I’ve Been Freed

words & music by Doug Howell (16 Nov 1974)

I was raised in a box in the city
oh, no
I was really raised in the country on an orchard
a blossom-filled orchard
but my soul lived in a box in the city
yes, my soul lived in a box in the city
my soul lived in a box
most of the time
most of the time

but I’ve been freed
from slavery to selfish desires
from living my life
as part of a world full of liars
yes, I’ve been freed
from all the loneliness
that used to plague me so
and I want the whole world to know
I’ve been freed
by Jesus

then I moved to a place in the country
oh, no
I really moved to the concrete, to the city
a gray, dismal city
but my soul lives with the Lord in the country
yes, my soul lives with the Lord in the country
my soul lives with the Lord
all of the time
all of the time

(repeat chorus)

1977 Notes

“If we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.

“Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Hin, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.

“For the death that He died. He died to sin, once for all, but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

“Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but presnet yourselves to God as those alive from the deead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

“For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be? Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

“But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

“I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 6:5-23.

2006 Notes

When I was growing up on the orchard at home, all I could think of was getting off the farm and moving to the city. Funny thing was, just about ever since I got there, I’ve been trying to get back home. True metaphorically, too. Like the verse, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…” The more I grew up, the more I learned that truth. The truth about God. The truth about me. And suddenly, one day I realized that the conflict I had always known inside of me was now outside. I wasn’t in a box anymore. I was in a “blossom-filled orchard.” But outside, some people were upset. Some said I was turning my back on God. Some smiled and said they’d always known. Some wrote accusing letters. Some loved me enough to start questioning things they thought they were sure of. But all that was outside. Inside, finally…there was peace.