Whom Shall I Fear by Chris Tomlin

Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, Scott Cash

What makes you afraid? If you were to glance out of your window right now and see an entire army of angels with flaming chariots and horses of fire surrounding your home, would you be afraid? This is the story from the old testament book of 2 King’s that inspired the writer’s Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash and Scott Cash to write a contemporary worship song about Elisha’s revelation to the people of God.

The History — Who is Elisha?

Elisha, “My God is salvation,” a venerated prophet in Judaism, Islam and Christianity, was the protégé of the prophet Elijah recorded in 2 Kings. During the final days of Elijah’s life, Elisha refused to leave his master’s side. After traveling a long distance, first to Bethel and then to Jericho, Elijah asked Elisha, “What can I do for you?” Without hesitation Elisha asks to inherit a double portion of Elijah’s power. “You have asked a difficult thing, but I will do it only if you see when I am taken from you–otherwise, it will not.” As they were walking, a sudden whirlwind with a chariot of fire with horses of fire takes Elijah up into heaven leaving behind only his cloak. It is when Elisha takes up the cloak that he is blessed with his double portion, striking the Jordan river which then splits to his right and to his left. (2 Kings 2:1–18)

Elisha Prays for them to see God’s Victory

Aram occupied the entire northeast quadrant of the border of Israel. Enraged by his thwarted attempts to engage Israel in battle, the king of Aram sent troops to capture Elisha who had been prohesying to the king of Israel the plans of the Arameans to overtake Israel’s territory. On the morning of the seige, with the Aramean army surrounding the entire city, Elisha’s servant rushes in to warn him. Elisha, unshaken, prays for his servants eyes to be opened, revealing God’s glory that there are horses and chariots of fire outnumbering their opponents.

When the order is given and the city is besieged, Elisha asks God to strike the enemy with blindness, leaving them helpless and defeated in an instant. The battle is won and the captives are marched to Samaria where Elisha prays their eyesight be restored. Elisha then makes an unprecedented gesture of grace and mercy, the captives are given food to eat and water to drink and then released and told to return to their master. (2 Kings 6:8–22)

Theology of the song

The theology of “Whom Shall I Fear” gives a clear focus of the worship. It is the power, mercy and grace of God alone to save. His ever-present protection and guidance heals our brokenness, delivers us from our enemies and opens our eyes to see the salvation of our God.

Verse 1

You hear me when I call
You are my morning song
Though darkness fills the night
It cannot hide the light
Whom shall I fear?

Psalm 27:1| 1 The Lord is my light and my salvation —
whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life —
of whom shall I be afraid?

The first verse is a reference to Psalm 27:1. King David expresses his confidence in God by asking a rhetorical question–of whom shall I fear or be afraid? It’s not possible to be afraid when the Lord is my light, my stronghold, my fortress. It demonstrates the righteousness of God, the Sovereign who lights the path of darkness before me. Even better, he Is the light, even the darkness cannot hide the light. Jesus himself said that we are the light of the world:

Matthew 5:16| “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

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Verse 2

You crush the enemy
Underneath my feet
You are my sword and shield
Though troubles linger still
Whom shall I fear?

The first time we see this phrase in the Bible, “crush the enemy under foot,” is found in Genesis 3:15 when God places a curse upon the serpent for the deception of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. It represents the divine prophecy of Jesus Christ who will crush the enemy beneath the weight of God’s authority, leaving us nothing to fear because even death itself will be subject to God’s Sovereignty. Even lingering troubles will be met with the sword (God’s Word) and a shield (holiness) as we are delivered from the hands of the enemy by the work of Christ.

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Chorus

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

The one who reigns forever
He is a friend of mine
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

There is a confidence when you know that your armies outnumber the enemy 10,000 to 1. This is not arrogance, it is assurance. Elisha prayed that blinded eyes could see the glory of God revealed, and that those who claimed to see and understand would be blind to the things of God. Jesus spoke these same sentiments after healing a man of his blindness and then revealing his true identity.

