Theological Song Review: The Lord Is My Salvation
Worship duo Shane and Shane released “Hymns, Vol. 1” in 2018, covering classic and modern worship hymns in a live setting, including the tune, “The Lord is My Salvation” from the 2016 Getty album “Facing a Task Unfinished”. The Musical Value section of this review will be in reference to the Shane and Shane treatment.
Note: For a full explanation of the rubric and a primer on our scoring methodology, click here.
Doctrinal Fidelity and Clarity: The song is personal testimony, inspired by Psalm 27, where David asks the rhetorical questions, “Whom shall I fear?” and “Of whom shall I be afraid?” The lyrical refrain comes directly from Psalm 27:1, and the rest of the lyrics provide poetic support such as the metaphorical comparison between the “raging sea” and being “safe on this solid ground” (Matt. 7:24-27). While the song makes plentiful use of imagery and metaphor like other Getty hymns the lyrics mostly have direct scriptural correlations. 25/25.
Doctrinal Specificity: The opening lyric notes that it is God that reaches for us, not the other way around. The chorus rightly and specifically notes that it is my debt that he paid and that Jesus secures the victory – it is his and not mine primarily. The only iffy lyric is found in verse two, where God’s strength is described as “helping me scale these walls” – a lyric that would benefit from context indicating more explicitly what walls we are scaling. 15/20.
Focus: While the song is written from a personal perspective, the lyrics are careful not to frame God’s worthiness in terms of the adjudication of the worshiper. In other words, as opposed to lyrics that say, “God is great and worthy to be praised because I say he is,” the power and worthiness of God are true with or without me. The bridge is a simple recitation that glory goes to God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – not me. At no point is God described in merely human terms like what is found in so many other songs (such as his love being reckless or the suggestion that the miraculous work of salvation is still an ongoing battle subject to failure). 18/20.
Association: Shane and Shane (like nearly every publishing songwriter and Christian music artist) can be found performing or recording with artists across the Christian spectrum (good and bad). Yet they are not primarily associated with a heretical church movement like Hillsong, Bethel, or Elevation. The Gettys generally associate with orthodox churches and pastors, and have a reputation for writing songs that are good alternatives to the vast array of garbage that passes for worship music these days. As with most musical artists, they are relatively tolerant and non-confrontational in their public interactions but are not known to partner with obviously heretical churches or movements. 15/20.
Musical Value: The composition strikes a good balance between singability and musical interest. A few borrowed chords in the bridge (look it up if you’re interested) break up what might otherwise be a by-the-numbers chord structure. Shane and Shane add some nice pop flair to the more traditional Getty version (both are well done). The song is appropriately accessible for the congregation. 15/15.
Total score: 88/100. It is not a coincidence that another Getty song made the cut. When songwriters and artists are relatively careful (although not perfect) with their associations, and they pull lyrics, context, and framework from the Bible, they tend to produce solid content for corporate worship.
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