Doug Lane
From Fellowship Family Church, Grand Prairie, TX
I've long been fascinated with the "now, not yet" idea of the Kingdom, and that was the ORIGINAL idea behind the song. But when I started writing, it took on a life of its own.
The idea behind this song is essentially that we are given these great escatological promises of a renewed, restored Creation, but we're not there yet. So, "Come Lord Jesus". Much of the language is taken from the last few chapters of Revelation.
Overall, I like the song, but there are a few concerns that I'm not sure how to address (or even if they NEED to be addressed). The end of the verses end with a subito piano on the words "But not yet, not yet". I like it in theory and I know what I'm trying to say with it, but it feels like a buzzkill. Is it just me? I've tried removing those lines, but that kills the flow from the verses into the chorus. What do you think?
Also, I've really struggled to find a context for it.
*Recorded after a worship team rehearsal with all of 5 minutes prep.
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"Not Yet (There Will Be a Day)"
by Doug Lane
There will be a day
When death and pain will cease
When the suffering of this world will end
And we will live in peace
There will be a day
When the Lord will descend
When the Kingdom of this world will fall
And all will bow before Him
But not yet, not yet
Come Lord Jesus
Righteous Judge, Holy God
Come mighty King and rule over us
Let us bow our hearts to serve Him
All who fear Him, great and small
Let us glorify His name on earth
Until His Kingdom comes
Lord, let Your Kingdom come
There will be a day
When there will be no night
When we dwell in His city
And the Lord will be our light
There will be a day
When all will pass away
When we’ll know as we are known
And we see Him face to face
But not yet, not yet
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hi doug ,
i think its a song that could work, i agree the not yet line isnt as strong as it could be. maybe something like 'one day, one day' would work better?
cheers,
Gav.
Simeon,
Thanks for the feedback. The first few chapeters of Rev are great, but they are focused on a separate idea entirely. This is less about the church persevering and more about God redeeming the earth and Jesus' return (ala Rev 21:1-4, 19:5, and 22:12-13, 20). The entire concept should be an encouragement to the churches, and biblically, the restoration of all creation and the resurrection of the dead was THE major encouragement cited in the epistles. Was there any part you actually liked?
Gav,
What in the song actually WORKED for you?
hi doug,
the overall theme worked for me and the heart behind the song comes through well.
we dont sing enough songs about Jesus coming back.
musically i like it also, a minor feel, almost hebrew like in places, nice one.
cheers,
Gav.
i really like the words to this song about the second coming of jesus, the only thing i will say is (your kingdom come) is a very common word in a lot of songs over the years.
it would be great if you could say it in another way, this is very usable but maybe more a song of lament that a congregational type of song.
Just that one stinkin' line!!! :-) I tried "one day", and it didn't feel right... I'll keep toying with it. Aside from that line, are you good with it lyrically?
Good feedback, Mr Hatch. I'm going to challenge some of what you're saying, but that doesn't mean I'm ignoring it. It's just how I process feedback - by testing it.
Shouldn't congregations sing songs of lament too? In any case, this is more a song of longing, than of lament.
As to the usage of "let your kingdom come", I'll confess that I don't really understand this criticism of this or any other biblically common phrase ("Worthy is the Lamb" gets picked on too... how can we improve on the lyrics of the worship anthem of heaven?). I mean, Scripture uses that language. How do we improve upon scripture? And besides, isn't that the whole point that Jesus would return and establish his reign?
Having said that, it's a good and valid point and I'll play around with it, see what comes.
well i dont hear songs like this everyday so music and lyric wise songs like this are much needed. kingdom i suppose is a very popular word in worship songwriting.
soory is you mis understood what i was saying, i was actually saying we do need songs of lament rather than just the praise and worship songs we sing.
songs of lament should come along side that, songwriters do need to write the kind of songs that havent been written about before.
I probably should have said this first time round, but I do really like the concept. I like how you are pointing people towards these wonderful promises - but like I said before, maybe an encouragement at the end of the verse to persevere. You see at the end of the day it ill only be those that persevere that recieve al these wonderful promises so why not change it up a bit and direct an encouragement towards your audience to stay strong or whatever. It could leave people with a sense of "Yeah, I need to keep @ this - whatever it is - so that I'm apart of these promises.
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Hey - I'll be honest - don't really like the song itself but I love the idea behind the song. Don't let that stop you though from developing this - even the structure - that's just my personal opinion - maybe it works for others. But as I said - I love the heart behind the song. CHECK OUT THE FIRST FEW CHAPTERS OF REVELATION. They are AWSOME. I went through them the other day (Chapters 2-4) and I listed all the promises for those that 'perserve' or who are 'victorious' WOW!!! There were some great promises to those churches - but the key was to perservere. I don't know maybe an encouragement or something could be thrown on the end of the verses. Anyway - check it out Rev 2-4.
Simeon Cannon