The Perfect 10
Welcome to Songs of Scripture, where we link Scripture with the lyrics of Christian songs, worship choruses, and hymns.
This is the “perfect” song to go along with this week’s lesson on the 10 Commandments! Takes me back to my childhood. I think I learned this first maybe in a VBS program at church? Thanks to everyone who invested in me as a kid!
Song: The Perfect 10
Writer: Kathie Hill and Janet McMahan
Artists who have recorded the song:
Kyle Jorris (and kids)
Herb Owen (and kids)
*You can listen to their respective versions by clicking on their name.
Scripture verses used in lyrics:
This song doesn’t sing the 10 Commandments word-for-word from Scripture, but I learned this song as a child, and now 30+ years later, this is still the song I sing in my mind when I need to remember the 10 Commandments.
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Click here to read the lyrics to this song.
Do you have a favorite song that is based on Scripture? Let me know in the comments, and it may be featured in a future Songs of Scripture post!