This is the first in a series of posts about children’s Sunday School songs! My daughter came home from church singing “Father Abraham” this week, so let’s talk a little about this song and its weird history. First, the lyrics I am familiar with:
Father Abraham had many sons, and many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them and so are you so let’s just praise the Lord! (right arm, etc.)
Until today, I had no idea these were not the original lyrics. I assumed it was written a hundred years ago at a Bible camp and was distributed anonymously from campfire to campfire until virtually every child in America knew it by heart. Not so!
In 1971, Pierre Kartner released a Dutch carnival song called “Vader Abraham Had Zeven Zonen.” He also started wearing a fake beard and performing under the stage persona of Vader Abraham. In his lyrics (found here), Father Abraham has seven sons rather than many. This is biblically accurate; he had Ishmael, Isaac, and the five sons and a daughter listen in Gen 25:2. Kartner’s original song has the sons singing, drinking, and having fun, and there are verses that describe each boy.
I’m not sure who translated the song into English or when, but in Lisa Loeb’s version, we still hear about seven sons, but rather than wild hedonists, the sons are awfully stoic, never laughing nor crying, only going like *this* (insert arm flapping and spinning).
A further step away from Kartner’s carnival song sees the seven sons grown to many, the laughing, crying, and drinking replaced with “I am one of them and so are you,” and the addition of praising the Lord. Some versions even change “sons” to “kids” to be more inclusive.
So will it worship? Certainly not the drinking song (sorry, Pierre). And while the English version about seven sons is accurate with regard to the number of Abraham’s progeny, the rest is just harmless, meaningless fluff (sorry, Lisa).
What about the more popular English rewrite (it’s hard to call it a translation) with the lyrics I included above? This version has a little more theology embedded in its lyrics, so let’s take it one line at a time!
Lyric Analysis
Father Abraham had many sons, and many sons had Father Abraham. The change from “seven” to “many” makes this song about the whole nation that came from Abraham, not just his immediate offspring. Now, the song is about God’s promise in Genesis 15:5, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them . . . So shall your descendants be.” We’re not just singing about a relatively important Bible character and his kids; we’re singing about the people God promises to bless, and who God promises will be a blessing to the whole world! (Gen 12:2-3)
Soapbox time! (does a little soapbox dance) A few recordings of this song change “many sons” to “many kids.” Don’t do that. Male language and pronouns are the default throughout Scripture. Part of the challenge of interpreting Scripture is discerning where in the Bible “men” or “sons” means “male humans” and where it means “all humans.” Some modern Bible translations attempt to make the Bible more inclusive by changing many of these instances to be gender neutral. This forces the translator to take an interpretive position in passages like 1 Timothy 3:2 where the ESV says an elder must be “the husband of one wife,” the NIV says “faithful to his wife,” and the NRSVue says, “married only once.” Rather than expecting our Bible translations to decide these questions for us, we should teach our kids from a young age that sometimes when the Bible says man, husband, or son, it means “man,” and sometimes it just means “person.” Singing the idea that boys and girls are counted among Abraham’s many sons helps to instill this important interpretive principle.
I am one of them and so are you, This line explicitly includes all the singers among Abraham’s children. I remember singing it as a little kid and thinking, “Wait a minute, I’m not Jewish!” And this is a thought children should be having! It’s really important to understand that through Christ, everyone can be included in the faith family of Abraham, not just descendants of Israel. This simple line lays a foundation for the more complex concept of the Gentiles being grafted onto Abraham’s tree. (It’s also a powerful antidote to antisemitism!)
The simple words “and so are you” help children to develop an outgoing, expressive faith that welcomes others. This is an essential part of Gospel living.
So let’s just praise the Lord! (right arm, left arm, right foot, left foot, chin up, turn around, sit down!) This provides an active, concrete response to the abstract truths presented in the previous lines. God has adopted us into his family, so we respond with gratitude and praise!
As a worship leader, I also love that it links praise to movement. While these motions are silly and not terribly profound, it is healthy for children to learn from a young age that it’s good for action to accompany praise. Maybe if we explain this to kids when we sing this song, we’ll have a few less frozen chosen in the coming decades. 😁
Conclusion
Will it worship? Yes! (But only the “many sons” version.) The simple words and actions of “Father Abraham” actually lay some really important groundwork for how children are going to understand the role of Israel, the use of gender-specific terms in the Bible, what praise looks like, and their place in God’s forever family. 10/10, no notes. Sing it!
I found “Praise Out” this week in the new releases carousel on CCLI SongSelect (one of my favorite places to find new worship songs!) I wasn’t familiar with Meredith Mauldin or Joel Figueroa, and the album art caught my eye, so I gave it a listen. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since! If nothing else, Mauldin, Figueroa, Brett Lee Miller, and Marie Elizabeth Welch have crafted an effective earworm with this song. But “Praise Out” is more than that! It’s a joyful (and chill) anthem of God’s faithfulness, and it calls us to a life-rhythm of unceasing worship.
So! Let’s check out “Praise Out” to see if it’s biblical and if it will worship.
Focus
This song offers praise to God for his faithfulness as revealed in the cycles of nature.
“Praise Out” is sung directly to the Creator, mostly addressing him as You. If there was any doubt who “You” is (unlikely), the bridge explicitly calls him God.
Lyric Analysis
VERSE 1 I have to confess some grammatical bewilderment regarding the first two lines. I know what it means, I just can’t quite make the words into a grammatical structure that makes sense to me. I keep trying to make “intricate” into a noun so that it can be a complete sentence, but I probably just let them be poetic fragments and quit worrying about it. Sigh. 🤓
In any case, the first half of the verse is about how the intricate details of God’s created world show his character and intent. His character seems evident: creative, wise, brilliant. But what intent is demonstrated here? The next few lines tell us that his intent is to provide for us, and indeed for the whole creation. The seasons continue in their cycle, and the sparrow continues to receive its food from God’s hand. Because he is our provider, we don’t need to be anxious about our needs being met.
The example of the sparrow comes from the Gospels, where Jesus tells his disciples that not even a sparrow falls out of the sky apart from God’s will and knowledge, and that they are much more valuable to him than sparrows (Lk 12:6-7, Mt 10:29-31). In Matthew 6:26-30, Jesus goes even further, reminding his disciples that God dresses the flowers of the field and feeds the birds of the air, so they should relinquish their anxiety and have faith in God’s provision. And Psalm 84:3 says “Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.” So the sparrow is an illustration that even the humblest creatures are welcome, cared for, and sheltered in the presence of God.
This verse ends with a commitment to be like the sparrow and trust God rather than anxiously seeking to meet our own needs.
VERSE 2 This verse offers our commitment to praise God both publicly and privately. With David the psalmist and even Christ himself, we tell one another of God’s greatness and we praise him in the congregation (Ps 22:22, Heb 2:12). We also express our intent to praise God quietly and privately, as Jesus encourages his disciples to do (Mt 6:6). This ensures that our worship is not performative or a mere response to social pressure. I think most of us will be challenged by this verse, if we listen to it. We may attend church faithfully but neglect our secret time with the Lord. Or we may pray alone but refrain from participating in the collected praise of God’s people. A healthy life of worship must include both!
The end of the verse returns to our nature metaphor, reminding us of the cycle of seasons and flowers blooming in their time. As the flowers give praise in their blooming, so will we give honor to God when we experience blessing and growth. This line also calls back to verse 1 and its discussion of God’s provision. He cares for sparrow and flower alike, so we know he will provide for us.
CHORUS The chorus is short and simple, with only 14 words. This simplicity allows us to meditate on the layers of meaning behind the sun, the ways that we can praise God in our lives, and the many ways he’s been faithful.
Sun up, sun down: There’s a lot of depth in this simple image! The Preacher of Ecclesiastes uses the rising and setting sun as an example of the enduring order of God’s creation (Ec 1:4-7). God has established the cycles of day and night, the seasons, the flowing of water, and these things endure, unlike man’s time upon the earth, which is fleeting.
The Psalms use the sun to praise God in at least four ways. First, it represents eternity. As the sun rises and sets without fail, without (apparent) end or beginning, so God’s fame and honor will endure throughout all generations (Ps 72:5, 17). Second, the sun represents the timely cycles of creation. God devised these systems and sustains them. The sun only knows when to set because God has established it in its course (Ps 104:19, 74:16). So, it illustrates God’s power and wisdom in creation. Third, the sun is a source of life and blessing, pointing toward God who is the true source of all life and blessing (Ps 84:11). Finally, in Psalm 148, the psalmist summons the sun itself to give praise to God along with all the angels, stars, sea creatures, mountains, trees, beasts, and peoples. All creation sings (literally and/or metaphorically) the praise of God the Creator.
