Exploring ‘Long Live the King’: A Worship Analysis

August 17, 2025October 2, 2025 / Jason Henry / Leave a comment

“Long Live the King,” written by Gabriel Wilson, Matt Gilman, and Nate Lapeer, seized my attention when it came out two years ago. Its vivid and theological description of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and exaltation brought me to tears in my car. It impressed the majesty and glory of Christ on my heart and imagination in a way that few songs have.

I learned it, practiced it, and was all geared up to use it for Easter 2023! Unfortunately, the third verse weirded me out. My church doesn’t really teach that Jesus descended into hell while he was in the grave, and I thought that event, the Harrowing of Hell, is what this verse was referring to. I chickened out, and we haven’t used it for church. But now I’m ready to give “Long Live the King” another look! What is that funky third verse about, is it biblical, and will it worship? Let’s check it out!

Focus

“Long Live the King” is an acclamation of Christ. It explores his suffering, death, resurrection, and glorification and hails him as king in each context.

It calls Jesus by name and uses lots of titles for him including Anointed One, Emmanuel, and Perfect Lamb. It also refers to the Holy Spirit’s role in Jesus’ resurrection. The language in “Long Live the King” is both personal and corporate; each chorus talks about lifting my hands, but the verses speak of our Messiah, our Redeemer, our victory.

Lyric Analysis

VERSES 1 & 2
These verses are sung back-to-back and recount the same events from two different perspectives.

Verse 1 is about the physical events of Jesus’ suffering, death, and burial. It picks out several significant events from John 19, so we’ll start with the crown of thorns. The writers do something really cool here by saying, “There in crown of thorn and thistle.” At first, I thought this was just a poetic liberty. After all, the crown in the Gospels only had thorns. No thistles to be seen. But where do we find thorns and thistles together in the Bible? Genesis 3:18 says of the ground, “thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you.” Adam’s work is made painful and dangerous because of sin. In his death, Jesus is taking Adam’s curse upon his own head. This is something verse 2 makes explicit.

The rest of the verse recounts more familiar details: the sign reading “King of the Jews,” Jesus’ blood shed on the cross, the crimson river flowing from his pierced side, darkness falling at his death, the burial clothes, and Jesus’ interment in a tomb. This verse invites us to contemplate Christ’s suffering and humiliation. When we do, we find both grief and gratitude welling up within us.

Verse 2 deals with the spiritual realities of Christ’s work on the cross. The first line echoes the metaphor of Adam’s thorns and thistles: every curse is laid upon Christ. He bears the burden for us. He wears our sin like the robe of shame the soldiers placed on him.

Calling Jesus the “perfect Lamb led to the slaughter” recalls the words of Isaiah 53:7, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter.” It also looks forward to Revelation 5:5-6, where John is told to look for the Lion, but instead finds the slain Lamb standing. This song will show us both Jesus’ humble sacrifice as a lamb and his triumphant power as a lion.

In the Old Testament, a ransom was the price paid to save someone’s life, either from slavery or from the just punishment for a crime they had committed. This is what Christ has done for us. At the moment of his death, Jesus tore the temple veil in two (Lk 23:44-46). This was the curtain that sealed off the Holy of Holies, the place where God’s presence rested. It represented the great divide between God and man, the rift between our sinfulness and his holiness. Christ’s death was a great victory because he accomplished all this, defeating sin and darkness, freeing us from our enslavement to death, and bringing us safely into God’s holy presence. Revelation 12:11 teaches us that the victory of the saints is in the blood of the Lamb.

LONG LIVE THE KING
There is no single chorus in this song. Instead, each chorus has its own words that develop what was discussed in the preceding verse. The one commonality is the repeated titular phrase: “Long live the King!”

People have been wishing long life to their rulers for millennia. “Long live the king” was the shout of the people when Samuel anointed Saul and proclaimed him king (1 Sam 10:24). Daniel even addresses King Darius, a pagan ruler, this way (Dan 6:21). To say “long live the king” is to express loyalty and submission to a ruler. It’s a statement of belief that they are the rightful and beneficial sovereign. It is an endorsement of their justice and righteousness.

In Western culture, “long live the king” is often part of the longer phrase “The king is dead, long live the king!” Traditionally, this is the announcement of the death of the former ruler and the succession of the new one. In the context of Jesus’ death, it means something completely different! It is in his dying that he is crowned and exalted.

How appropriate, then, to proclaim “long live the king” of Christ Jesus, of whom Isaiah says, “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore!” (Is 9:7)

CHORUS 1
The first line of this chorus says, “the wrath of God and man now satisfied.” Many people are uncomfortable with songs that mention God’s wrath, or the idea that Jesus satisfies it. They object to the idea that a loving God should have any wrath toward his children and therefore the idea that he should send his Son to absorb such wrath on our behalf. I sympathize with their concerns, but we need to take the problem of human evil seriously if we are going to discuss God’s wrath. How can we look at genocides, murders, rapes, systemic racism, oppression of the poor, and casual acts of violence and not cry out for justice? How can we not cry out for God’s wrath to wash away the wicked? We must also remember that Jesus is not a separate entity from God; he is not merely human. He is God himself. So if one seek to blame God for creating man with our capacity for wickedness or if you think God is unjust to punish evil, remember that he stepped into our suffering and pain and took his own wrath upon himself. (Rom 2:8, Rom 3:23, 2 Cor 5:21, Gal 3:10-13, Isa 53:4-11) I think this is an excellent line because it shows that while God’s wrath is just, it is no longer directed toward us us because of Christ’s atonement. I also love that it draws the wrath of man into the equation. We humans so easily become wroth with one another, but Jesus’ death disarms our anger and violence. Ephesians 2:14 teaches that Christ broke down the dividing walls between people as well as the wall between us and God. In the shadow of the cross, how can we raise a hand against our brother or sister?

