I’m reading a book on Revelation at the moment, and in it the author is talking about the number of biblical allusions in that book. John is soaked in Scripture and it’s not really possible to read Revelation properly unless we too catch these allusions. There may well be no direct quotations from other parts of the Bible, but the whole of the rest of God’s masterplan as revealed in the Bible is part of the spirit of the book.
For me, good songs are like that too. They may quote Scripture directly, but quite often there is allusion (expressions designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly). The songwriter has a limited number of words available in a song lyric and so often cannot quote directly, but by rephrasing a well-known Scripture or giving us just that jolt in the right direction, our imaginations are stirred and we are ‘hooked’.
Bryn Haworth’s song ‘New ID’ does that for me. Even using the modern abbreviation ‘ID’ in places as well as the word ‘identity’ gives me a new angle from which to explore my identity in Christ. The lyrics contain so many references (direct and indirect) to Scripture that it’s like having a condensed Bible study in 6 minutes! If you have the time to spare, listen here and enjoy!
I’ve got a new identity[1]
Now there’s a friend in me[2]
I’ve found a masterplan[3]
I know just who I am
I’ve got a new ID.
I’ve got a new identity
They say salvation’s free,
But when I look at that cross,
I see how much it cost to get my new ID[4].
I’m rich, my treasure’s in heaven now.[5]
Old things have passed away.[6]
Can a loser be a winner?[7]
Can a dead man live again?[8]
Can a thief become an honest man?[9]
Would you treat him like a friend?
I’ve got a new identity
This life has set me free[10]
I’ve been made one with Him[11]
Who died and rose again[12]
I’ve got a new ID.
Dressed up, clothed in His righteousness,[13]
So loved, just as I am[14]
And these prison bars can’t hold me,
There is freedom from the law.[15]
Now I live by faith in the Son of God[16]
Who gave Himself for all.[17]
I no longer have to be just a victim of the past[18]
Does the strongest always win the way?[19]
Can the first be last?[20]
I’ve got a new identity
Now there’s a friend in me
And when I look at that man,
I know just who I am
I’ve got a new ID.
‘What’s your name? What do you do?’
These are the questions that people ask you.
It doesn’t matter what they think:
I could be famous or the weakest link.[21]
More than a number on a government form
Not just a star sign the day I was born.[22]
I’m dead and buried, been crucified with Christ,[23]
Called out of darkness now I’m living in the light.[24]
I’ve been raised up and seated with Him[25]
Been reconciled, not strangers but friends.[26]
Holy and blameless[27], precious in His sight,[28]
No longer lost in the middle of the night[29]
I’m strong, there’s power in weakness now.[30]
My times are in His hands[31]
And I am a new creation,[32]
A holy work of art[33]
And one day there’ll be perfection,
Now we only see in part.[34]
I’ve got a new identity
Now there’s a friend in me
I’ve found a masterplan
I know just who I am
I’ve got a new ID.
[1] 2 Cor 5:17
[2] John 15:15, Col 1:27
[3] Jer 29:11
[4] 1 Cor 6:20
[5] 2 Cor 8:9, Matt 6:20, Eph 1:14-18
[6] 2 Cor 5:17
[7] Luke 19:1-10
[8] John 11, 1 Cor 15:20
[9] Matt 9:9, Luke 19:1-10
[10] Gal 5:1
[11] 1 Cor 12:9-20
[12] 1 Thess 4:14
[13] Is 61:10
[14] Rom 5:8
[15] Gal 5:1-6, Gal 2:19
[16] Gal 2:20
[17] 2 Cor 5:14
[18] Rom 6:4
[19] Deut 32:30, 1 Sam 17
[20] Matt 20:16
[21] 1 Cor 1:26-31
[22] Jer 1:5, Ps 139:1-5
[23] Rom 6:4, Gal 2:20
[24] 1 Pet 2:9
[25] Eph 2:6
[26] 2 Cor 5:18-21, John 15:15
[27] Eph 1:4
[28] Eph 1:4, Ps 139:17
[29] Luke 15
[30] 2 Cor 12:9
[31] Ps 31:15
[32] 2 Cor 5:17
[33] Eph 2:10
[34] 1 Cor 13:12