I’ll keep on singing Your praise out: So, along with the sun and all creation, we offer our continual praise from the time we rise to the time we lay down to sleep.
Faithful right now: My first interpretation of this line is that God is faithful right now. As he’s established the seasons and the day and night, as he’s provided for us and been present in the secret and in the open, so we can trust that he’s present in this very moment, whatever we are doing, experiencing, or facing. I still think that’s the primary meaning of this line, but it could also be a commitment on the part of the worshiper. Because of God’s faithfulness, we commit right now to keep singing his praise faithfully regardless of current circumstance.
BRIDGE “Glory to God in the highest” is the song of the angels who announce Jesus’ birth to the shepherds in Luke 2:14. Joining them, we offer God not only some praise and glory, but the highest praise and glory.
We return here to the picture from Psalm 148, in which everything in creation sings the praise of its Creator. The New Testament reveals that the Creator is Jesus. Colossians 1:16-17 says of Christ, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” This bridge invites us to revel in the beauty and rightness of everything God has made coming together to worship Jesus. This is the symphony of creation.
This picture should also carry our thoughts forward to the day of Christ’s return. Right now, the creation is broken, longing to participate in the freedom and glory of God’s children (Rm 8:18-24). But one day, the family will be reunited, the creation will be healed, and the song will be perfect, glorious, and unending.
Accessibility
You don’t need an extensive church background or Bible education to understand this song, but you do need to exercise a little bit of abstract thinking. “Sun up, sun down,” is a metaphor, but it’s not a difficult one to find meaning in. The rest of the song is similar: easy to understand with just a little bit of effort, and deepening in meaning the more that you contemplate and connect different sections to Scripture.
The rhythms of this song are repetitive and easy to learn. The melody is the same, though the big skips on the chorus are a little tricky. The range is 8+5 which is wider than I prefer, but pretty typical for current worship music.
Music
One of the refreshing things about this song is its chill, (mostly) acoustic instrumentation. It’s driven by an acoustic guitar with support from bass, piano, and a drum kit played with brushes. There are some prominent synth effects, but they’re bright, sparkly, atmospheric sounds rather than big pads and horns and strings. As the song continues, there’s some additional electric guitar, and a chorus of background vocals that build in near the end. This song works as well with a single piano or guitar as with a whole band, a valuable trait for worship leaders who find themselves in varied circumstances from week to week.
“Praise Out” has excellent dynamics. I love the way the volume pulls back at the first chorus to focus in on the heart of praise that underlies the words. After that, it follows the normal worship song dynamic progression, getting a little louder for verse 2 and chorus 2, and then dropping down to start the bridge quiet and build from there. I really get caught up in the build on this bridge through the end of the song. It’s like the song keeps ascending as the praise continues ascending to God’s throne.
The chord progression is easy to learn and memorize. The rhythms are easy except for the one syncopated lead line that starts in the intro. The synth stuff can be in a backing track (available on Loop Community and Multitracks) or just omitted. In the recording, Joel does some falsetto on the high notes in the chorus so that the first couple times aren’t as loud, but it could easily be transposed so that this isn’t necessary. Overall, I think this song will be very playable for a volunteer worship team.
Function
Gathering | Word | Table | Sending
“Praise Out” works best as a call to worship. It could also function as a sending song, calling the congregation to live out continual worship, praising God in every moment.
I would pair “Praise Out” with a reading from Matthew 6:26-30 to speak about God’s provision or Psalm 148 to show how all creation offers praise to God. Colossians 1:16-17 would also be a great fit, as it encapsulates the special relationship between Jesus and creation.
Conclusions
Will it worship? Definitely!
“Praise Out” gives us an opportunity to reflect on the constancy of God’s provision, and it does so by referring to nature and its constant cycles in a way that would be at home in the Psalms. It also gives us an opportunity to offer our whole lives to God in praise, reminding us that worship is not just a Sunday-morning song, but a posture of living. The melody is easy to learn, and the words achieve accessibility without sacrificing depth of meaning.
I hope to introduce this song in Sunday worship real soon as it seems especially appropriate for springtime. Maybe you’ll join me!
We don’t see many lament songs in the church these days, particular not in the CCM worship genre. I think the problem is that we are (mostly) comfortable in our lives, and we don’t like to think about suffering or hardship. We do sometimes acknowledge pain or difficult circumstances in our worship songs, but we can’t resist turning that mourning into dancing. We know Easter is coming, so why linger on Good Friday?
There’s some wisdom in this tendency. We do know how the story ends, and that ending is Christ victorious, death and darkness defeated, the church united with God forever in the new creation. We need to remind each other that this future is coming. But sometimes, we can’t or shouldn’t move on from our grief so quickly. I think what’s special about “Hard Fought Hallelujah” is that when it praises God, it does so from the depths of the struggle rather than from a safe, happy vantage point on the other side.
“Hard Fought Hallelujah” is the work of Ben Hastings, Brandon Lake, and Steven Furtick, all veteran songwriters. Lake and Furtick are both associated with Elevation Church, and Hastings is a longtime Hillsong Worship musician. Together, they craft a song that is poignant, honest, and still manages to get stuck in your head.
But is “Hard Fought Hallelujah” biblical, and will it worship? Let’s take a look!
Focus
This song expresses the experience of bringing praise to God in the midst of suffering and struggle.
God’s character is secondary in this song. He’s only addressed in the chorus by the word “hallelujah” and in the line: “God, You’ve been patient/gracious.”
For some, the fact that this song is primarily about the human experience of praise in suffering means that it is too self-centered to be appropriate for corporate worship. I wouldn’t disqualify it on that basis alone, but it’s something to be aware of when you’re planning your worship set.
Lyric Analysis
VERSE 1 This is a common sentiment in worship songs. We don’t always feel like praising God, and that’s when we especially need to. This feels like the attitude of the Sons of Korah in Psalm 42. From the depths of despair and discouragement, the author sings to his own soul, reminding himself of God’s salvation.
PRE-CHORUS 1 There are times when praise, as expressed through the raising of hands, is a natural outpouring of our hearts’ delight in God, and there are times when it takes a great deal of effort, and when we have to discipline ourselves to worship despite not wanting to.
Lake observes, “there are times that it costs,” and he’s right. Romans 12:1 teaches us that true worship is offering our bodies as living sacrifices to God. Rather than just giving a little bit of time or a little bit of money to the Lord, we are called to offer our whole selves. We feel this cost keenly when we are invited to worship but feel pain, resentment, or anxiety preventing us from coming to God in gratitude and love. Worshiping in the midst of struggle is a hard sacrifice, and one that God cherishes.
Of course, in any congregation, there are many who never sing, and many more whose hands would never go up freely. This song provides a teaching opportunity to encourage people who don’t like participating in music to consider lifting their voices and hands to God despite the discomfort. Participating in this way also shows solidarity with those who are struggling like this song describes.
CHORUS “I’ll bring my…” The chorus expresses a commitment to praise God no matter the circumstance and no matter the cost. We’re determined to bring praise to God, even though that hallelujah has been beaten up, knocked around, and somehow refined and strengthened by our struggles. This part of the song reminds me of Lake’s “Gratitude,” because it uses the word “hallelujah” to represent not just a song of praise, but a heart that chooses to worship God no matter what.
Hard-fought: This line represents the core idea of the song: sometimes we have to fight to praise God. But is this true, and is it in the Bible? I think it is. There are numerous examples in Scripture of God’s people fighting to praise him. Moses fought Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to go worship God in the wilderness. Paul and Silas praised God in prison, and their chains fell off. Daniel prayed to God daily even though it would land him in a deadly lion’s den. Ephesians 6 teaches us that we are always embroiled in a spiritual struggle against the forces of evil, and praise is a weapon in that fight.
Heart-felt: Jesus taught that worship is in spirit and in truth (Jn 4:23-24). Paul tells us that we ought to sing to God in our hearts (Eph 5:19). While worship is not about feelings, true worship will produce an emotional response in the worshiper. God is good, and he has done great things, and that ought to do something to our hearts.
Been-through-hell: The songwriters are using a loose definition of the word “hell” here. I don’t think any of them would claim to have literally visited the lake of fire. Instead, they’re using it as a description of serious suffering in this life. When you’re in severe emotional or physical pain, you’re all alone, and it feels like God is distant, that’s a picture of hell. This is relative, and we could quibble over what level of suffering really counts as having been through hell.
