts in Christ’s sacrifice for it (fourth stanza). The two intervening stanzas are written in Person to God, as the singer addresses Jesus and acknowledges her inability to save herself.
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In the third chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he speaks of the absolute priority of knowing Jesus. He writes of his impressive religious credentials (at least, from an earthly standpoint) in verses 4-6: “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”
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But Paul knew what was truly important and what was not: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:7-8). Two verses later, Paul reiterates his ambition: “…that I may know him [Jesus] and the power of his resurrection.”
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The teaching in those verses, the drive to fling aside worthless endeavors and to pursue Christ Himself, has been captured in “The Risen Christ.” It is a sung prayer in its first three stanzas, all of which are Congregation to God. Each begins with an address to God:
…continues with a request of God for corporate rejuvenation of our total selves—heart, mind and soul:
…concludes with an appeal for a transformative action:
…and states the reason why we need rejuvenation and transformation: “That we may know the Risen Christ.”
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The fourth stanza changes perspective. It is Person to Person as we express our desire to be that unified people Jesus prayed for in John 17:21 (“…that they [Jesus’ followers] may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you…”) and in 17:22 (“…that they may be one even as we are one…”) and again in 17:23 (“…that they may become perfectly one…”).
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Augustine, the early church father and the man for whom our little town is named, is often credited online with the saying: “Those who sing pray twice” or “To sing is to pray twice.” (But remember what Abraham Lincoln said: “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet!”) Whether or not Augustine actually said it, when we sing “The Risen Christ,” we are indeed praying—praying for revived hearts, for renewed minds and for refreshed souls. But not just so we can feel good about ourselves, but so that we can open our eyes to the needs of the world around us, nourish ourselves on God’s Word, and imitate Jesus’ self-giving service. Then we can be assured that we do indeed truly know the risen Christ.
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