Christus Victor

MANGER THRONE – Phil Wickham

/ Jason Henry / 3 Comments

“Manger Throne” is a new Christmas worship anthem from songwriters Phil Wickham, Jonathan Smith, and Tony Wood. The lyrics juxtapose Christ’s glory with his humility, his throne with his manger. The music paints those words with epic, sweeping accompaniment that feels like a return to the soundscapes I loved on 2010’s Heaven & Earth.

“Manger Throne” got lots of radio play in the 2023 holiday season, but is it a worship song? Are the words theologically sound and biblically accurate? What even is a manger throne? Do you sit on it or in it? And does Jesus still have one? Let’s find out!

Focus

The main idea of this song is the humility of Christ’s Incarnation. Phil explores this theme through the paradoxical image of a manger throne and by exploring the connection between the Christmas story and the story of Christ’s death and resurrection.

This song is fully Christ-centered. It is all about the person and work of Jesus, calling him by name and exalting him for his victory-through-humility.

Lyric Analysis

VERSES
(WARNING: I’m going to jump around a little bit to unpack this song thematically rather than in order. If that stresses you out, I apologize.)

The two verses of this song portray the same idea. Jesus had all power and authority at his disposal when he entered into our world, but he chose to come meekly, humbly, fully embracing our humanity by being born as a baby.

Jesus could have come into the world with a pillar of fire as in the Exodus (Ex 13:22) or perhaps the consuming fire that destroyed the blaspheming priests Nadab and Abihu (Lev 10:1-3). The same heavenly host that came to sing a song of peace at Christ’s birth might well have brought a sword instead (Lk 2:12-14, Gen 3:24). Jesus could have come as a conqueror to overthrow the oppressive yoke of Rome, force the submission of all the nations, and establish Israel’s political ascendancy as many expected him to do during his earthly ministry (Ac 1:6-7).

But, as verse two says, the story God wrote through the Incarnation is so much better! Rather than conquer through overwhelming force, Jesus humbles himself, emptying himself of his divine power. He becomes fully human, allowing himself to be embraced by common, lowly people—a carpenter, his wife, some shepherds—so that he might fully embrace all of our humanity (Phil 2:6-8).

PRE-CHORUS 1
“But You chose meekness over majesty//wrapped Your power in humanity”

These two lines are a perfect summary of the verses. It’s a succinct expression of Christ emptying himself to take on the form of a servant (Phil 2:6-8, again).

PRE-CHORUS 2
This section identifies the culmination of Christ’s humility. As we read in Philippians 2:8 (for the third time), Jesus’s humility did not merely extend to being born as a man. He submitted himself even to a humiliating, torturous death for our sake. Jesus’ blood redeems us to God and forgives our sins (Eph 1:7). And his resurrection is the power and the guarantee of our resurrection with him (Rom 6:5). I appreciate that this bridge views Christ’s work through the lenses of substitutionary atonement and his victory over sin and death.

BRIDGE
Here, we see the full arc of the Incarnation. Jesus was enthroned in heaven from eternity past, and then he willingly humbled himself to be born in a stable, cradled in a feeding trough. From the beginning of his life on earth, he lived humbly, and he did not refuse to submit to death on the cross. If we read just two more verses from Philippians 2, we see the result of all of Christ’s humility and submission: exaltation.

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth“
Philippians 2:9-10

Jesus’ reign and glory are achieved through self-sacrifice, humility, peace, and bringing all of humanity together in himself (Eph 2:14), not through violence, political maneuvering, manipulation, or any other scheme of man that has supported every other throne in human history.

CHORUS
“Glory be to You alone//King who reigns from a manger throne”

God alone is holy, worthy of worship, his name glorified forever (Rev 15:4). Jesus is both God and King (Heb 1:8, Phil 2:9-10), so it is right and good to offer him this glory.

It is also good to offer him our lives and our possessions, as we are called to be living sacrifices (Rom 12:1). This line is an expression of surrender. It’s aspirational in a sense, because I don’t know anyone whose life and possessions are fully surrendered to Jesus, but that doesn’t make it untrue. In singing this line, we call ourselves and one another to be more wholly devoted to our Servant King and his Kingdom of servants.

But what about the titular Manger Throne? Are we saying that Jesus was actively reigning over his kingdom from the manger even while he was a pre-verbal infant? That doesn’t quite make sense if he emptied himself and took the position of a servant (Phil 2:7). Or are we talking about Jesus’ present reign at the right hand of God? Does that throne need to be manger-shaped? Or maybe it’s made of reclaimed wood from the manger? Or maybe this is the future millennial reign?

Fortunately, we don’t need to tie ourselves into such knots over this song. The manger throne is a visual illustration of Jesus’ character and a symbol of his reign and kingdom, not a literal piece of furniture. Getting hung up on whether Jesus could be said to “reign” as an infant misses the point of the song because we’re not talking to tiny baby Jesus; we’re talking to the resurrected King Jesus who is present with us today as we worship him. This Jesus is fully God and sits enthroned, and he is also fully human, still characterized by the love and humility that led him to be born in a manger.