The phrase “he paid the price” echoes the early church’s understanding of atonement, called “ransom theory.” (Think Aslan dying to ransom Edmund in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.) In the Old Testament, atonement for all the people was made with continual sacrifices. Jesus has made perfect and final atonement once and for all by the sacrifice of his own body and blood (Heb 10:10).

Even sin and sickness must obey Jesus. He healed countless people during his ministry, including casting out demons (Mt 8:16-17). In the story of the paralyzed man in Matthew 9:1-8, he demonstrates his lordship over both. Not only does he forgive all the man’s sins, but he heals his body as evidence of his authority. It is important that we remember that while every sin and sickness must submit to Jesus’ authority, we are not guaranteed individual victory over each sin and sickness in our lifetime. There are sins that will continue to tempt us until we die, and each of us will eventually succumb to sickness. Even the Apostle Paul dealt with his famous “thorn in the flesh,” a persistent ailment of some kind (2 Cor 12:7). We must not take someone’s continued illness or struggle with temptation as evidence of lack of faith or evidence that God is absent.

VERSE 3
This verse is a little confusing because it could refer to a couple different things. It references several Scriptures, but the verses in question are famously hard to understand. We could be talking about the Harrowing of Hell, or we could be speaking more generally about Jesus defeating death.

In ancient Greek thought, Hades was where all the dead went, not only the wicked. It doesn’t carry the same connotations of evil and punishment as the Christian idea of hell. (Side note: Can we all agree to sing “depths of Hades” instead of “bowels of Hades?” I would really rather not say “bowels” in a worship song. 🤢) The trembling in Hades could refer to the twin earthquakes at Christ’s death and resurrection (Mt 27:54, Mt 28:2), or it could refer to death and hell themselves quaking in fear at Christ’s victory. The breath of God descending could refer to the Holy Spirit entering Christ’s tomb to bring him back to life (Rom 8:10-11), or to Jesus entering the realm of the dead to proclaim his Gospel to all the dead (1 Pet 3:18-20).

The triumphal parade seems to be a reference to Ephesians 4:8-9, which says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. (In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?).” Rather than a parade of captured enemies, as commonly seen in a Roman triumph or even in Psalm 68:8, Jesus is leading a procession of liberated captives. This procession consists of everyone who will believe in him, past, present, and future.

Either way you interpret it, this verse uses poetic and scriptural language to show the triumph of Jesus over death.

CHORUS 2
Now, instead of a the mockery and pain of a crown of thorns, Jesus, the Son of God, is crowned with many crowns. This line comes from Revelation 19:12 and also the famous hymn “Crown Him with Many Crowns.”

Jesus is the light of the world who dispels darkness and defeats death (Jn 8:12, 1 Cor 15:22-26). We would be lost in darkness on our own, but instead we are found in his light.

Another potential source of controversy in this song is the line “the souls of every sinner now redeemed.” The question here is whether this line suggests Christian universalism or universal reconciliation, the belief that all people will be saved, not only those who come to believe in Jesus during their earthly lives. I don’t think this line necessarily teaches that. The line says every sinner is redeemed, not that every sinner is saved. To redeem or ransom someone (see verse 2) means to pay a price for that person’s rescue or liberation. Jesus has paid the price for the redemption of every human being. Some may reject him and flee from him, like Hosea’s redeemed wife left him, but this does not lessen the scope of Christ’s great redemption.

VERSE 4
The Bible doesn’t give us much information about what happened inside Jesus’ tomb. We don’t know all the ins and outs of the trinitarian relationship, but it seems evident that the Holy Spirit played a major role in the Resurrection. Romans 8:10-12 says, “if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” Genesis 2:7 says that when God was making the world, Adam became a living creature when the breath of life entered nostrils. So Christ’s resurrection, the breath of life reentering his lifeless body, is the moment when the New Adam inaugurates the New Creation.

The dual image of Christ as Lion and Lamb is found throughout Scripture, but especially Revelation 5:5-6. Jesus has given his life as the sacrificial Lamb and he has triumphed over death as the glorious Lion of Judah. He is alive and glorified!

CHORUS 3
The name Emmanuel means “God with us,” so it’s interesting that the songwriters use this title here, at the height of Jesus’ glorification in heaven. Even when he is so very far above us, so enthroned that the very stars worship him, he is still near to us.