John 9:39| 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world,

so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

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Verse 3

My strength is in your name
For you alone can save
You will deliver me
Yours is the victory
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear

The third verse is our reminder that our strength is drawn from the well spring of life–Jesus. This is critical theology. It is not our power. It is not validation of our strength and stamina, and neither is it the measure of our aptitude, of our strategic genius. If we cannot claim the victory in Jesus name, surrendering our win to the power and authority of the Lamb of God, without recognition, then it is prideful arrogance and we have placed ourselves on the throne, that which is reserved for Christ alone. It is short-sighted, similar to the argument that broke out in the upper room between the disciples about who would be the greatest:

Luke 22:24–27| 24 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

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Bridge

And nothing formed against me shall stand
You hold the whole world in your hands
I’m holding on to your promises
You are faithful
You are faithful

This is the proclamation. It is the victor’s stance, prostrate before the throne of grace. This lyric, “Nothing formed against me shall stand,” is the thesis of the eighth chapter of Romans where Paul has attempted to describe the dimensions of God’s love: Neither time, nor space, nor entities, nor authorities, nor matter, or anything else in all creation, can separate us from the love that God has revealed to us through his Son, Jesus Christ:

Romans 8:38–39| 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And, we will hold on to the promises of his faithfulness.

Exodus 34:6| 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,

Deuteronomy 31:6| 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Psalm 119:90| 90 Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures.

I John 1:9| 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

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Musical Analysis

The quality of a corporate worship song is its theology, its authenticity, its sing-ability, its structure, all leading to its resonance.

Song Theology | We have already covered the first quality in our analysis of its theology. The theology of this song is very strong. It defines attributes of God, proclaims the character of God and exhorts the people of God.

Song authenticity | The second quality of a well crafted worship song is its authenticity. Authenticity as it is being used here is describing the posture of the song: Vertical or horizontal. If it is vertical then it is a song ‘to the Lord,’ one that connects me to my Lord in personal and private reflection. If it is horizontal then it is proclaiming some attribute of God or exhortation of God to the people of God. This song is a vertical expression of adoration, connecting the worshiper to the love and friendship of the Father.

Sing-ability | The sing-ability of a worship song covers a variety of characteristics.

• Vocal range: the distance from the lowest note to the highest note in the song. (The key range also affects its vocal range but that can be transposed up or down to accommodate the vocal range).
• Intervals: These are the distances between musical notes. Some intervals are easy to sing (1–3–5–1) while others are more difficult without training your ear to hear them (1 — b5 or 1 — b7).
• Rhythm: The rhythm of the lyrics applies to how the syllables of the words move in relation to the context of the song style. Two types are used in this song:

-Syllabic: A single note for each syllable.

-Melismatic: Single syllable of text is carried through many notes.

• Text: Some text flows easily depending on where the hard or soft consonants and vowels land in relation to the rhythm or in relation to the interval. If a song has too many words per measure or the intervals are too difficult to hear, the song may become too difficult to sing in corporate worship. Also, the difficulty of words to pronounce or annunciate, or even the era in which a song was written (old hymns have words that are out of date and are difficult to bring to bear) can affect how well the congregation engages.

Structure | The structure applies to the musical development of the song. We have a general sense of structure because of our western music heritage which has conditioned us through popular music.

Verse | Chorus | Verse | Chorus | Bridge | Chorus

It also applies to the movement of the chord structure within the song. A chord per beat in a common time (4/4) song might be too fast depending on the tempo.

Resonance | The resonance of a song is the strong factor in engaging the congregation. It includes what professional songwriters call ‘The hook,’ which is part of what makes it memorable. Since so much of our contemporary music is taught by rote (imitation) we have disengaged the audience from the hymnbook. Creating a song that resonates is our strong device to get people to engage. It is generated from the culmination of all of the factors of a good worship song and one that a gifted song writer will agonize to master.

