Music Is Revelation

I think for many of us, including myself, music brings us closer to God than almost anything else. In a way, we perceive who God is through music - his power and majesty and strength, or his beauty, or his love, or the joy and hope that he gives, or his holiness and infinite perfection, or other facets of God's character - in a unique and powerful way. We get a glimpse of what he is like. In the same way, music can give us a glimpse at the horror of evil and suffering and all that is not of God. Music is part of "what has been made" (Romans 1:20) and it is a way to see a brief shadow of "God's invisible qualities - his eternal nature and divine power." There is something really deep and beautiful in music - it can't be conveyed in words, but you know it when you hear it. Because music speaks so powerfully to me of what God is like (and yet we only get the faintest and most remote echo of the fullness of that reality), I decided to list some of my favorites (best are in bold), organized by what they mean to me.

The Great Battle:

• "The Battle" from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
• "Optimus" and "Autobots" from Transformers, "Matrix of Leadership" from Transfomers 2
• "Here Comes the King" by X-Ray Dog
• "Tieres" by Brand X
• "Bearing the Cross" from The Passion of the Christ
• "Gathering All the Na'vi Clans for Battle" from Avatar
• "Mind Heist" by Zack Hemsey
• "Heart of Courage" by Two Steps from Hell

The Victory:

• "Resurrection" from The Passion of the Christ
• "Time" from Inception
• "Forth Eorlingas" from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
• "Homeland" from Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

The depth of the Passion, the mystery of Eden and Gethsemane, of Incarnation:

• "Themes from the Passion," "The Olive Garden" from The Passion of the Christ
• "What Wondrous Love Is This?," "I Remember Well" by Fernando Ortega
• "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence" by Fernando Ortega

Love, beauty:

• "Clair Voyant" by Two Steps from Hell
• "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say" by Fernando Ortega
• "Nuvole Bianche" by Ludovico Einaudi
• "Rose" from Titanic

Other themes from the Great Story:

• The Tree of Life trailer (greatness)
• "Becoming One..." from Avatar (the wonder of creation)
• "Binary Sunset" from Star Wars (hope, longing)
• "A Gift of a Thistle," "For the Love of a Princess" from Braveheart
• "My Name is Lincoln" from The Island (adventure)
• "Falls" from The Mission
• "A Small Measure of Peace," "A Hard Teacher" from The Last Samurai

Best of all, more favorites from Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia:

• "The Road Goes Ever On" Parts I and II, and "May It Be" from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Complete Recordings
• "The Return of the King," "The Grey Havens" from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
• "Evacuating London," "From Western Woods to Beaversdam," "Only the Beginning of the Adventure," "Lucy Meets Mr. Tumnus," "Father Christmas," "The Wardrobe," and of course "The Battle,"  from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
• "Arrival at Aslan's How," "The Duel" from The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

And a few favorite songs by Fernando Ortega:

• "Creation Song (Glory to the Lamb)"
• "Lord of Eternity"
• "Sing to Jesus"
• "Let the Words of My Mouth"
• "No One Else"

Each of these help me understand the Great Composer and Author a little bit more. They convey, in a limited way, his power, beauty, wisdom, mystery, and majesty, with which he has filled creation. For me they are a foretaste of the hope and joy of knowing God, and in ways they tell the story of redemption that God has written. Listening to great music, like many things, can be turned into an act of worship.
-Elliot