For many churches, this line will immediately rule out this song for congregational worship. “Hell” is a common profanity in our culture, and this line comes uncomfortably close to casual use of the word. Many Christians have the conviction that the word hell should only be used to describe eternal separation from God.
I also think using “hell” to describe our suffering muddies the waters regarding the nature of our suffering. When Christians experience suffering, we do so with God near at hand, not distant. Later in the song, the authors allude to suffering as a refining fire that improves our faith. This only happens through the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. Hell has connotations of finality, wrath, and damnation that I don’t think are appropriate to the kind of pain the authors of this song are describing.
Storm-tossed: I like this image better. The disciples and the apostle Paul experienced perilous storms on the sea. For the disciples, the Lord himself was with them, and he calmed the storm with a word (Mt 8:23-27). When Paul was on the way to Rome, his ship was destroyed in a storm, but God’s hand protected every living soul onboard (Ac 27:13-44). Storms may be terrifying, but our God is greater than the wind and waves, and he is always in control.
Torn-sail: A natural consequence of the storm-tossing. But this line focuses on how our experiences may have beaten us up and left wounds, either emotional or physical.
Story-to-tell: This is great. Praise isn’t just singing hallelujah in church. It’s being willing to tell others what God has done for us and how he’s brought us through our hardships.
Patient/gracious: In the midst of this description of everything our hallelujah has been through, we take a moment to pause and dwell on God’s character. He is patient, perhaps most so when we get angry at him during our suffering. And he is gracious toward us, extending his love and salvation to us no matter our circumstances or emotions, even if we have brought them on ourselves.
It is well: Because of God’s character, we can have the incomprehensible peace that comes from his Spirit, even in the midst of trials (Phil 4:7).
VERSE 2 The words here are poetically vague. Struggling with darkness might describe a battle with temptation, depression, illness, persecution, or almost anything else. In any case, the authors acknowledge that the struggle helps to cultivate humility. Paul makes this same connection in 2 Corinthians 12:7.
PRE-CHORUS 2 The image of a fire that refines gold comes from Malachi 3:1-4. This passage is about the Messiah, and it predicts that he will burn away all the impurities of Judah, her priests, and her worship. What comes out the other side will be pure like gold, though the process will be very painful. When we submit to the Lord in our suffering, it can have this same refining effect on us. James says as much when he tells us to rejoice when we face trials, because God will use them to cultivate perseverance in us and to perfect and complete our faith (Jam 1:2-4).
BRIDGE Oh, oh, oh. Whoa. Oh, oh, oh. Whoa.
Accessibility
One of the strengths of this song is that it expresses deep experiences of suffering coupled with praise without getting lost in churchy language or hard-to-follow biblical references. I think most people would be able to understand the lyrics even with limited church background. The exception might be the word “hallelujah.” I think it’s become a generic word of celebration in our culture, divorced from its original meaning of “praise the Lord.”
I don’t think unchurched people will mind the metaphorical use of the word “hell.” In our culture, hell just means suffering. It’s only church people who will be bothered by that line.
The melody is kind of hard to follow, and the rhythms are a little tricky. The range is an octave plus a fifth, which isn’t unusual for a worship song, but it’s also pretty wide. Overall, I think this feels more like a blues solo type of song than a congregational worship song.
Music
The rough blues feel of this song is a perfect match for its lyric content. It expresses the pain as well as the resolve to keep fighting to praise God in every circumstance. This song uses contrast and dropouts exceptionally well to really dig into the words on the chorus.
Most of the song is reasonably playable for a church worship team except for the crazy instrumental bridge. I would probably skip that part.
Conclusions
This is tough. There is so much good about this song. I love that it captures the spirit of lament in a way that we often overlook in contemporary music. The blues style is also largely missing from our (white) churches. This song has a lot to teach about the complex relationship between praise and suffering. It is a valuable song that Christians should definitely listen to and meditate on.
No judgment to churches who continue to sing this song, but I think I have to regretfully land on a soft no. Here are my three reasons: 1. This song is more about the experience of praise than about the object of our praise. It’s about the hallelujah more than it is about God. 2. It’s going to be hard for the congregation to sing along. There’s only so much time on Sunday morning, and I want people to participate in as much of it as they can. 3. I just don’t like the “hell” line. I think it will offend/distract people. I also think it causes confusion about whether our suffering is wrathful hellfire or the merciful fire of God that refines us.
Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading, and thanks for thinking about what you sing! Until next time.
This is a fun one! The latest in a long line of Brandon Lake hits with “Praise” in the title, “That’s Who I Praise” is a joyful, upbeat song of trust and praise. It came out this summer, and it’s already at the top of Brandon’s Spotify list, outranking Gratitude, Graves into Gardens, and Praise You Anywhere. The product of a collaboration between Benjamin Hastings, Brandon Lake, Micah Nichols, Steven Furtick, and Zac Lawson, “That’s Who I Praise” has a lot to say, so if I can pull myself out of the drum groove for a minute, we’ll check out the lyrics and find out if it’s biblical and if it will worship!
Focus
This song has two major themes. The chorus and bridge describe the character and power of Jesus. The verses invite us into the many ways his people respond to him in praise.
“That’s Who I Praise” uses many biblical titles and names for Jesus as well as some new ones. It identifies Jesus as God, and it’s abundantly clear that’s who we’re praising and singing about.
There’s a lot of “I” in this song. The authors use the phrase “I want” 10 times, and say things like “God’s got my back.” So the individual worshiper is also a focus of this song. Does this make “That’s Who I Praise” a self-centered worship song? That depends on how all those “I”s are used!
Lyric Analysis
VERSE 1 In the verses, the authors show various responses of praise and trust throughout Scripture and express their wish to respond the same way.
David danced before the ark of the Lord, celebrating God with all his might even though it was undignified (2 Sam 6:14). We want to have that same attitude, praising God without regard for our personal appearance or what others might think.
Paul and Silas sang hymns to God in prison, and then God freed them with an earthquake (Ac 16:25-26). Their song freed them and their fellow prisoners from the physical chains. But the real miracle is what happens next: rather than fleeing the prison, Paul and Silas stay to tell their jailer about Christ. He and his whole family are baptized, free from the chains of sin and death (Ac 16:27-34). We want to have that kind of faith!
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a fiery furnace as a death sentence for refusing to worship an idol. Rather than burning up, they were unharmed by the flames, and a fourth figure appeared in the furnace walking around with them. People disagree on whether the fourth figure should be identified as an angel or perhaps Christ himself, but it’s clear that God was with them and protected them as they insisted that only the one true God was worthy of worship. When we also refuse to worship idols (literal or metaphorical) but turn our praise to the one true God, we can trust that he will be with us and will protect us.
VERSE 2 Moses and the Israelites crossed through the Red Sea on dry land when God parted the waters to allow them escape from Egypt. This formative event freed them from slavery and established their identity as a people (Ex 14). Like Moses, we want to trust in God and obey his commands even when they don’t make sense, and like the Israelites, we trust him to lead us into his eternal Kingdom.
There are all kinds of things in this life that frighten us, but God is greater than all of them, and nothing in all Creation can separate us from his love (Rom 8:38-39). Furthermore, in Philippians 1:27-30, Paul envisions a church whose unity and faith in the Gospel allows them to face opposition, suffering, and fear, confident that even these things point to their salvation in Christ.
VERSE 3 There are lots of Marys in the Bible, and this song refers to Mary of Bethany. She’s the sister of Lazarus (who Jesus raised from the dead) and Martha (who Jesus encouraged to do less housework.) In John 12, Mary pours a pound of expensive perfume over Jesus’ feet, then dries them with her hair. The parallel account in Mark 14 tells us that the perfume was in an alabaster flask (or vase), and that she broke it open in order to pour it out to the Lord. This ointment and its container were a serious investment, and Mary devotes the whole thing to Jesus. Once the flask is broken, there’s no putting the ointment back inside. We want to be similarly devoted with our hearts, our lives, and our resources.
Daniel (like his friends Rack, Shack, and Benny, mentioned above) ran afoul of a law forbidding him to faithfully worship Yahweh. When he refused to stop praying to God three times a day, he was condemned to spend a night sealed in a den of lions (Daniel 6). The text doesn’t tell us whether he slept or not, but when the king and his officials returned the next morning, Daniel was unharmed. In this part of the song, we’re asking for the peace to trust God and not fear the scheming of men (Pr 29:25).