(Thank you to Vince and Neal on The Berean Test for some stimulating thoughts on this section of the song, and the image of the manger throne in particular!)

Accessibility

This song uses plain language to express the deep mystery of Jesus’ glory and humility, his Godhood and his humanity, perfectly one in the incarnate Son. It does a great job of making these heady theological ideas accessible through description and imagery, especially the key metaphor of the manger throne. I don’t see any room for misinterpretation.

Singability is ok, not great, not terrible. The range is an octave plus a 3rd, not bad. The rhythms of the verses are a little tricky, especially since no line starts quite the same way. The bridge also has a different melody on the repeat, so the congregation doesn’t have an opportunity to learn it and then repeat it the same way. That said, the chorus is very straightforward. It’s got a high note, but it can be sung an octave lower by the basses in the room.

Music

As I mentioned above, I love how this song feels like classic Phil Wickham. The use of synth and choir is lush, beautiful, and impactful. If you have those tools at your disposal, use them! I also appreciate that even though this is a Christmas song, it doesn’t slap you in the face with holiday cheer. It’s not all sleigh bells and minor 7ths and snow and reindeer. This song is perfectly appropriate to any Sunday of the year, especially if Christ’s incarnation is being discussed. We just played it this past Sunday, in June, and nobody batted an eye. (…but we did have to swap out some of the glittery Christmas backgrounds in ProPresenter!)

This is a great song for teaching dynamics to a worship band. It follows the typical structure of a quiet opening building to some bigger choruses and a huge ending. The way the instruments layer in gradually through the song is easy to replicate and makes this song flow naturally and in an engaging way. (Just don’t let anybody play when they’re not supposed to!) The chord changes come pretty quick in a few places, so it might be worth it to work through those together once or twice in rehearsal. If your lead singer isn’t a tenor, you may need to bump it down a step, and they will want to practice the entrances on the verses; those are tricky.

Conclusions

Let heaven and nature sing! “Manger Throne” definitely worships. It links Christ’s birth to his death, resurrection, and eternal reign. It teaches the theology of the Incarnation in a unique and valuable way through imagery. It’s also beautiful, emotional, and fun to sing and play.

10/10 would recommend!

Image by Pro Church Media on Unsplash

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.

I’VE WITNESSED IT – Passion, Melodie Malone

/ Jason Henry / Leave a comment

Listening to this year’s Passion album (also called I’ve Witnessed It), this song struck me with its commitment to action in the closing lines: “I’ll tell them what I’ve witnessed.” What a bold exhortation to share your story! Melodie Malone sings this track live from Passion 2023, and she has a writing credit along with Austin Davis and Andrew Holt. Let’s see if “I’ve Witnessed It” begins as powerfully as it ends, and ask ourselves “Will it worship?”

Focus

“I’ve Witnessed It” is about God’s faithfulness. It explores what he has done both on an individual/personal level and a corporate/historical level. It ends with a list of his characteristics and actions that we have witnessed, culminating in a promise to share what we’ve seen about God with the people and the world around us.

This song is written to God. We mostly call him “you,” and each chorus makes the subject explicit by saying “God, you’re worthy of all of it.” We also call him “Savior” and identify many of his characteristics and acts. There is a lot of “I” in this song, primarily in positioning each singer of the song as a witness of God’s goodness.

Lyric Analysis

VERSE 1
“When I was lost and all alone // Your presence was where I found hope”

The song opens on a personal, subjective note. This verse is a testimony with the serial numbers filed off. We were all lost and alone without Jesus, and God has given us a place with him (Eph. 2:1-6). He is always with us, even when we think we have cause to worry (Heb. 13:5-6). He always has been and will always be good (Ps. 23:6, Ti. 3:4-5). These truths are general enough that almost any believer can find him/herself in the story. It might even be good to pause before or during the song to invite worshipers to consider times when God has been especially good to them.

Note also that each tercet ends with a were/are statement. God was present then, and he still is now. God was good then, and he’s good now. In this verse, the “then” is referring to moments in our own walk with God when he demonstrated those characteristics. Because he was good and present then, I can trust that he still is now.

VERSE 2
“You left the throne and chose the cross // laid down Your life to rescue us // the Savior then, the Savior now”

Skipping the chorus for the moment, let’s look at verse 2, where we turn from personal testimony to the corporate realities of the cross. This verse succinctly summarizes the Christ-event: Jesus humbled himself and chose to die for us (Phil. 2:5-8), then triumphed over death and hell by his resurrection (1 Cor. 15-54, Col. 2:15). Of course, this work earns him the title of Savior, then, now and forever. Jesus raised himself from the dead, and even now he continues resurrecting those who believe in him (Col. 2:12-13).

It’s worth pointing out here that all of the salvation language in this song is oriented around the Christus Victor model of atonement. We see Jesus’ work on the cross as a triumph over death and hell through which he brings life and resurrection. Nowhere does “I’ve Witnessed It” acknowledge our sin or need for forgiveness, nor does it view Christ’s death as a substitutionary sacrifice. I wouldn’t call this a weakness—no song can address every point of theology—but it’s important that the songs we sing as a church provide a balanced view of the atonement. If we only sing about Christ’s death as a victory, we will never understand the depth of our sin and the magnitude of Jesus’ forgiveness (Rom. 3:23-25), nor see him as the slain sacrificial lamb who “bore our sins in his body on the tree” (Rev. 5:6, 1 Pet. 2:24). So let’s sing Christus Victor songs, and let’s also sing songs about finding forgiveness for our sins in the death Jesus died on our behalf.

