Hello, friends, and welcome back to another episode of The Gospel According to, where we use all the stories and songs we love as fan-people to magnify the Word of God and deepen our foundation of faith. This week, I was studying Psalm 19 and immediately thought of “Without Words” from The Fault in Our Stars’ soundtrack. This song is so soothing and wonderful, and I can’t wait to share what I learned with you. Enjoy!
Fandom: “Without Words” by Ray LaMontagne, from The Fault in Our Stars movie soundtrack
Verses: Psalm 19:1-4, 96:11-13, 55:22, 84:2, 150:6, 8:3-5, Isaiah 40:26,
Truth: All of creation sings to the glory of God and declares His majesty and His love for us.
The Fandom: “Without Words” by Ray LaMontagne
I loved this song the moment I heard it, and listened to it many times during my “obsessed with movie soundtracks” phase in high school. The instrumentals are so soothing, with an acoustic guitar and some light percussion, and Ray’s vocals are simply lovely. I love the lyrics even more: They talk about birds singing in the trees on a beautiful morning and the wholesome pleasures of being in love and showing love. Here are some of my favorite lyrics:
I can hear the morning birds
light upon the branches, and each in turn
They sing of all God’s praises, yes,
without words…
“Without Words,” (first chorus)
Confessions all of love for you, yes, without words…
“Without Words” (second chorus)
Sin you’ve carried like a corpse across your back these days,
let it fall away, let it fall away…
“Without Words” (bridge)
The Verses: Creation’s Endless song of praise
As I said above, this song instantly reminded me of the first section of Psalm 19 (though I highly recommend that you read/study the whole thing – so good!). You might recognize these verses:
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
Psalm 19:1-4a ESV
This psalm is saying almost the exact same thing as Ray’s lyrics in “Without Words.” The heavens, the birds, the trees and the ocean and everything that is beautiful and majestic and enormous in this world, all of it expresses and proclaims the nature and glory of God. It all points to the fact that there is something out there besides just us, that Someone had to have put us here, and it calls us to seek Him out.
Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.
Isaiah 40:26 ESV
Knowing that there is a God out there who is capable of sustaining the entire universe without getting tired, overwhelmed, or distracted makes trusting Him for our everyday lives a little bit easier, especially when we know that He also cares deeply for the details, not just the big picture.
Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Psalm 55:22 ESV
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
Psalm 8:3-5 ESV
“God’s greatness doesn’t mean remoteness. God not only sees humanity, He cares for us and is mindful of us.” – ESV Study notes on Psalm 8
Application: Join in the song, and let your burdens go
With my heart, with my whole body, I sing joyfully to the God of life.
Psalm 84:2 NVI (translated from Spanish)
As a part of this journey of connecting fandoms with Scripture, I’ve started writing down a few take-aways at the end of every study. These usually take the form of “I will” statements that make acting on the truth easier to do in real, actual life. Here’s what I took away from these lyrics/verses:
- I will listen for God’s voice of love in the world around me
- I will acknowledge God’s presence in my life, and be reminded of His thoughts towards me
- I will praise God with everything I have and all that I am
- I will ask God to speak to me louder than my own thoughts or feelings, and cast my burdens on Him because He cares for me
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post about Ray LaMontagne’s “Without Words” from the TFiOS soundtrack. What did you learn today?
Happy fangirling!
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[…] I hope you’ve enjoyed this post about Virgo as a symbol or sign of the Gospel story. These stars have existed since the beginning of time (give or take), and the humans who interpreted them have almost always come up with this shape. It’s so cool to me how persistent God is in telling us the story of how to get back to Him. It also kinda reminds me of a song I like : ). […]