Shortly after Israel began to enter the Promised Land, the city of Jericho stood in the way. God told Joshua, “See, I have given over Jericho into your hand,” and then gave him instructions that the people should march around the walls for six days, and then on the seventh to march around it seven times and blow the trumpets. They obeyed, and the walls fell. This song applies these words to our spiritual lives. Our praise is the figurative (or literal; I don’t know what your church is like 🤷♂️) trumpet blast that brings down any wall that comes between us and our Promised Land. For the Christian, this is not a literal land or physical possession, but our relationship with Christ is our inheritance (Ps 16:5-6). Nothing in this world or the next can separate us from his love, so anything that tries must come tumblin’ down (Rom 8:31-39).
CHORUS The repeated line “I’m gonna praise” is reminiscent of the Psalmist’s “Bless/praise the Lord, O my soul!” (Ps 103:1, 146:1). In both, we remind our hearts that God is worthy of our worship and we exhort ourselves (and our fellow believers) to worship. Next, the song gives us several reasons God is worthy of our worship.
He moves mountains in response to the faithful prayers of his people (Mt 17:20).
He raised Christ bodily from the dead, freeing us from the chains of death and promising us new life on earth and eternal, resurrected life after we die (1 Cor 15:20, Rom 6:4).
Jesus is seated in the heavenly places with the Father (Col 3:1). This is a place of honor, and a place of ruling over creation.
Even in giving himself up to die, Jesus won the victory over death, defeating the last enemy of God and creation (1 Cor 15:26, 54-56, Col 2:13-15). Because of this stunning act of humility and sacrifice, the name of Jesus is the highest name in all heaven and earth (Ph 2:4-11).
BRIDGE Jesus is the conquering Lion from the tribe of Judah who comes to enact God’s final judgment against sin (Rev 5:5). Then, in the very next verse, when he appears, it is not as a lion but as the holy and slain Lamb (Rev 5:6). He has conquered sin and death by taking their consequences and uncleanness upon himself and making mankind and creation holy through his blood. For this, he is counted worthy (Rev 5:9).
Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, God’s Anointed One, crucified and raised to life (Ac 2:36).
The Ancient of Days is a title for God in the apocalyptic vision found in Daniel 7. In this vision, the Ancient of Days receives the Son of Man (Jesus’ favorite title for himself) and gives him dominion, glory, and a kingdom. At first glance, it is a little odd that we’re singing to Jesus but using a title for God the Father, but John uses this same depiction of the Ancient of Days to describe Christ in Revelation 1. Both have eyes of fire, hair like pure wool, and shining clothes. So I think it’s best to remember Jesus’ statement that “I and the Father are one” (Jn 10:30) and not stress too much about which Person of the Trinity we’re addressing.
Accessibility
The verses require a great deal of Bible background knowledge to understand. I think someone without much church background would likely understand that we’re expressing a desire to emulate Bible heroes and their faith. They would recognize some images like Moses parting the Red Sea. But this represents a real barrier to understanding. Similarly, the chorus throws a bunch of descriptors out real fast without stopping to explain, so they could easily fly over many people’s heads. At the same time, this song presents a sliding scale of understanding, and it will make more sense the more that someone understands about God’s story. Hearing unfamiliar names and references might encourage people to dig in and learn what stories this song is talking about.
Without understanding the Bible stories referenced in the song, it’s possible to come away with just meaningless positivity. “God’s got my back!” “I’m gonna get that promise!” These statements can lead to complacency and laziness without understanding their context. God told the Israelites to march around Jericho, because he had decreed that it would fall. God protected Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fire because they chose to honor his name instead of bowing to a false god. These are not blanket promises that God is going to destroy every “Jericho” I see in my life or that he supports my every decision. God is worthy of our praise and our obedience.
The chorus has a little bit of the same problem, but it’s not as bad since the words are generalized and don’t include “me” and “my.” Just because he is a mountain mover doesn’t mean that the problem I’ve identified as a mountain is going to be dealt with the way I want it to.
This one is pretty rangy. The song stretches an octave plus a sixth, so almost 2 octaves. This isn’t too out of the norm for a worship song, but we should expect that the lows are going to be too low or the highs too high for most congregants. (Or both! 😬) There are also several tongue twister moments in this one where most people will struggle to spit all the words out. I can already hear the congregation singing “I’m gonna praise! I’m gonna praise! I’m gonna humanumahumanuma highest of names!”
On the whole, I have to admit that congregational accessibility is a weakness of this song.
Music
“That’s Who I Praise” is super dynamic and energetic. It’s very much a CCM radio-friendly song; the sudden changes in intensity between parts of the song are great for captivating and holding short attention spans. They also make the song really fun to play! If you’re working on this one with a band, I would spend some extra time nailing those down so that everybody is in sync, especially the three hits at the beginning of each chorus (They’re dotted eighths, not triplets!).
Nothing too surprising in the chord progression, but CCLI SongSelect gets a couple of the chords wrong in the chord chart. There should be Cm instead of Eb on the first line of Verse 2 and Verse 3 (Thanks Robby Sams for catching that one!).
As I mentioned above, the melody line covers a wide range and is tricky to sing. So you’ll want to spend some time picking the right key and making sure your vocalist is up to leading this one. Fortunately, the parts for the instruments are simpler, so I think this song would be appropriate for an intermediate-level volunteer band.
Conclusions
Pros: The music is awesome and doable for the average church worship band. The words exalt Jesus for his resurrection and our salvation and hearken back to the praise responses of lots of Bible characters.
Cons: Difficult to learn and sing. Could be a little clearer about what kind of mountains God moves, though the Bible references do clear that up with a little digging. I wish it were a little more “we,” a little less “I.”
Will it worship? I am excited to sing “That’s Who I Praise” this Sunday, but if I’m really honest, I’ve got to call it a “Maybe.” The melody just isn’t very congregation-friendly. It’s a super fun, upbeat celebration of Christ’s power and worth, but it’s going to take several weeks (or a lot of K-Love listening) for the people to be able to sing along.
The songwriting credits on this one feel like a who’s who of the worship recording world in 2024: Brandon Lake, Chandler Moore, Chris Brown, Cody Carnes, Pat Barrett & Steven Furtick. It’s hard to imagine these guys getting together and writing a flop! To be honest, I avoided this song for a while because it came out around the same time as “Praise You Anywhere” and I felt like it would be a little redundant to have them both in active rotation. A year later, we’ve slowed down on “Praise You Anywhere,” and “Praise” is hanging out comfortably at #4 on CCLI, so it seemed like a good time to introduce it to the congregation.
“Praise” is fun, catchy, and uplifting, but is it biblical? Let’s check it out.
Focus
“Praise” is a song about praise. The worshiper encourages their own soul to praise God in every circumstance, and in the process we encourage one another to the same. The main reasons given for this praise are God’s power, his faithfulness, and Christ’s resurrection.
Lyric Analysis
INTRO (& OUTRO) The intro makes clear the corporate nature of this worship song. While much of the rest of “Praise” uses “I” language, it really is aimed at the whole congregation, and the intro makes this clear. The words here are a direct quotation of Psalm 150:6, the last verse in the Book of Psalms.
The intro and outro are in a very different musical style from the rest of the song, and our congregation is unused to call-and-response chanting, so we typically skip this part.
VERSES The verses are mostly a series of commitments to praise in any and every circumstance. They are often set in positive/negative pairs: mountain/valley, sure/doubting, when I feel it/when I don’t. This is an outworking of the attitude David expresses in Psalm 34. The first verse of the Psalm says, “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” The psalmist goes on to encourage listeners that the Lord hears and delivers his people when they suffer trials, and so he can be praised in the midst of plenty or affliction.
Verse 1 has stirred up a wee bit of controversy with the line “praise is the water my enemies drown in.” Yikes! Should we really be singing about drowning our enemies in church? Like many references in contemporary worship songs, this one is anchored in the Exodus. Hebrews 11:24 says, “By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.” That’s the image this line should conjure in our minds, not the waterboarding of our workplace rivals or the cop who wrote us an unnecessary ticket, but the utter destruction of the forces of evil that enslave and oppress God’s people. Verse 2 uses a parallel image: the shouting of the Israelites that God commanded to bring down the walls of Jericho (Jos 6).
Jesus tells us to love our human enemies (Mt 5:43-48), and Paul tells us that the real fight is against the spiritual forces of evil and darkness, not against flesh and blood (Eph 6:12). Praise is an expression of faith, and faith in Jesus is our weapon in the fight against sin and death.