Much as he has exchanged a crown of thorns for many crowns of glory, Jesus has exchanged the mocking robe of the soldiers for one of true rulership. In Revelation 19:11-16, Jesus rides at the head of the armies of heaven wearing a robe dipped in blood and bearing the name “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” His reign and victory are just, faithful, and true. None is more worthy, none is more powerful. This enthronement of the Lion/Lamb King is the event for which all of creation has been longing (Rom 8:18-22). The stars and all of creation erupt in worship, and when we sing this song, we join in with them (Ps 148), declaring “long live the King!”

Accessibility

This song has a lot of words and Scripture references, but it also paints really clear and beautiful mental images that anyone can latch onto. For instance, the final chorus references Revelation 19, Romans 8, and Psalm 148, but you don’t have to know those passages to be able to picture the resurrected King Jesus filling heaven with his presence and taking his rightful place on the throne.

The main concern I have for misinterpretation is that some people might take the line, “every sinner now redeemed” as a statement of universal reconciliation, which most Christian churches do not teach. It’s also possible for people to get hung up on the intricacies of verse 3, but I’m confident that is a tangle that only experienced church people will stumble into, and if anything it will lead them into deeper study of God’s word.

The constant refrain, “Long live the King!” is easy to pick up (though the melody gets kinda funky in the second half of the song). The verses repeat the same melodic material over and over, so I think it will be easy for a congregation to learn and sing. The choruses are a little trickier, but well within the bounds of what is congregational. The melody jumps around quite a bit (slightly more than two octaves 😬), so range may be a concern. Still, the majority of it stays within an octave+2, so I don’t think you’ll lose people except on the very highest and lowest notes.

Music

The music of this song matches the words perfectly. The beginning is somber, then becomes hopeful, driving, and finally triumphant. And man is that ending triumphant! This is one of my very favorite expressions of the glory of the ascended Son of Man, and it has brought me to tears more than once. Having said all that, dynamics are super important in this song. It’s got to start quiet, it’s got to drive hard through the middle build, and it’s got to have a big ending.

The chord structure is another one of my favorite features of this song. It largely uses the chords you expect in worship songs and pop music, but it also throws in a couple minor 5s and flat 6s that somehow open up the tonality to invoke a level of majesty that you just don’t get in your typical G D Em C worship progression.

With those funky chords, the crazy dynamics, and the wide vocal range, this song demands a lot of a worship band, and it’s not for the faint of heart.

Function

Gathering | Word | Table | Sending

I would use this song anywhere in a worship service except for the very end. It unites God’s people with a shared acclamation, it declares the story of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and glorification, and it provides us with an opportunity to respond to that story from our hearts with love, devotion, and awe. So it works well as an opening song, a song of the Word, or a Communion/response song. The tricky part is fitting it into the dynamic or energy level flow of a service, since it starts so quietly and ends huge.

I would resist the temptation to use this one as a closer. The ending is big and powerful and exciting, but it lacks the kind of call-to-action that makes for an effective sending song.

Conclusions

Will it worship? You bet!

I started writing this post several months ago, before schoolwork and life circumstances necessitated taking a break from blogging. Since then we have sung “Long Live the King” a few times in church, beginning on Easter. I found that people were profoundly moved by the song, though it was more difficult than average for a congregant to learn and be able to sing along.

So, if your band is up for a challenge and you don’t mind some challenging lyrics about Jesus defeating hell, go for it! I am confident this song will bless your congregation and facilitate their heartfelt response to the gospel and the glory of Jesus.

Image by Tom Gainor on Unsplash

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

MANGER THRONE – Phil Wickham

June 4, 2024November 19, 2024 / Jason Henry / 3 Comments

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

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

Focus

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

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

Lyric Analysis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Accessibility

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

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

Music

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

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

Conclusions

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

10/10 would recommend!

Image by Pro Church Media on Unsplash

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

I’VE WITNESSED IT – Passion, Melodie Malone

July 26, 2023 / Jason Henry / Leave a comment

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

Focus

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

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

Lyric Analysis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Accessibility

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

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

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

Music

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

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

Conclusions

Will it worship? Yes. It will also preach!

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

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

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

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

THE CUP WAS NOT REMOVED – Justin Tweito

March 8, 2023March 27, 2023 / Jason Henry / 1 Comment

Image by Rey Proenza from Unsplash

I’m often drawn to songs that highlight biblical ideas we don’t usually sing about, or that present common worship topics in fresh ways. That’s what initially drew me to this song. Starting right in the title, “The Cup Was Not Removed,” written by Ben Wolverton, Justin Tweito, and Taylor Agan, focuses on some of the less-sung aspects of Jesus’ redemptive work. Here, we’ll look at some of these unique lyrics and see how they measure up to Scripture.

Focus

“The Cup Was Not Removed” is wholly focused on the atoning work of Jesus. We also emphasize that the appropriate response to his death and resurrection is praise.

This song speaks about God clearly, referring to him as the Father, the Son, the Lamb, and at its most intimate moment, “my Jesus.” (For more on calling God “my Jesus,” see my review of the song by that name.) It uses I/me language throughout, emphasizing personal salvation and each individual believer’s response of praise.

Lyric Analysis

VERSE 1
The key Scripture for this song is Matthew 26:39, in which Jesus says, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” This prayer comes while Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper, awaiting his betrayal. The cup he wishes he could avoid is the cup of God’s wrath (Rev. 16:19, Ps. 75:8), which will be poured out on him the next day on the cross. The cup of wrath⁠—the curse, the punishment that we deserved⁠—lands on Jesus instead of us (Isaiah 53:5, Gal. 3:13).

