This group effort found its most inspirational ‘voice’ in the waters. That would probably be a fair statement, if you asked Matt Crocker, Joel Houston, and Salomon Ligthelm to describe what led their spirits during the creation of “Oceans” in 2012. They and their group Hillsong have lots of water surrounding them in Australia -- namely, the Pacific Ocean (see an ancient map of it here), and the Indian Ocean. That is a fact of life for this island nation-continent and its inhabitants, so could that have subconsciously affected these three, particularly Salomon when he thought about a certain apostle and his incident on another body of water? They must have appreciated that a water setting was a productive medium for their song-writing purposes, given how the last piece of the song came together. Since the earth has been formed with approximately 70% oceans covering the face of it, do you think God had something in mind for us who live here surrounded by water?
The ’Oceans’ that Matt, Joel, and Salomon experienced in 2012 emerged in multiple stages in various geographic locales. Sydney, Australia’s capital and Hillsong’s home, was where the water concept was born, and where the song’s lyrics finally culminated. Salomon, while in Sydney, was motivated by the episode of Peter walking on – and then sinking into, before Jesus saved him – the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 14:22-34; Mark 6:45-53; John 6:15-21). It was a key moment, the three songwriters acknowledge, to see something in Peter’s encounter as he stepped out of the boat, something that speaks to us who would be bold today. Matt, Joel, and Salomon evidently also sought out a waterfall near their studio in Sydney for the song’s final lyrics-writing session, as they continued to visualize Peter’s water-walking, and short-lived miracle. Additionally, much of the song’s lyrics were written over several days in an intervening episode in Joel’s apartment in New York City. Even while separated by wide distances during the song’s development, the three men found common ground in what they could see, and what they and the rest of us cannot see. There is a ‘great unknown’, a ‘mystery’ (v.1) in taking that step out of the safety of the boat, and moving at the call of Jesus. One has to be aware that you might sink. That ‘…feet may fail’ (the song’s subtitle) is an admission that you ultimately trust God with your life. While Peter was in the Sea of Galilee, Matt, Joel, and Salomon chose to seek out oceans as their metaphor, the deepest body of water on planet Earth. Judging from their lyrics, they wanted to emphasize that this is the most serious kind of commitment a believer makes, requiring whole-hearted devotion. A person’s ‘faith’ (v.1), ‘eyes’ (chorus), and ‘soul’ (chorus) are thus completely focused on Him, not on the water. His attributes are juxtaposed to the water that might drown me, yes. But, where else can you find Him, and His ‘embrace’ (chorus), His ‘sovereign hand’ (v.2).
Fear is cast out, and trust grows. That is a key unspoken axiom of the ‘Oceans’ that Matt, Joel, and Salomon sailed upon in 2012. Consider Peter, the professional fisherman, someone accustomed to being on the water. Why didn’t he begin to swim; did his fear overwhelm even something he should have known intrinsically? And, what do you do if you’re not a fish, or don’t really like the water, and really cannot swim too well? Us landlubbers may feel especially hamstrung…I might really drown! Isn’t that the point, though? God doesn’t need me to work out, take swimming lessons, and become an Olympic phenom. When I feel unskilled at a task, perhaps that is just the place where He wants me to be. He will be all that I am not, and so much more, giving me all the coaching that I need. Are you ready to be animated by Him?
Watch the song story here in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zlbunWsV5A
See here also background information on the song: https://www.godtube.com/popular-hymns/oceans-where-feet-may-fail-/
See more background information on the song here: Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) - Wikipedia
See here some background information on the planet’s oceans: Ocean - Wikipedia
Status of picture-map of Pacific Ocean: This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. (Author is Abraham Ortelius, 1527-1598.) This map was published in 1589 in the author’s Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. It was not only the first printed map of the Pacific, but it also showed the Americas for the first time. File:Ortelius - Maris Pacifici 1589.jpg - Wikipedia
No comments:
Post a Comment