So, the question about drowning our enemies with praise is not whether it is biblical or true, but whether it is likely to be misapplied, and whether it is appropriate for a given congregation. Regarding misapplication, I don’t see much danger. The most likely misreading of this line is still going to come off as something close to Proverbs 25:21-22; no reasonable person is going to think this song condones murdering people while singing to Jesus. The other concern is whether the brief mention of violence in this song is going to be so distracting to people that it sidetracks them from worship. There may be some congregations where this is the case, but I think the imagery of warfare is so pervasive in Scripture that we serve our people better by equipping them to understand and contextualize it rather than try to avoid it.
PRE-CHORUS See Psalms 35 and 150 again.
CHORUS “Praise the Lord, O my soul…how can I keep it inside?”
Some people find it awkward to sing to their own souls in worship, but that’s exactly what we do in the chorus of “Praise.” Some songs written for worship can be self-centered rather than Christ-centered, and I can see why singing to oneself might raise red flags. But, in Psalm 103, David says “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!” So the Psalmist is singing to his own heart, exhorting himself to praise God for saving him, blessing him, keeping his covenant, and showing compassion. When we encourage ourselves toward praise in this way, we also encourage all the gathered believers to praise God as well.
Indeed, the latter half of the chorus makes it clear that we are only speaking inward in order to express outward. If our souls learn to truly praise the Lord, we can’t keep it shut up inside but must express our love for him in our speech, attitudes, and actions. The resurrection of Christ (“my God is alive”) must be shared continually with our fellow believers and those who do not yet know Jesus’ love and power.
BRIDGE The bridge is pretty straightforward. It’s directed toward God rather than inward, and it gives four excellent reasons that God deserves our praise. First, his reign is sovereign. God is in control, and the universe is his dominion and will be forever. Nothing and no one can contest his rule (Dan 7:13-14).
Second, he rose and defeated death. Having joined Christ in his death through baptism, we also join in his eternal resurrection. In dying and rising, Jesus disarmed, defeated, and triumphed over our spiritual enemies of death, sin, and darkness (Col 2:12-15).
Third, God is faithful and true. God keeps his covenant promises to his people perfectly, even when we are unfaithful to him. Jesus is the perfect and final fulfillment of all God’s promises (2 Cor 1:20)
Fourth, their is no one greater than our God. All strength ultimately comes from him, and the greatness and glory and victory always belong to him. He is exalted above all (1 Ch 29:10-11). Every knee in all creation must bow at the name of Jesus (Php 2:10).
Accessibility
The choruses and bridge are easy to understand, even with little Bible knowledge. There are a couple lines in the verses that only make sense if you know the stories of the crossing of the Red Sea and the fall of Jericho, and it takes some context to understand what it means to conceive of praise as a weapon for spiritual battle. So while there are a couple lines that might spark some questions or confusion, I think these are important questions that bear thinking about, and it’s healthy to prompt people to wrestle through them. I don’t see much danger of harmful theology due to misinterpretation.
Regarding singability, the entire melody of this song is within an octave, so that’s a plus! The refrain of “pra-a-a-a-aise the Lord, oh my soul,” is repeated often and is easy to pick up. The verses and bridge have a repetitive rhythmic structure that is easy to learn. And this one is super catchy! Very singable.
Music
We usually usually skip that call-and-response chant at the beginning of this song since it would be a little outside our congregation’s musical comfort zone (though maybe that’s a reason to do it 🤷). It did work really well at camp this summer; it’s easier to get middle and high school students to buy into different kinds of participation.
The verses and pre-choruses do a fantastic job building energy and excitement as they establish when and why the Lord deserves our praise. The choruses absolutely explode with joy and celebration.
Nothing crazy in the chord progression. The changing chords over the stagnant bass in the bridge and less so on the verses are a neat change of pace and contribute towards the effect of building energy.
One strength of this song is that the difficulty is adjustable to some extent. The drummer can play a pretty basic beat and still accomplish the dynamic goals of each section of the song. Guitars can play simple strum patterns or get really into it and go crazy. This song is all about joy, so it’s hard to do too much!
Conclusions
Will “Praise” worship? (😂) It sure will!
This is one of the most joyful, energizing celebrations of God that I know. It’s a great song for stirring up our hearts to offer him the praise he so fully deserves. The simple and repetitive choruses are supported by the reasons for praise offered in the bridge, and this song provides opportunity to encourage ourselves and one another towards praise of the God who conquers death. I definitely recommend this one as an opening song to call the congregation to worship.
“That’s My King” popped up a few months ago as a new release from CeCe Winans on SongSelect, and I clicked on it because I thought it was going to be based on the famous sermon “That’s My King” by S.M. Lockridge. It’s not. But what it is might be even better!
(Update: This song has exploded since I wrote this review, and it has gone on to win a Grammy and a Billboard Music Award! I love the heart and attitude of the songwriters in their acceptance speech.)
In an interview with The Christian Beat, songwriter Lloyd Nicks describes working on the song with friends Jess Russ, Kellie Gamble, and Taylor Agan, gathered around an out-of-tune piano, finding the difficulty of capturing with words the “bigness and greatness of Jesus.” He says they were trying to write a song that couldn’t be contained, because the King is himself too big to be contained. What Nicks and friends wrote is a joyful, infectious celebration of the glory, character, and heart of God.
“That’s My King” is catchy, personal, and transcendent, but is it biblical, and will it worship?
Focus
This song is about the glory and praise of God. It lists many attributes of his character and gazes in wonder upon the King who defies description. It revels in the uncontainable glory and holiness and beauty of God and also draws near to him, repeatedly emphasizing “that’s my King.”
The subject of the song is identified as King, God, and Shepherd, among other titles, and sometimes we sing directly to God in 2nd person. The song is both personal and corporate, using “I” and “my” alongside “we.”
Lyric Analysis
VERSE 1 “I wish I could tell you // wish I could describe it”
In the first verse, the worshipers address each other. We are in awe of God and can’t contain him in our words, but also can’t help but speak about him. What I love about this verse is that it sees the futility of trying to explain the wonder of God and what he’s done for us, but it still doesn’t give up trying. It’s not that there aren’t words; there just aren’t enough words.
“There aren’t enough colors to paint the whole picture” is a beautiful metaphor, and it begins to break our minds and hearts out of the box. Just like we can’t imagine colors outside the visible spectrum, we can’t fully imagine God with the limitations of our minds and experiences.
One quirk of Christian worship is that even though we acknowledge that God is indescribable, we can’t help but try to describe him! It’s not that we can’t or shouldn’t use our words, it’s just that there aren’t enough of them to explain who he is or even what he means to us.
PRE-CHORUS This section is a rapid-fire list of seven characteristics of God, and I want unpack each one of them just a tiny bit.
Wonderful: He’s the God who creates wonders (Ps 8:3), works wonders (Ex 15:11), and fills us with awe and wonder (Ac 2:43, Heb 12:28).
Beautiful: When we speak about God being beautiful, we are talking about more than aesthetic beauty, though certainly not less. In the Psalms, when God’s beauty is mentioned, it is in connection with his temple. He shines forth out of the place where he comes to dwell with his people, drawing all nations toward himself and his goodness.
Glorious: Much like his beauty that draws people to him, God’s glory fills the temple or the tabernacle in the Old Testament. It’s described as a cloud, something so radiant that humans cannot fully look upon it (Ex 40:35). In the New Testament, we see that through Jesus’ work on the cross, the veil is torn (Mt 27:51). We are no longer kept out of God’s glorious presence but invited in!
Holy: This is one of those church words that we sometimes use without much understanding of what it means. It’s related to glory and beauty, but different too. We often think of holiness as moral goodness, and that’s part of it, but it also refers to God’s total uniqueness, his other-ness. Much like the glory that kept Moses and the Israelites from entering the tabernacle, God’s holiness is dangerous to those who would enter his presence while tainted by sin or impurity. But in Christ, God brings his holiness near to us, pouring out from him and purifying us instead of destroying us.
For an awesome (and animated!) exploration of God’s holiness, check out this video from the Bible Project. It really helped me understand it in a new way!
Merciful: God’s love is abounding towards us, and he is slow to anger and quick to forgive (Ex 34:6). Mercy is his character, always lavishing his grace and kindness on us (Eph 2:7).