The authors of the song also draw attention to Jesus’ choice here. He could have gotten out of this. He certainly didn’t deserve death. But the lyrics tell us that the cup isn’t just poured out on him, and he doesn’t just take a sip, instead he drinks all of it.

The authors take just a little bit of poetic license in saying “his tears were as scarlet.” Luke 22:44 says that Christ was in such agony that his sweat fell like drops of blood, not his tears. If Luke is speaking literally here, then Jesus is experiencing hematidrosis, a rare medical condition in which great emotional or physical strain causes blood vessels to burst in one’s skin. This allows blood to leak out through pores and sweat glands. There’s no mention in Scripture of Jesus’ tears being like blood, but hematidrosis is most common in and around the face (see webmd), so it’s not much of a stretch to think that his tears would have mingled with the blood as well.

CHORUS
Jesus is described as the lamb who takes away our sin in John 1:29. At the moment of his death, the curtain in the temple tore from top to bottom (Mark 15:37-38), symbolizing the fact that all humanity now has access to God’s presence through Jesus. Jesus’ great work of atonement deserves all of our souls’ praise now and forever.

The scars from Jesus’ crucifixion are still visible—and touchable—in his hands and side when Jesus appears to Thomas and the Twelve after his resurrection (John 20:24-29), so there is every reason to believe that Jesus still bears those scars today. It’s always worth repeating that the Son of God died and was raised (1 Cor. 15:3-5).

VERSE 2
The Law in verse 2 is the Torah, the Law of Moses. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:17-18 that he didn’t come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. Every Old Testament sacrifice points to Jesus giving his life. We are unable to meet the requirements of God’s Law on our own, so Jesus fulfills them for us and puts his righteousness on us. Furthermore, Jesus ends the role of the Law in setting Israel apart from the Gentiles, uniting the two separate peoples into one and making peace between them and God through the cross (Eph. 2:14-16).

In 1 Peter 1:10-12, we see that the suffering and glory of Christ are the culmination of the message of the Hebrew prophets. God revealed to them that their work was not just for their own time, but for the future. God’s hidden plan for the salvation of the whole world is now revealed through Christ and the Church.

Colossians 1:15 teaches that Jesus is the very image of God the Father, and 2 Corinthians 1:20 shows us that Jesus is the “yes” to every promise of God. He shows us who God us in his character, and his work of salvation and blessing is the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham, David, Adam, and every other saint of the Old Testament.

VERSE 3
In verse one, we already admitted that we belonged up on the cross, not Jesus. Now we take an even more personal look at our own sins using first person pronouns. We praise Jesus specifically for removing each and every one of our sins as far from us as east is from west (Ps. 103:12). The authors also carry the east-to-west metaphor forward into the next line, as if the righteousness of God stretches across the whole sky.

Accessibility

I think this song presumes at least an intermediate level of Bible knowledge. Someone who isn’t a Christian or who hasn’t studied the Bible much is likely to miss many of the references in this song and may not be able to apply the imagery. They might not even realize it’s about Jesus until verse 3 if they don’t already know that he’s called the Lamb. The flipside of that is that this song is very theologically specific and not open to misinterpretation.

I think it’s healthy to have theologically rich songs that challenge us to think deeply and discover new truths about Christ. Even if you don’t understand all the details, you can still grasp the core ideas of the chorus: Jesus takes away our sins, he invites us in, he died and rose again, and he deserves our praise.

Music

This is an easy song for a worship band to pick up and play, especially if you transpose it a half-step down from Ab to G. The only tricky chords are the little pickup notes at the end of each line of the chorus, but if you have beginners on your team then they can just skip those. I really like the two instrumental leads (one at the beginning of the song, one at the end of each half-chorus), both of which work well on piano, electric guitar, or dulcimer. I enjoy it when my drummer leans into the rim clicks on this song, and it is also easy to adapt for cajon.

Conclusions

I’m a little late reviewing this song, because we’ve been singing it for well over a year. So yes, it will worship! It approaches the Gospel in a fresh way, with a special focus on Jesus’ work removing our sins from us. “The Cup Was Not Removed” works well almost anywhere in the worship service. I find that it’s a valuable Communion song, especially on Sundays when I want to make Communion less somber and more celebratory.

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

HOMECOMING – Bethel Music, Cory Asbury, Gable Price

December 16, 2021March 30, 2022 / Jason Henry / 2 Comments

Image by Kevin Delvecchio from Unsplash

“Homecoming” is the title track from Bethel’s 2021 worship release. I’ve already reviewed “Send Me” from the same album, and you can find that review here. “Homecoming” is the work of Cory Asbury, Brian Johnson, Gable Price, and Christian Ostrom, and covers a broad arc of the Gospel and its implications for our lives, past, present, and future. Where this song really stands out is the bridge, where it paints a beautiful picture of our arrival and celebration in heaven. Is this picture of heaven biblical, and will this song serve your congregation well in worship? Let’s check it out!