When a good worship song sings well and connects through its theology, either vertically or horizontally, that creates resonance. When the song is easy to sing–uncomplicated intervals and uncluttered rhythms–that creates resonance. When the chord structure and the framework of the song flow correctly, that creates resonance. By removing the barriers that block people from engaging in the worship experience you will hear a noticeable difference as they begin to sing with confidence. You’ll know when your congregation likes a particular worship song because you will feel its resonance.

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Song analysis

Key center: C

Vocal range: Octave + 4th (lowest note C3 — F4)

Intervals: The chart below displays the occurrence of each interval:

The most common interval is a unison, being sung 40.83% of the time throughout the entire song which makes this a very singable song.

Rhythm: The predominant rhythm of this song is an eighth note pulse

giving it a march-like feel similar to soldiers marching into battle. Very appropriate for the theme of this song.

Text: The text of the song is simple, repeatable, easy to pronounce and annunciate. It has a very singable chorus, a great hook. The lowest note of the verse is the lowest note of the song, C3. The highest note of the song, F4, sings both in the chorus and the bridge which adds to the intensity as it requires more air support and creates more volume, however, this can put it out of range, requiring someone to jump down the octave. This song is predominantly syllabic–a single note for every syllable.

Structure: The structure is strophic form, the verses are sung to the same melodic line, with a repeating chorus and a bridge.

A — A — B — A — B — C —C — 1/2B — B

The chordal analysis is a simple, uncomplicated progression.

Verse:

|I–I–I–I–|I–I–I–I–|IV–IV–IV–IV–|IV–IV–IV–IV–|vi–vi–vi–vi–|IV

Chorus:

|vi–vi –V–I–|vi–vi–V–I–|I–I–IV–IV–|IV–IV–V–I–

Bridge:

|IV–IV–I–I–|V–V–V–V–|I–I–I–I–|IV–IV–IV–IV–

|IV–IV–vi–vi–|V–V–V–V–|IV–IV–IV–IV–|V–V–V–V–|

|vi–vi–vi–vi–|V –

The chord structure for the 1/2 chorus changes prior to the final chorus. The progression stabilizes on the IV chord in the last bar of the phrase giving us a dramatic anticipatory pause.

1/2Chorus:

|vi–vi–V–I–|vi–vi –V–I–|vi–vi–IV–IV–|IV–IV–IV–IV–

The final chorus changes in the structure of the chord progression while maintaining the original melody. The underlying rhythm of the final chorus also changes in character as the drummer begins a march cadence on the snare drum. This is an appropriate feel to the song as it lends itself to the picture of the Army of God marching in victory with ten thousand angels in step.

Final Chorus

|I–I–I–I–|V6–V6–V6–V6–|vi–vi–vi–vi–|IV–IV–IV–IV–

This chord structure change is a significant shift in the sound and feel of the song. It augments its posture of authority by the tonic ( I ) now the lead chord in the first position followed by the first inversion ( V6 ) of the dominant. Also note the strong bass line as it walks down from the root of the tonic, to the 3rd of the V chord, then down a 3rd to the root of the subdominant IV chord. This is a strong, obdurate, progression.

The song closes by tagging the last two bars of the chorus then ending with the tonic on beat four of the penultimate measure.

Tag ending:|vi–vi–IV–IV–|IV–IV–V–I–|I —

Conclusion

The hallmarks of a well crafted worship song are its theology, its sing-ability in a worship environment, it’s authenticity: vertical or horizontal, its rhythm and its structure, all creating resonance. This song fits the criteria well, is easy to sing without being overly simple, has a great hook, and has a great story undertone revealing God’s awesome power to lead even our enemies to the table of grace and forgiveness.

Release Date: 2012

Writer(s): Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, Scott Cash

Artist(s): Chris Tomlin

© 2012 sixstepsrecords/Sparrow Records. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is a violation of applicable laws. Manufactured by EMI Christian Music Group,