Powerful: God showed his mighty power when he defeated Pharaoh and his armies to rescue Israel from Egypt (Ex 32:11). But in Christ, we see God’s power even more clearly. He chooses to conquer evil and even death itself through the humble death of our Savior on a cross (Rom 1:16). The power of his Spirit is displayed in our lives when we let him work through our weakness to show how his strength (2 Cor 12:9).
King: God made the world, and it belongs to him. Through his Church, he is building his Kingdom, and he will return to set every wrong thing right and to reign in peace, justice, and righteousness (Isa 9:6-7).
CHORUS “Who we talking about? // That’s my King!”
If this song just said “He’s the King,” it would praise God for his sovereignty. If it just said, “He’s mine,” it would express intimacy with God. But saying “That’s my King!” does both. He is the ruler we gladly embrace, and we are overjoyed to belong to him. In one line, we honor him as ruler and delight in being his dearly loved children. I love it!
The rest of the chorus is just different ways of praising him. He’s worthy. We declare his glory and give him honor. We commit to adoring him. We agree with Paul in Romans 11:36 that all things are for him and through him and to him. Echoing the first of the Ten Commandments, we declare that there is no one before him (Ex 20:3).
VERSE 2 In Luke 19:28-40, Jesus’ disciples praise him loudly on his entry into Jerusalem, causing quite a disruption. When religious leaders object, Jesus tells him that if the people fall silent, then even the rocks will cry out in praise. In “That’s My King” we promise not to let that happen.
In Revelation 4-5, the inhabitants of heaven, angels, people, elders, and strange creatures sing several songs of praise that are reminiscent of the words of this song. They also declare God’s worthiness, his holiness, his glory, honor, and power. This is the eternal song of praise that we join into as we worship God.
BRIDGE The bridge builds further connection between the worshiper and God as each line explains who he is to us on a personal level. When I say he is my king and God, I am offering him my fealty and obedience. When I call him my Shepherd and Protector (Jn 10:1-18), I am counting on him to protect and lead me. When I call him my Rock (Mt 7:24-27) and Anchor, I am trusting him to hold me steady through any storm I face in my life. When I call him my Defender, I know that he is the victor of every spiritual battle and that nothing can take me from his hand (Rom 8:38-39). So, these lines offer truths about who God is, but they also call for a response of faith and trust based on those truths.
Accessibility
This song is super easy to understand. We explained the theological significance of holiness, glory, and power up above, but a congregant doesn’t need to know all of that information to enter into worship with this song. Anyone who listens to even a little bit of “That’s My King” will understand that it is offering praise and glory to God. This song is clear and precise and leaves no room for misunderstandings.
Is “That’s My King” singable? I think so. The verses are a little tricky timing-wise, and the choruses have lots of syncopation, but the rhythms repeat themselves enough that the average person can learn them easily. I also love the call-and-response of “Who we talking about? // That’s my King!” It provides an entry point for someone uncomfortable with singing in church to join in the question-and-answer pattern. 95% of the melody sits within an octave, so the range is pretty accessible for a worship song.
Music
“That’s My King” is an infectious gospel celebration of the kingship of God. It is always pushing forward, and in my experience, it sweeps up the whole worship team and congregation in its joyful drive of praise. The dynamic arc is effective, straightforward, and exciting. The chord progression is fresh and will keep the congregation on their toes without them realizing exactly why. The instrumentation paints the words of this song with glory and highlights each characteristic of God that we sing about.
If your worship team is unaccustomed to playing in a gospel style, this song is going to take some extra work. The chord progression is very different from the I-V-vi-IV pattern that is so common in the Hillsong-Bethel-Passion vein of modern worship. There are some bVIIs and bVIs, and some cool instrumental sections that require changing chords in between beats. Even if you’re a white church with a white praise band, I think this song is playable, and it’s a great place to begin introducing some gospel music influence to your team and your congregation. Our team has loved playing it, and I think they’ve enjoyed the challenge of thinking and playing outside the box a little bit.
Function
Gathering | Word | Table | Sending
I probably wouldn’t do this one during Communion, but anywhere else in the service is fair game! It can serve a unifying function, gathering the congregation into a worshiping body. It declares truth about God’s power, love, and beauty. We want to send people out of church talking about the King, and this song does exactly that.
Conclusions
Will it worship? You bet!
“That’s My King” is one of my very favorite new worship songs. The music is exciting, joyful, and serves to expand the palette of churches used to a steady CCM diet without going so far outside the box as to confuse or frustrate. The lyrics are rock-solid, and what I think is really special about this song is the juxtaposition of God’s sovereign kingship with his personal relationship to each believer. We all need to be reminded that God is King and that he’s my King.
We’re singing this one again this Sunday, and I think it’s going to remain a congregational favorite for a long time!
“Anything Is Possible” is from Bethel Music’s 2020 album Revival’s in the Air. Dante Bowe delivers a powerful lead vocal on this track, and he is one of its writers along with Brandon Lake, Hannah McClure, and Michaela Gentile. I usually focus on reviewing brand new songs, but this one came to my attention because of a post in a Facebook group for worship leaders. The comments were divided; some people loved the song’s celebration of God’s power while others thought a particular line verged on heresy! Let’s take a look at this popular, divisive church tune and ask if “Anything is Possible” is biblical, and if it should worship.
Focus
This song celebrates God’s indomitable power. He can do anything, and nothing has any chance of stopping him. We also celebrate the breakthrough and victory that we experience through his victory.
The verses and bridge are sung directly to God (2nd person) while the chorus is sung to the congregation about him (3rd person). We mostly call him “you,” but in the chorus he is identified as “God.”
The chorus mentions “me” a lot, but only in a figure of speech: “show me one thing he can’t do.” The bridge uses a lot of “I” to describe the victory celebration of the worshipers and their leaving behind of negative emotions.
Lyric Analysis
VERSES 1 & 2 The first two verses follow the same pattern: they list powerful, bad things and declare that they are powerless before God. This is a great way to celebrate God’s power! When we list things that we are afraid of and then remind ourselves that God is greater, we mute the power of fear in our lives and redirect it as awe to the God who deserves it (Matt. 10:28). Regarding armies lacking the power to conquer truth, Church history has demonstrated that while persecution and violence may threaten or even decimate a Christian population, they can never fully stamp out the truth of the Gospel.
At the end of each verse, we remind ourselves that God has always been with us (John 14:16-17, Josh. 1:8-9), and then we say that we’ve already won every battle because God has already won every battle. This is true in a now/not yet kind of way. We’ve already won every battle because Jesus has already defeated sin and death on the cross. But we also haven’t already won every battle, because he hasn’t returned and ushered in the perfect new creation yet. We know the outcome will be victory, but we can’t pretend that we’re not still in the battle here and now.
My first problem with this song is the major Christological heresy in verse 2 (I don’t get to use the H word very often!). The song states (talking to God) that “there is no weapon that has ever left a mark on You.” That statement is true of God the Father and God the Spirit, but it is untrue of God the Son. Jesus was crucified, a spear pierced his side, and he still bears those wounds (John 19:18, 34, 20:27, Rev. 5:6). This isn’t a minor, obscure point of theology; this is at the very core of who Jesus is and how he saves us! The invincible God took on human flesh and allowed himself to be killed for us (Phil. 2:7-9).
Are there some ways to wiggle around this error? Sure. You could say that this song is addressed to the Father, not the Son. Or you could say that since the spear doesn’t exist anymore, the line is technically correct. Those arguments don’t hold up. We serve and sing to a triune God, and the emphasis of this line is on God’s inability to be wounded, not on the survival of the Spear of Destiny (which, incidentally, four different churches claim to possess). Pedantry notwithstanding, I’m not going to sing a lyric that contradicts the essential Gospel truth of Jesus’ wounds and scars.
CHORUS The chorus uses rhetorical challenges to invite the listener to name anything that is impossible for God. Is anything too hard for him? Any mountain too high or waters too deep for him (Ex. 14, Matt. 17:20)? Of course not! We should face life with the knowledge that “with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26).
I’m not quite sure what “God of the breakthrough” means because “breakthrough” has several different meanings. For most people, a breakthrough is a sudden leap forward in technology or understanding, or maybe the first hit single of a previously unknown music artist. In the context of this song, I think it means overcoming some sort of obstacle or defeating an enemy, like breaking through enemy lines in a battle. The main point of the song is that anything is possible for God, so I think the anticipated breakthrough could be any obstacle in the life of the worshiper.
VERSE 3 There is, in fact, a Kingdom, and it is, in fact advancing (Matt. 10:7, Matt. 16:18)! Saying it’s at the speed of light is an exciting line, but I’m not sure it really means anything. Certainly there have been times when the Kingdom has exploded in growth and influence, but there have also been lots of periods of regression and stagnation in Church history.
