well_then, I don't get that sense at all. To me, it's saying nothing about the home he was born into, just that he had two brothers that were always rebellious and naughty, so he felt that since he was good, he deserved his parents love. But while he acted good, he had a bad side ("vultures bite"), but he hid it well to appear being good.
Cody is paralleling this with us receiving God's love. We might think that we're more deserving of God's love than others because we try and be good, but underneath all the layers we try to hide under, we all have vulture bites - we all have proud, sinful hearts. In the end, he's saying, if we claim to be good, we're really claiming that we have no need for Jesus' "redeeming blood". We act phariseeical, thinking we don't need grace, but when we compare our good deeds against God's love, we realise it's nothing. In the end, he realises what he is: "I was a wicked one".
I kind of agree with you about the chorus. Jesus makes us glorious via forgiveness. But the last line, "worthy of hearts at our feet", talks to me of us only being worthy of humbling ourselves before God when we compare ourselves to his perfect glory, a glory requiring no forgiveness or grace, because he is the source of the glory itself. The last lines of the second chorus confirm this - we are not glorious "from one thing we have done, but from being the least". Being the least = humbling ourselves.
"My heaven tower sways atop their fleeting praise" - ACB often make references to building a tower to heaven (see "Love Jealous One, Love") referencing the Tower Of Babel. They use this as a metaphor for being proud of your own works, and trying to gain glory for oneself via being good to garner the praises of others. However, in the end, he is only the creation - the glory belongs to the creator who makes him everything he is and gives him the gifts that make him look "good" in the first place.
Overall, its a plea for humility. We need to realise nothing that we ever do is "good", in comparison to God it's worthless ("show us we are [poor]"). We need to recognise this, and fall down at God's feet in repentance.
well_then, I don't get that sense at all. To me, it's saying nothing about the home he was born into, just that he had two brothers that were always rebellious and naughty, so he felt that since he was good, he deserved his parents love. But while he acted good, he had a bad side ("vultures bite"), but he hid it well to appear being good.
Cody is paralleling this with us receiving God's love. We might think that we're more deserving of God's love than others because we try and be good, but underneath all the layers we try to hide under, we all have vulture bites - we all have proud, sinful hearts. In the end, he's saying, if we claim to be good, we're really claiming that we have no need for Jesus' "redeeming blood". We act phariseeical, thinking we don't need grace, but when we compare our good deeds against God's love, we realise it's nothing. In the end, he realises what he is: "I was a wicked one".
I kind of agree with you about the chorus. Jesus makes us glorious via forgiveness. But the last line, "worthy of hearts at our feet", talks to me of us only being worthy of humbling ourselves before God when we compare ourselves to his perfect glory, a glory requiring no forgiveness or grace, because he is the source of the glory itself. The last lines of the second chorus confirm this - we are not glorious "from one thing we have done, but from being the least". Being the least = humbling ourselves.
"My heaven tower sways atop their fleeting praise" - ACB often make references to building a tower to heaven (see "Love Jealous One, Love") referencing the Tower Of Babel. They use this as a metaphor for being proud of your own works, and trying to gain glory for oneself via being good to garner the praises of others. However, in the end, he is only the creation - the glory belongs to the creator who makes him everything he is and gives him the gifts that make him look "good" in the first place.
Overall, its a plea for humility. We need to realise nothing that we ever do is "good", in comparison to God it's worthless ("show us we are [poor]"). We need to recognise this, and fall down at God's feet in repentance.
IMHO
this dude's got it. That was a perfect summary, in my opinion.
this dude's got it. That was a perfect summary, in my opinion.