Focus

The verses and chorus of “Homecoming” focus on our responsibility for our sin and the great work of Jesus that exchanged our death for life through his crucifixion and resurrection. The bridge dwells on joy-filled imagery of the our future reunion with God, our families, and the global Church. There’s a lot of “I” language, but it’s mostly related to the admission of guilt. It’s clear that the glory in this song belongs only to God, as he’s the one doing away with sin and welcoming us into our homecoming.

Lyric Analysis

VERSE 1
“Homecoming” comes right out of the gate with a confession of sin. In fact, both verses start with the line, “Lord, I confess.”

Here at the beginning, we confess being criminals, particularly in stealing breath from God and singing our own songs. What in the world does that mean? I think we’re referring here to the breath of life that God gave Adam at creation, and which God provides to all living people as a continual gift (Gen. 2:7, Isa. 42:5). In this verse, singing my own song is a metaphor for using the breath and life God has given me for my own purposes and glory instead of his.

Next, we confess our lack of innocence, which is appropriate since all of us have sinned (Rom. 3:23). Further, we admit that our shackles are something we purchased ourselves. Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death, so being shackled to the dead weight of our sin is indeed the reality that we buy when we choose to use the gift of life to sin rather than to sing God’s glory.

VERSE 2

In this verse, we identify with the Prodigal Son from Jesus’ parable in Luke 15:11-32. Though he was born into a family with a loving father and an inheritance, he spurned his family and squandered his inheritance. This is what we do when we choose to wander from God rather than dwell with him in his house and under his provision and protection as in Psalm 23.

But then Jesus came! In Ephesians 2:11-22, Paul is addressing Gentile believers and how before Jesus, they were separated, walled off, from God and his family Israel. So the walls that imprison us are really the walls that separate us from God and his family. Verse 14 says, “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” This is how we pass from death to life and into intimate familial fellowship with Jesus and the Father (John 5:24, Eph 2:18-19).

CHORUS
Our sins are described as scarlet, red, and crimson in Isaiah 1:18, where God also promises to wash them white like snow or wool. These blood colors represent sin because when we turn from God, we have guilt on our hands like the blood of a murder victim, or perhaps a wasted animal sacrifice that only serves to keep up our outward image of religiosity (Isa. 1:15). The crimson cost of our sin, then, is the one sacrifice that can permanently remove it: the blood of Jesus (Heb. 9:12). For more on this, see my review of “Thank You Jesus for the Blood.” The next line makes this explicit, saying he nailed our debts to that “old rugged cross.” This is a reference both to the classic hymn by George Bennard, and the words of Peter in 1 Peter 2:24.

An empty slate is a fresh start. The original idiom comes from a slate tracking a ship’s navigation being wiped clean to start a new voyage. This is a refreshing and appropriate image for becoming a new creation, being born again in Jesus (John 3:3, 2 Cor. 5:17). And that empty slate is only made possible because of the empty grave, i.e., Jesus’ resurrection (Rom. 6:3-4).

So, of course, we express thanks to God for rolling away the stone that sealed Jesus in the tomb, and by extension, the stones that seal us in our own tombs of sin, and by further extension, the stones that will seal us in our tombs of literal death, as the bridge of this song will celebrate by exploring imagery of our future resurrection.

SPONTANEOUS

He’s singing to Jesus, I think. Either way, I imagine anyone in heaven is going to be smiling a lot, so I have no problem with this ad lib.

BRIDGE

So we started with confessing responsibility for our sin, then moved into the glory of Jesus paying the price for that sin and giving us new life through his resurrection. Now, we look at the future consequence of that salvation: our eternity reunited with God and his family, the Church. Like much of the Bible’s imagery describing our future resurrection, we have a mixture of concrete and abstract, metaphorical and literal. All of these, as N. T. Wright likes to say, are “signposts pointing into a fog,” images that suggest the glory and joy of our eternal state united with Jesus and one another without ever giving us a precise picture of what exactly it will be like.

I have to admit, I don’t fully understand the first line of the bridge. I think the crimson robes in question must be Jesus’ robes stained with his blood, and the ashes they are covering represent death and all the old things of earth that have passed away. Roses pushing up from embers is a connected line in the next stanza, representing something beautiful and alive being reborn from death, destruction, and pain.

The empty tomb in place of a casket represents both Jesus’ resurrection, and ours. I like how the image of the casket is used here to ground the truth of our future resurrection in our contemporary experience to make it feel more real and immediate. Not many of us have been to an ancient Jewish tomb, and it’s easy to feel a disconnect. But most of us have been to a funeral and seen a loved one lying in a casket. It is this stark, cold reality that will be undone forever at the final resurrection, and we will see our loved ones again, and be resurrected ourselves.

I’m not aware of any specific passages about children or families singing, dancing, or laughing in heaven, but these are all classic Old Testament expressions of joy or worship (Ps. 150:4, 126:2, 96:1). The Lord himself sings over us joyfully in Zephaniah 3:17. So these are all appropriate activities that I would expect all heaven’s residents to enjoy. “Rivers of tears” coming from happy memories of life is a little tougher to justify. Revelation 21:4 says, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” I think the kind of tears referred to in this verse are clearly sad tears, not happy tears, so we don’t need to take it as a blanket prohibition on crying in heaven, merely a signpost that all reasons for mourning and sadness will be gone.

