Rise And Sing

Passion's “Rise And Sing” is written as a roll call, and each condition ends in the same two-word command. “If you're alive and you've been redeemed / Rise and sing,” “If you were bound but now you're free,” “If you have tasted and you have seen.” By the time the list reaches “If in your heart rings a melody,” the song has defined its audience as anyone with a story of rescue, and invited them to join in.

The chorus puts the reason in plain words: “Our God is risen and reigning / And we're elevating the glory of our God and King.” The pairing of resurrection and rule is the song's main theology, and it is sung like a rally call, with wordless “Whoa-o” sections between the lines for crowds to fill. A late section turns to scripture, “Let the redeemed of the Lord sing 'Hallelujah',” followed by “Our God reigns.”

The redeemed of the Lord who say so are from Psalm 107:2, and “tasted and seen” is Psalm 34:8. The shout that the Lord reigns draws on Revelation 19:6, where a great multitude calls out Hallelujah.