Re-interpreting Scripture With Music

One thing that has always interested me is how artists will often use scripture, either directly or indirectly, as a way to find inspiration for their chosen medium. In particular, Christian rock musician Neal Morse uses scripture in a way that is roughly derivative and poetic in nature; merely hinting at the source, such as in his song Colder in the Sun:

"Mirror, mirror in the sky / I look to you / but you can't see me cry / sometimes you seem so far away"



But he can also be very direct about his scriptural inspiration as well. On his album titled simply "?", he recalls the Old Testament story of the building of the Tabernacle in the wilderness. As the story unfolds, he will indirectly reference scripture and reword it as part of the narrative. For example, in the song "Inside His Presence", there are many direct and indirect scriptural references:

And in this place of gold
The ancients walked this road
There is no death
There is no time

There is a love unknown
There is a scent of home
A rainbow wreath
A blazing throne

From a grave of stone
to a world unknown
From the smoke and ash
comes true life at last
Among earth and sod
the very life of God is here

From a list of laws
seeing all our flaws
To the blind, the lame,
we are all the same
Our High Priest has come
to make us all as one in Him



I find many of these lines to be very poetic and beautiful, like "There is a love unknown", may reference Peter 1:8-9, which states:

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Another favorite of mine is the triumphant line of "Our High Priest has come to make us all as one in Him. Galatians 3:28 has this to say on the matter:

"Here is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

This is one of the most interesting things about Neal Morse and part of what keeps me listening to his music. He just doesn't just recite scripture or re-arrange classic Hymns to have a more modern sound - he reworks them to have universal meaning.