As mentioned above, it is not surprising that all heaven should sing together both in worship to God, and in celebration at the homecoming of lost sheep (Luke 15:7). The “great cloud of witnesses” comes from Hebrews 12:1, where it refers to the people of faith listed throughout Hebrews 11. The idea in this passage is that all the heroes of the Old Testament who lived and died in faith, trusting in God’s promise of the future Messiah, are gathered around as we continue the race they began, this time with Christ in full view. I think it makes sense to carry this picture forward to the finish line of the final resurrection, when our race will finally be won.

Regarding the word “homecoming,” I think this is a perfectly apt description of our future resurrection when we will be perfectly united with God and his family forever. God’s presence is our true home, regardless of other circumstances (2 Cor. 5:8), and our citizenship is in heaven, where we will receive glorious, resurrected bodies (Phil. 3:20-21). When I hear “the Father is welcoming,” I picture the father of the Prodigal Son again. In Luke 15:20, the prodigal is returning home, expecting to become a mere servant in his father’s house, but instead, “while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” This is the kind of love with which we can expect to be welcomed home by our Father.

SPONTANEOUS

No major issues here. We will be with our families, or at least those of them who are believers. Wizard of Oz reference. Yes, Jesus is beautiful and we will see him face to face.

Accessibility

I am a little concerned about the accessibility of this worship song. It is jam-packed with Bible references and symbols that I expect to go over many people’s heads, and they come so fast that nobody’s going to catch all of them on a first hearing. This is both a strength and a weakness; a song that is hard to understand at first is often more meaningful once you mull it over and figure it out. Additionally, while individual lines are often tricky, the main emotional thrust of each part of the song is clear. The verses are sorrow over our sin, the chorus is gratitude for forgiveness, and the bridge is the joy and longing for our heavenly homecoming.

I don’t find much danger of misinterpretation in this song.

Music

“Homecoming” follows a pretty standard worship song format. We have a quiet first verse and chorus, then a dynamic leap in verse 2 and a pair of louder choruses followed by a bridge that builds to a crescendo, a climactic final chorus, and an “oh-oh” tag for an outro. In church, I would probably end the song here, though the recording goes through a spontaneous portion followed by another repetition of the bridge and chorus. The form of the song is effective at providing a vehicle for the message, and for communicating the emotional arc of sorrow-gratitude-joyful longing.

I think the most challenging musical aspect of this song will be nailing the drum groove. The drums on the verses are syncopated and clicky, and then the bridge is one long drum roll. Vocally, the melodies of the verses and chorus are easy but not boring, and the bridge is repetitive as one would expect. The challenging part here will be the “oh-oh-oh-OH” on the outro. I’ll probably transpose it down to fit my range better, but I do that with most songs.

Conclusions

“Homecoming” is a wonderful song that has been meaningful for me in my personal worship times over the past couple months. That time for me has included the loss of a grandparent and a strained relationship with another close family member, so the hopeful tone of the bridge regarding families being brought back together at the resurrection has been comforting for me. Upon first hearing the song, that emphasis on family gave me pause, and I wondered if it might be a reason not to use it for church. Any time we sing or talk about heaven, I am always wary of losing focus on its most important feature: Jesus. The point of heaven is that we are with the Lord, and he is with his people, his Church, his family. The presence of our own family members and friends who are in Christ is an ancillary benefit, not the main point. But it is a benefit. Part of being in Christ is being a part of his family, so it is right and good to celebrate the reunion of that global family for eternity with him. Part of that global family, and the best picture we have of that joy in this life, is our relationships with our own loved ones. So I think this feature of the song is effective and faithful to Scripture, as long as we do not let it overshadow the more essential point of being at home with the Lord.

Will it worship? Yes! I anticipate introducing this song and its glorious celebration of the Gospel to my church in January. I hope it blesses them like it has blessed me.

MY JESUS – Anne Wilson

September 27, 2021March 16, 2022 / Jason Henry / Leave a comment

Image by Priscilla Du Preez from Unsplash

I’m not a country music guy. This is a country worship song. But I dig it.

Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, and Matthew West have crafted a personal, engaging anthem of the power of Jesus in the life of the believer. At a first listen, all my questions are grammatical, not theological, so if you can’t handle singing “ain’t” in church, go ahead and stop reading now! If you’re still with me, let’s see what “My Jesus” is all about.

Focus

No question here. This song is very clearly about Jesus, what he’s done in my life, and what he can do to change yours.

Lyric Analysis

Before we get into specific lyrics, I want to address who this is song addressed to. It’s not being sung to Jesus, but about him, to an unspecified person. A congregant might hear the words as though they are addressed to them, or sing them with a particular friend in mind. Shouldn’t we be singing to God in church, not to other people? That’s not what Paul says.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Ephesians 5:19, “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.” Do we sing to God when we come together? Absolutely. But we also have a duty to sing to one another. Part of the purpose of our songs is to build one another up as believers. Additionally, the Psalms are full of words addressed to God (Ps. 4:10), words addressed to people (Ps. 148:11-12), and even words addressed to angelic beings and inanimate natural objects (Ps. 148:2-3). So singing to someone else about Jesus is an appropriate liturgical activity.

