| Mumford & Sons – Below My Feet Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I think he is describing the process of being rescued by Jesus. Before you are saved by Jesus, you are live by the flesh, or the old man. When Jesus comes, he makes you a new man, and the old man is dead. The first verse is describing the old man. Sometimes it hurts letting go of your sin and holding on to Jesus, and he is having a hard time letting go of sin. The old man is dead: "you were cold as the blood through your bones". And the false light that lead him astray from his true home with God is also cold, he is realizing. He realizes how lost he was when he was living in the old man and when he was following the false light. He goes on to describe how he mourned his old way of life. All he knew before, (trusting in his good works, his sin, etc...) was just false hope. Again he says that he was lost. The Bible calls Christians to be on guard and ready. So he asks God to "keep the earth below his feet" - keep his head on straight. "For all my sweat my blood runs weak" - the Bible also talks about how our flesh is weak. He says that despite how hard he has worked to earn God's love, his flesh is weak - works are useless trying to get yourself to God. He asks God to help him not to repeat these mistakes, so he can live his life for God and not for his flesh! "Keep my eyes to serve" - it brings to mind other lyrics, such as those from "I Will Wait", "tame my flesh and fix my eyes". He is asking God to take his eyes and fix them on God. "My hands to learn" - he is asking God to help him to no longer use his hands for his sinful flesh but to learn a new way - God's way. In the second verse, he goes back to talking to his flesh, the 'old man', once again. He says he was under sin's spell - his flesh was telling him it was all fine, and it made him "still", or comfortable. But then Jesus entered the scene and saved him, broke the spell. And then he told him that "all is well". In his trust of Jesus' word, he acknowledges that because Jesus said that, all must indeed be well! It brings to mind the old hymn, It Is Well With My Soul. But he knows he is still a sinful human being, but wants to do better. So he asks Jesus to be patient with him. Jesus desire is for him to have "truth in the inmost parts" (Psalm 51:6); his desire is to do what Jesus' will is. So he asks Jesus to wrap his flesh in ivy and in twine: in other words, bind his flesh so it no longer masters him. He desires a new master, namely, Jesus. I think this is an amazing song about his experience with Jesus! |
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