(For more discussion of different theories of atonement and why we need penal substitution, not just Christus Victor, check out this blog by Sam Storms. It helped me think through this section of my review.)

CHORUS
“I’ve got stories I’ll live to tell // so I’ll pour out my praise again”

God’s faithfulness means that he keeps his covenant. Jesus’ covenant with us, made through his blood, means that we are free from our sins and guaranteed an eternal inheritance with him (1 Cor. 11:15, Heb. 9:15). We also know that God is true to all his promises, and they find their fulfillment in Jesus (1 Cor. 1:20).

Now that we’ve explored God’s faithfulness and life-giving power in our own lives and in the Gospel, “I’ve Witnessed It” gives us the opportunity to respond. This response is twofold: we praise God, and we tell people about him. This is where the song becomes personally challenging. I can pour out my praise easily, but will I really live to tell people about what Jesus has done for me? When we sing “God You’re worthy of all of it,” we aren’t just referring to the praise, but also to the testimony. He is worthy that we should tell his story.

BRIDGE 1
I love a good adjective list! In this bridge we claim to have witnessed six things about God: he’s good (Ps. 68:9-10), he’s strong (24:8), he’s constant (89:34), he loves (13:5), he heals (41:2-4), and he saves (3:8). All of these are easy to demonstrate from multiple Scriptures; I’ve just included one psalm for each. But have we witnessed them? Is there a time in my life where I can identify that God has brought healing (physical, emotional, spiritual, mental, relational, etc.)? Is there a time when I’ve witnessed God’s strength? Has he saved me?

Just like in the verses (and in the song “Same God“) we base our confidence in God and how he will act in the future on how he has acted in the past. If we don’t have a solid foundation of his faithfulness in the Bible and in our own lives, we are going to lack confidence—or faith—in him moving forward. Again, I recommend some introspection to find those places in your own story where God has been good to you. Write those stories down, tell them to your heart over and over to remember who he is and that we can trust him.

BRIDGE 2
Now the writers play with the two meanings of the word “witness.” “Witness” can mean just to see something, and that’s the meaning we’ve used so far in this analysis. But it can also mean to witness to someone, to bear witness. That means telling people about what you’ve seen. In the conclusion to this song, also the musical climax, we commit to bearing witness of God’s goodness to the broken, the hurting, the lost, our families, cities, and nations. We even promise it.

Accessibility

Most of this song uses clear, accessible language. Verse 2 references core Christian beliefs without full explanation, so most congregants will understand them, but people with no church experience might not. At first glance, not everyone might understand that the stories this song encourages us to tell are stories of God’s faithfulness.

I don’t see anything in this song that it likely to be misinterpreted in a harmful way. The closest thing is that it only describes salvation in terms of new life and Christ’s victory. As described in my review of verse 2, this is not a flaw, just an omission to be aware of during song selection.

The melody of the verses is very easy to learn, and I heard members of my congregation singing it the very first time we did it in church. The chorus is a little trickier with some big skips, but it repeats enough that it can be learned quickly. The bridge is almost chant-like in its simplicity, though not everyone will be able to make the leap up to the higher bridge. I would recommend one singer continuing with the original bridge melody prominently in the mix so that the congregation can sing along with them.

Music

Nobody likes playing in Db, so I’m going to assume we’ve transposed this a half-step down to C. 😂 The chords used are pretty basic without any super fast changes that would throw off beginner/intermediate players. The drum patterns are standard to this kind of anthemic worship song: basic chorus groove, lots of snare and tom builds on the bridges. The lead vocalist is expected to stay in her upper belt range for the whole final chorus, so plan accordingly.

I appreciate the dynamic arc of this song and the contrast between verse, chorus, and bridge. The verses are lilting, melodic, and peaceful. The choruses are declarative and driving. The bridges are anthemic and soaring. Musically, “I’ve Witnessed It” feels familiar without feeling stale.

Conclusions

Will it worship? Yes. It will also preach!

“I’ve Witnessed It” takes the familiar form of a worship anthem and makes it fresh with its exhortative lyrics. This song praises God for his faithfulness in the present and throughout Scripture, and it spurs us on to sharing the story of what he’s done. (Actually, this song would pair really nicely with “What He’s Done” from last year’s Passion album!)

I have two cautions with this song. The first was discussed above and boils down to “make sure you have other songs in your library that address sin, Christ’s substitutionary atonement, and his forgiveness.” The second is “don’t sing it unless you mean it!” Songs like this contain words of strong commitment (promise!), and we do well to examine our hearts before we sing them. Do I really believe that God is worthy both of my praise and of my testimony? Do I have stories of his faithfulness to tell? Who am I sharing them with? Hopefully this song encourages us to ask those questions and arrive at real, world-changing answers.

Image by S O C I A L . C U T from Unsplash

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.