I could also see where some people might not like the title, which is repeated twelve times through the song. Putting the word “my” in front of something could be interpreted as exercising ownership or control over it. I want to worship the real Jesus, not just my version of him that suits all my own preferences. But this song isn’t about controlling Jesus; it’s about living in a covenantal, marriage-like relationship with him that leads us to say “My Lord and my God,” with Thomas in John 28:20 and even “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine,” with the woman in Song of Solomon 6:3.

VERSE 1
“Is it all too much to carry? // Let me tell you ’bout my Jesus”

Both verses follow a pattern of questions addressed to a struggling friend followed by the refrain “let me tell you ’bout my Jesus.” In verse 1, the implication is that if your answer to any of these questions is “yes,” then you need to hear about Jesus.

Is Jesus the answer to a weary soul carrying burdens that are too heavy? Yes, he offers rest and a lighter burden (Matt. 11:29-30). If you’re feeling empty, God is the one who can satisfy you (Isa. 55:1-2). Jesus saves us from shame (Rom. 10:11) and offers healin’ (Matt. 8:16-17). Just remember that we’re not promised healing from every mental or physical ailment until our resurrection (2 Cor. 12:7, Rev. 21:4).

CHORUS
“He can do for you what He’s done for me // Let me tell you ’bout my Jesus”

We get to talk about verb tenses! Yay!

The chorus is all written in present tense, so the first couple lines feel a little odd. Jesus already made a way and already rose, didn’t he? But the writing here isn’t verb tense confusion, it’s using the historical present tense, describing past events in present language to give them more immediacy. There’s an interesting (to me, anyway…) article on it here.

God makes a way where there ain’t no way all throughout Scripture (Isa. 43:19). The parting of the Red Sea, David and Goliath, Ezra and Nehemiah’s reconstruction efforts, all of it ultimately points to Jesus making a way for us to be united to God when we were totally alienated from him (Eph. 2:4-6).

He rises from an empty grave in Matthew 28:6. He saves even the worst of sinners in 1 Timothy 1:15. Jesus’ love is so strong, it’s unstoppable (Rom. 8:39), and he saves us by the free gift of his grace (Eph. 1:6).

The line “He can do for you what he’s done for me” shouldn’t be applied to specific, physical blessings, since God provides for each of us differently (my new car isn’t proof that you’re going to get a new car). Applied more generally, it is saying that he saved me and changed my life, and he absolutely can and will do the same for you. If being made a new creation isn’t life change, I don’t know what is (2 Cor. 5:17).

TAG

“Hallel” is a Hebrew word meaning to praise joyfully with song, and “Jah” is a shortened form of the name of Israel’s God. So “Hallelujah” is a command to sing praise to Yahweh. We commonly use it today as an expression of praise in and of itself.

“Amen” is a word used throughout the Old and New Testaments, often at the end of a prayer, that emphasizes and affirms that what has just been said is true. In this particular song, make sure you say “ay-men” instead of “ah-men,” or you’ll sound silly.

VERSE 2
“Who can wipe away the tears // From broken dreams and wasted years?”

The next two verses ask “who” questions, and the answer is always Jesus. Wiping away tears is a form of comfort, and Jesus comforts us in affliction (2 Cor 1:3-4). Telling the past to disappear seems like a poetic shorthand for removing our past transgressions, which God does (Ps. 103:12), and also alludes again to the idea that we are new creations. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

The next lines say that Jesus can take even our past regrets and mistakes and work them together to our good. In Romans 8:28, Paul says that God does just that, working all things together for our good if we love him and are called according to his purpose. So in singing this song to somebody who needs to know Jesus, we’re saying that that’s what’s going to happen once they meet him.

VERSE 3
“Who would take my cross to Calvary? // Pay the price for all my guilty?”

Calling the cross of Christ my cross is a way of taking ownership of the sins for which Jesus died. Paying the price for “all my guilty” is an awkward phrase, but I think the authors are using the word “guilty” as a collective noun to describe everything I’ve done wrong, all the things over which a judge might declare, “guilty.” Jesus paid the price for that. One of the clearest Biblical descriptions of this idea, called the substitutionary atonement, is in Isaiah 53:4-6.

“Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.”

Notice how many times Isaiah says “our.” Jesus must care very deeply about us to be willing to take on so much suffering and punishment that rightfully belonged to us.

Accessibility

This song is clear, uplifting, and easy to grab hold of. It sings the name of Jesus twelve times, so there’s no mistaking who it’s about. It offers plenty of concrete truths about God and what he does in the life of the believer, and provides two overt calls to action. I don’t see much opportunity for anyone to get the wrong message from this song.

Music

The instrumentation and vocal style of Anne Wilson’s recording are very country, and the chord structure and dynamic arc are very “worship music.” The melody is simple and repetitive and should be easy for a congregation to learn. The repeated line “let me tell you ’bout my Jesus,” is a good entry point for someone hearing it for the first time. I don’t hear anything especially challenging in the instrumental parts either. I do really enjoy the uplifting tone of the whole song and how it draws the listener in. I’ve also found that it gets stuck in my head easily.

Conclusions

Will it worship? Yes.

