Matthew 6:10 (ESV)
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is
in heaven.
It’s difficult to argue that any general market band has
injected the Bible into its songs more than Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
legends, U2. From the opening track of its 1981 sophomore release October to
its 2017 album Songs of Experience the iconic Irish foursome has consistently
gone back to its spiritual roots as former members of the Shalom Fellowship in
Dublin.
There’s no better example than “I Still Haven’t Found What
I’m Looking For” from the 1987 platinum album The Joshua Tree. Not only did the
song provide U2 with its second U.S. #1 radio single, but it was also loaded
with biblical references:
I have spoke with the tongue of angels (1 Corinthians 13:1)
I believe in the Kingdom Come (Matthew 6:10)
You broke the bonds/And you loosened the chains (Psalm
107:13-14)
Carried the cross of my shame (1 Peter 2:24)
Four years later, U2 dedicated an entire song from Achtung
Baby to Judas (one of the original 12 disciples) and his betrayal of Jesus.
“Until The End of the World” begins with a scene from The Lord’s Supper
(Matthew 26:17-30), continues in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is
betrayed (Matthew 26:36-56), and concludes with a guilt-ridden Judas taking his
life (Matthew 27:3-5).
Another example can be found on “Yahweh” from the 2004
release How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. The song title itself references the
biblical name of God usually written as Lord in modern English Bibles), which
is found in the Hebrew Bible well over 5,000 times and first appears in Genesis
2:4. Then, towards the end of the song, there is this refrain taken from
Matthew 5:14-16:
Take this city
A city should be shining on a hill
Take this city
If it be your will
While three of its four members grew up around the Bible,
lead singer and primary lyricist Bono is often credited for bringing its
content into U2’s musical offerings. His love for the book of Psalms is
especially apparent and has even impacted the band’s live performances in
unique ways. Bono noted this in the 2016 documentary The Psalms, in which he
was featured along with Eugene Peterson, author of The Message.
“In the dressing room before a show, we would read the
psalms as a band and then walk out into arenas and stadiums—the words igniting
us, inspiring us,” Bono revealed.
The lead singer has also been known to read Psalm 116 from
The Message before the band kicks into opening set. Then, at some point in the
concert, U2 will play its earliest biblically inspired song, “Gloria” (from the
1981 album October), which references Psalm 51:15. Another popular tune for
concertgoers is “40” (from the 1983 album War), which is literally taken from
Psalm 40:
I waited patiently for the Lord
He inclined and heard my cry
He brought me up out of the pit
Out of the miry clay
Bono explained his admiration in the introduction to the
book Selections From the Book of Psalms.
“At 12, I was a fan of David, he felt familiar…like a pop
star could feel familiar. The words of the psalms were as poetic as they were
religious and he was a star…He was forced into exile and ended up in a cave,
facing the collapse of his ego and abandonment by God. This is where David was
said to have composed his first psalm—a blues. That's what a lot of the psalms
feel like to me, the blues…Words and music did for me what solid religious
argument could never do, they introduced me to God, not belief in God, more an
experiential sense of GOD. As a result, the Book of Psalms always felt open to
me and led me to the poetry of Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, the book of
John.”
Dear Lord, we thank You for the Bible. We thank You for all the lessons we can learn
from applying to all aspects of our life. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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