The line “every dead thing is bound to rise” could be misunderstood as teaching universalism, the idea that everyone will be saved, regardless of their belief in Jesus. The preceding phrase “and in his Kingdom…” mitigates this somewhat.
God is certainly our Redeemer (Gal. 3:13), and he is faithful, reviving our dead hearts in Christ, and one day he will fully resurrect those who believe in Jesus in a resurrection like his (Rom. 6:5). Hallelujah!
BRIDGE The bridge celebrates a great reversal of fortune in the spirit of Psalm 30:11-12, “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing…that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” A small but important difference is that in the Psalm, it is God who turns the mourning into dancing, while in this song, tho one crushing disappointment and turning fear into praise is “I.” It’s odd that the rest of the song is focused on God bringing breakthrough, but this part seems to present a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps mentality. We can’t just shake off fear and despair and break chains on our own; we need God for that. I think that’s actually the truth this song is trying to present, but the first-person wording on the bridge confuses the issue.
Accessibility
“Anything Is Possible” is 95% easy to understand. The song uses plain, everyday language except for the churchy word “breakthrough.”
The bridge might be misunderstood. Based on the lyrics alone, it is the worshiper who is shaking off their own negative emotions. I think the author probably means that God is helping them do this, that just isn’t clear from the words.
The range is an octave plus a fifth, which is pretty wide for a congregation but not uncommon in worship songs. The rhythmic monotone singing of the bridge and chorus makes them more like a victory chant than a melody; they’re very easy to learn. The verses are easy to pick up too. This song is infectious and very congregational.
Music
This is an exciting, upbeat, celebratory song. It’s pretty easy to play, and it carries an almost irresistible impetus to get up and dance and clap. The music effectively supports the themes of the lyrics.
Conclusions
Will it worship? Nope.
Verse 1 was good, but I felt like this song’s theology went downhill from there. Even ignoring verse 2’s Christological heresy, the overall thrust of this song is triumphalistic. It hypes up the idea of living in Christ’s victory and having him break down all our obstacles without acknowledging that we don’t get to fully experience that victory this side of heaven. Jesus promises that we will face trouble in this world (John 16:33), and for anyone in the midst of suffering, I worry that this song extends toxic positivity rather than the peace of Jesus’ completed work on the cross.
“Look to the Lamb” has a lot of words. The people who wrote those words are Bryan Torwalt, Lindy Cofer, Mitch Wong, and Tommy Iceland. Jesus Culture released it as a single in March of this year, and then again on their album Why Not Right Now? in July.
This song captured my attention with its irresistible energy and the soaring exhortation, “look to the Lamb!” and held it with the deep scriptural imagery and theology of its lyrics. Let’s dive into those lyrics and ask if “Look to the Lamb” is biblical and if it will worship!
Focus
“Look to the Lamb” is about Jesus: his identity, his work of redemption, and especially his glory & worth as depicted in Revelation. It calls him King, the Way to the Father, the Life and Resurrection, the Lamb, the Son of God, the Savior, Alpha & Omega, the Christ, and our God. There is no “I” or “me” in this song, but we sing it to one another, exhorting our fellow believers to see Jesus and worship him.
Lyric Analysis
VERSE 1 Jesus is highly exalted and worthy of worship. His name is above every other name (Phil. 2:9). He calls himself the Light of Life (John 8:12).
I think the throne here is the throne we see in Revelation 4-5, since this scene is evoked later in the bridge. If that’s the case, we might have a little bit of Trinitarian confusion in this verse. It seems that we are calling Jesus the King on the throne, but in Revelation 5, God the Father is the one seated on the throne giving the scroll to the Lamb (Rev. 5:6-7). Jesus is God, and the Father is God, and God is the only King on the throne, so there’s not really a problem here, it’s just odd that this one line describes the Father while the rest of the song is specific to Christ the Son.
VERSE 2 Jesus himself tells us that no one can come to the Father apart from him (John 14:6). He also calls himself the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25).
In Ezekiel, God tells his people that their hearts are like stone: dead, stubborn, and refusing to worship or listen to him. But he promises that one day he will send his Spirit to dwell in his people and soften their stone hearts (Ezek. 36:24-28). This songs says that it is Jesus’ love that melts our stone hearts. A little different from Ezekiel’s words, but Jesus and the Father send the Holy Spirit, an act of love, so it seems like a good use of this biblical imagery to me (John 15:26).
CHORUS “Look to the Lamb! // See the Son of God, the Savior crucified // see the crown of thorns, his nails, his wounded side”
What lamb are we looking to? Jesus! Specifically, Jesus as the slain lamb in Revelation 5. He is the Son of God and the Savior. We also get a short, vivid picture of his suffering and passion: the author invites us to see the crown of thorns on his head, the nails piercing his hands and feet, the spear puncturing his side (John 19:2,18,24). Because of this saving work, we call him worthy.
The second half of the chorus focuses on Jesus’ eternal glory. It draws attention to his eyes, where the author finds both love and fire. The love is a no-brainer. God is love, so of course there is love in Jesus’ eyes when he looks at us (1 John 4:8, Zeph. 3:17). But what’s the fire about? We’ll look at that when we get to the bridge. And what exactly is he worthy of? Be patient, I’m getting there!
My favorite thing about this chorus is that it parallels Paul’s line of thought in Philippians 2:5-11. Because Jesus became a man and suffered humbly on our behalf, he is exalted and given the name above every other name. Jesus’ glory flows out of his suffering.
VERSE 3: The first two lines of this verse are exactly how God describes himself in Revelation 1:8. As alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, so Jesus is the first and last of all existence; everything comes from him and is for him (Rev. 22:13, Rom. 11:36). Saying that Jesus “was and is and is to come,” means that he always has existed, exists right now, and always will. This seems like a reference to the name God gives himself at the burning bush: I Am (Ex. 3:13-14). The author of Revelation expands this present-tense name into the past and future, because God is forever and ever.
I can’t find a specific Scripture that talks about shouting at Jesus’ return, but he will return in glory and power with a host of angels (Matt. 25:31), so it’s hard to imagine that there won’t be triumphal shouts far louder than the cries of “hosanna” during his Palm Sunday entrance to Jerusalem (John 12:13). Verse 3 concludes with our own shout identifying the object of our praise as Jesus, both Christ and God (2 Pet. 1:1).
BRIDGE “The elders bow, the creatures cry // saints and angels glorify”
I discussed this song with one of my team members before introducing it to our church and asked him what he thought the bridge was about. He came up with a beautiful description of how the elders are the leaders of the local church, and how it’s important that they set an example for the congregation by bowing to God, and the creatures are everybody else joining in worship together. I had to tell him he was wrong. 😬 At this point, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that these lyrics are a reference to the scene around God’s throne in Revelation 4-5. The four living creatures are angelic beings with way too many eyes that surround God’s throne. The elders mentioned are 24 elders who bow down to the Lamb and cast down their crowns before him. Since there are 12 sons of Israel in the Old Testament and 12 Apostles in the New, I deduce that these 24 elders are meant to represent all of God’s people throughout all time and space. The saints and angels are all the angels, and all of God’s people (Rev. 5:11-14). We also learn that this declaration of God’s glory continues 24/7 (Rev. 4:8).
What about the strange description of Jesus? Fiery eyes, hair like wool, the voice of roaring waters? You guessed it: Revelation!
“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.”
These descriptors are meant to convey the majesty and beauty and power of Jesus. Fire in his eyes represents his jealousy over his people and his mighty power; he has the strength to burn up his enemies and refine/purify his people (Zech. 13:9, Zeph. 3:8). Comparing his hair to wool (and snow) is about the color, not the texture. White (or gray) hair is celebrated in the Bible as a symbol of age, wisdom, and righteousness (Pr. 16:31). His voice thunders like many waters, celebrating the power of his word (Ps. 93:4).
If you were part of Revelation’s original audience, these words would have reminded you of another important, psychedelic throne room scene in Daniel 7. Here, God is called the Ancient of Days, and his hair is white like wool or snow, and his throne is fiery. One called the Son of Man appears before him and is given glory and eternal authority over all creation. All God’s enemies are defeated, and he restores his people to share his dominion. So, Revelation 1, Daniel 7, and this song are all showing us the splendor, power, unity, and victory of God the Father and his Son Jesus.
