Mick Jagger turned 80 earlier this year, and his bandmate, Keith Richards, will do the same in December. However, this new octogenarian and soon-to-be one are not letting age slow them down. They just released another album last week, and what an album it is. The opening guitar riff on the first track, Angry, sounds like classic Stones. It makes you want to turn the volume up and sing along as many have done on countless other Stones' tracks over the years.
One of the standout songs on the new album is Sweet Sounds of Heaven. Mick Jagger and Lady Gaga exchange vocals on the track as if one is challenging the other to see who can outdo who. It does not quite reach Gimme Shelter status, but is reminiscient of the dueling vocals between Jagger and Merry Clayton in that 1969 classic. The two songs have something else in common as well. They are laments concerning the many injustices in our world. Gimme Shelter is raw and majestically captures what the cries of agony and desperation sound like in a world gone wrong. Sweet Sounds of Heaven is more reserved and reflects the wisdom the Stones have garnered throughout life.
Sweet Sounds of Heaven is a prayer that echoes these famous lines from the Lord's Prayer.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
The song expresses a longing for the wrongs of this world to be righted. Mick Jagger cries out to God and his Son for help.
Bless the Father, bless the Son
Hear the sound of the drums
As it echoes through the valley
And it bursts, yeah
Let no woman or child
Go hungry tonight
Please protect us from the pain
And the hurt, yeah
What the song really does well is to remind us that heaven is not some distant place out of reach to any of us. Instead, heaven is the dwelling place of God, a realm which is sometimes quite near but that we cannot see. It is so close that occasionally, we might be able to hear it and smell it as the song suggests. The writer of Hebrews offers similar thoughts in 12:22-24 when he reminds his readers of what is actually happening in Christian worship. Heaven is present every time the saints gather to offer praises to God.
We should be aware of heaven's nearness and be on the lookout for signs of it as we go about our daily lives. We should also remember that the Holy Spirit dwells within us, and we are to be outposts of heaven wherever we go. We are to do God's will on earth as it is in heaven. People should see glimpses of heaven as we commit to kingdom work here on this earth.
It is easy to forget all of this, and then out of the blue, we are reminded of these important truths in the most unlikely ways.
Thank you, Mick and Keith, for another song, another album, and an important reminder.
Listen to Sweet Sounds of Heaven
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