To sum up: the words of the bridge invite us to envision the heavenly throne room at the conclusion of this age, when all creation bows down to the slain, resurrected, glorified Lamb.
TAG “Worthy is the Lamb!”
Finally, we come to the central line of this song and find that it is a bit ambiguous. What exactly is Jesus worthy of? In general, when a worship song says God is worthy, I think we assume that he’s worthy of our praise, and he is! But he is also worthy of so much more than that. Again, we find a robust answer in Revelation 4 and 5. The 24 elders declare that the Lord God is worthy of glory, honor, and power (Rev. 4:10-11). The myriad angels repeat these of the slain Lamb and add that he is worthy to receive wealth, wisdom, might, and blessing (Rev. 5:11-12).
The last one is easy to skip over, but it’s is also crucial to this passage, Jesus’ identity, and the meaning of this song: the Lamb is worthy to open the scroll. This scroll usher’s in God’s plan for the culmination of his plan; his enemies are judged and defeated and his people are vindicated and saved, made into priests who will reign with him over a restored creation. John weeps because no one can be found to open this scroll, but then the Lion/Lamb appears (Rev. 5:2-5). Jesus is found worthy to open the scroll because he was slain to ransom God’s people from every people and nation (Rev. 5:9-10).
Accessibility
The verses and the chorus are poetic but straightforward. The bridge is the tricky part, relying on an in-depth understanding of Revelation 4-5, and ideally several Old Testament metaphors. Throughout the song, it’s not apparent exactly what Jesus is worthy of, though we repeatedly call him worthy. So there will be significant gaps in understanding for most congregants. People might try to fill these in with their own assumptions, and they may be wrong, but I don’t see any danger of false theology here. I would encourage worship leaders to use this song as an opportunity to explain some of these metaphors and connections to help people grow in their understanding of Jesus and his glory.
The melody is mostly stepwise with several big skips. So it’s challenging to lead, but it’s pretty easy for the congregation to pick up on and sing along with. Also, the congregation doesn’t have to leap up as high as Lindy Cofer on the latter part of the song, so that helps reduce the range to about an octave.
Music
Classic worship song dynamic arc, builds great; I love the high descant part that the lead vocalist sings during the last bridge and chorus. Unfortunately, part of the vocal work that makes this song so exciting also makes it really challenging for your lead singer! The range works out to an octave+4 The melody line is one of this songs big strengths; it’s engaging and fun without being too difficult to learn.
The chord changes in this song are frequent and almost hymn-like. This has the advantage of making the song feel timeless and fresh, but it also makes it pretty tricky for guitars and keys, especially if you transpose it to any key other than C! Expect to take some time to work through the chord changes with your instrumentalists to make sure they’re all falling at the same time.
Conclusions
Will it worship? Yes!
I think worship songs should be accessible while still teaching us and challenging us to grow in our understanding of God and his word. This song emphatically does both. It is passionate in its worship of Jesus, and I love the way it anchors his glory and final victory in his redemptive work on the cross.
My only reservation with this song is its difficulty for the lead vocalist and band members. If your worship team is up for it, give it a go!
I’ve been meaning to do this song for a long time. Jordan Pride is a good friend and I’m excited for him and his journey as a worship singer/songwriter! “We Resound,” Jordan’s biggest single so far, is an anthem of Jesus’ glory and exaltation and an echo of the song around his eternal throne. But is “We Resound” Biblical, and does it belong in your worship service? Let’s take a look at the lyrics, music, and accessibility of this song together and ask, “will it worship?”
Focus
“We Resound” looks forward to Christ’s final victory and imagines all creation resonating together in praise. Each verse gives a different glimpse of that glorious day, and the bridge positions us in the worshiping multitude, adding our own voices.
This is a truly corporate song: lots of “we,” no “I.” It’s also very God-oriented. We sing to him directly as “you” and declare that he’s worthy of praise. We also give lots of reasons that he’s worthy. The recipient of our praise is very clearly identified as Jesus, the Christ, the Lord God Almighty, the Father, and the Lord of Hosts.
Lyric Analysis
VERSE 1 This first verse is a succinct paraphrase of Ephesians 3:8-11. God’s plan for all time has been to pour out the riches of Christ’s grace on and through the Church. (I appreciate that this verse defines riches as God’s fullness and the hope of Christ, not material wealth!) This plan was hidden for ages, but now God’s wisdom is made known through the work of Jesus and his Church.
CHORUS “Resound” is such a rich word! It has the sense of a loud sound that echoes, bounces around, reverberates. By extension, it can also mean to praise or spread the fame of someone or something. Sounds that resound don’t stay put; they carry. They don’t die out, they keep on ringing. A famous person or event can also be said to resound through history; that is, their effect is so profound that they create ripples for decades or centuries. In this sense, we, the Church, are the reverberations of Christ’s victory.
The words that we *resound* with come from Revelation 4. In this passage, four angelic beings around God’s throne are eternally proclaiming “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” At the same time, 24 elders in heaven fall down before the one seated on the throne and throw their own crows to the floor at his feet. They say: “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Rev. 4:1-11)
VERSE 2 This verse is a paraphrase of Philippians 2:10-11, where Paul is describing the glory Jesus will receive for his death on the cross. Just like this song, the passage in Philippians ascribes tremendous worth and power to the name of Jesus.
The only change Jordan makes here is to replace “under the earth” with “Hell.” We think of Hell as the fiery place of suffering where demons and bad people go, but “under the earth” is a little more neutral; it suggests a waiting place rather than eternal punishment. While this word change alters the tone of the passage a little bit, I think Paul’s point in Philippians is that every knee will bow, so Jordan’s not wrong. Indeed, Mark 5:6-8 shows us a demon bowing down before Jesus.
BRIDGE This section evokes the book of Revelation, especially chapter 4, where, as we’ve discussed we find the elders casting down their crowns in worship, and chapter 22 where the river and tree of life from the garden of Eden are restored.
What I especially like about the bridge is the unique line “restoring Eden as we sing.” Jordan puts this line in the present rather than the future, as though our song is somehow having a restorative effect right now. I think this is in line with the Kingdom-building ministry of Jesus. Jesus prayed for the Father’s will and Kingdom to be established on earth as they are in heaven, and he taught us to pray the same way (Mat. 6:9-13). Yes, his kingdom will ultimately be established at his return, but we get to play a part in building it here and now, and part of that comes through worship and prayer.
In the final bridge, we also get the line “You are worthy to open the scroll.” This is said of Jesus in Revelation 5 where he is introduced as a mighty lion, but then appears as a slain lamb. Jesus is the only one worthy to complete God’s plan for his creation because he was slain and bought back his people with his blood. Throughout the song, we have been saying that Jesus is worthy, but in this section of Scripture, we see what he is worthy of. Praise, yes, but also “power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory” (Rev. 5:12).
Accessibility
“Resound” is kind of a self-explanatory word. Even if people don’t think through its layers of meaning, the song still makes sense. The verses of the song are clear and easy to understand, and the chorus is obviously a corporate celebration of God and his praise.
The average congregant might not have a great understanding of what it means to call God holy or what it is that Jesus is worthy of, but they will understand that they are terms of praise. The end of the song explains that Jesus is worthy to open the scroll, but most people will not understand what that means either. Similarly, many people will not understand that the bridge is painting a scene from Revelation.
Having said that, I don’t think there’s anything people are likely to misinterpret or misapply from this song.
The melody of “We Resound” is catchy and easy to pick up. The range is an octave+3, which is about par for a worship song. I would transpose it down to C instead of E because I’m a baritone (and Jordan is definitely a tenor!), but different keys suit different voices. Overall, I think the tune is very singable!
Music
This song has great dynamics, building up through the bridge, then dropping out for a quiet bridge and then coming back in for a giant, celebratory closing chorus and bridge. The sweet harmonies on “glory to God the Father” get me every time!
The main drum beats are playable; less experienced drummers can omit some fills to make it easier to play. Nothing crazy in the chord structure; a beginner/intermediate guitarist should be able to play along with this song. I would discourage worship leaders from imitating the extra vocal ad libs throughout the song; these would be difficult to master and a little distracting in a worship service.
Conclusions
In “We Resound,” Jordan has crafted an excellent, congregational, Christ-centered, biblical worship song. The allusions to Revelation make for thought-provoking lyrics that experienced saints will find rich and meaningful. At the same time, new believers will find plenty to latch onto in this celebration of Jesus’ glory and worth. Will it worship? You bet!
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 toGod. 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.
Will It Worship? 