This song is like a life saver at the end of a rope, tossed out for a lost, hopeless soul to cling onto. The twin invitations, “Let me tell you ’bout my Jesus,” and, “Let my Jesus change your life,” are clear, evangelistic offers of relationship, both with Jesus and the person singing the song. I think it would work well at the beginning of a service, as a celebration of God’s life-changing power in our lives, or at the end of a service as a reminder to share the life-saving good news of Jesus with our friends and neighbors who desperately need him.

Two thumbs up.

THANK YOU JESUS FOR THE BLOOD – Charity Gayle

September 7, 2021April 19, 2022 / Jason Henry / 4 Comments

Image by Evie S. on Unsplash

A worship team member suggested this song to me recently, and the more I listen to it, the more I am moved to gratitude and worship. Jesus has done so, so much for me with his sacrificial death and this song paints that picture beautifully. But is this song scriptural, and is it suitable for congregational worship? Looking into those questions sent me on a deep dive into the use of blood in Scripture, specifically how the blood of Jesus is described in the New Testament. Here’s what I’ve found so far.

Focus

This song is centered on the atoning work of Jesus, specifically through his blood. It thoroughly acknowledges our sin and the separation from God that results, and how the blood of the Lamb frees us, saves us, washes us, and transforms us into ransomed sons and daughters of our Father.

Lyric Analysis

VERSE 1
1-2: Who likes being called a wretch? Nobody. But that’s how Paul describes himself in Romans 7:24. Bible Hub says that the Greek word used there means distressed, miserable, or beaten down by hardship. Certainly an accurate description of our pre-Christ predicament, and even of our continual struggling with sin after conversion, which is what Paul is talking about in Romans 7.

3-4: Luke uses the word “lost” frequently to describe people who are far from God (Luke 15:6, 15:24, 19:10), and to emphasize Jesus’ pursuit of these lost sheep. According to other New Testament passages, Satan blinds unbelievers to keep them from seeing the truth of the Gospel and finding healing in Jesus (John 12:40, 2 Cor. 4:4, 1 John 2:11). The foolish virgins in Matthew 25 ran out of time and missed out on the wedding banquet.

5, 8: Isaiah 59:2 says, “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” But even when we were far from God, dead in our sin, he still loved us, or “held me in your sight,” as the song says (Eph. 2:4-5).

6-7, 8-9: In the parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus describes paradise and Hades as being separated by a wide chasm (Luke 16:26). There is a huge, uncrossable gulf between the place of God’s mercy and the place of torment where selfish sinners end up. This is the kind of great divide that Jesus crosses in order to come to us.

11: As far as I can tell, Jesus is never specifically depicted as leaving his throne in Scripture, and some people object to the phrase for that reason. But I think it’s a good poetic image of the sacrifice he made in humbling himself, taking human form, and suffering on the cross (Phil 2:5-8, John 1:14). Being born in a feeding trough is kind of the opposite of reigning from a throne, isn’t it?

12: Jesus is building heaven (…or his throne? It’s unclear exactly which one “it” is referring to.) here inside. Presumably inside me, or inside us. This seems to refer to the internal transformation that comes with belonging to the Kingdom of God. I wonder if it’s also a reference to the inaccurate-but-well-known KJV translation of Luke 17:21, “the kingdom of God is within you.” It should read (and does in nearly every other translation), “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” Still, an aspect of Kingdom-building certainly takes place inside us, particular the transformative work of the Spirit. I don’t think there’s a big issue with this line, as long as we don’t think that the Kingdom is only being built inside us. It’s also being built around and through us.

13-14: Jesus himself is the propitiation for our sins, that is an offering to appease an offended party. We’ve offended God with our sin; and Jesus fixes that debt for us (1 John 2:2).

15: Jesus has freed us from bondage to sin (Gal. 5:1, Rom. 6:22).

16: We have no real hope until the blood of Christ brings us near to him (Eph. 2:12-13).

CHORUS
1: Thanking Jesus for his blood is an obvious and appropriate response to his sacrificial death. But the singer thanks him for “the blood applied.” What is the blood applied to? The song’s outro gives the answer, quoting from the hymn “Glory to His Name,” where it says the blood is applied to my heart. But is that idea scriptural?

When I think of applying blood, the first Biblical example that comes to mind is the sprinkling of blood on the mercy seat or atonement cover that was part of the Ark of the Covenant. This is where the high priest would sprinkle the blood of a bull on the Day of Atonement to cover over Israel’s sin. (Lev. 16:14-15). The book of Hebrews in the New Testament also refers to the mercy seat in chapter 9, and this is where I think we find the biblical basis for this song. Following a description of the earthly tabernacle furnishings and how they must be repeatedly purified with blood from sacrifices, the author says,

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

Hebrews 9:11-14

So Jesus’ blood purifies our conscience. The conscience is our ability to distinguish between good and bad, which is an integral part of who we are and one of the primary things broken by the Fall. I think heart is a fair synonym for that. I also think it’s worth noting that the author of Hebrews uses corporate language here; Jesus isn’t just purifying my heart in isolation, but our heart as the Church, his collective bride. (If you are interested in learning more about the idea of sacrifice and how it makes atonement and purification, the Bible Project has a great video on the topic that you can watch here.)

2: The color white, especially with regard to white clothing, is used all through the Bible to signify purity. The exalted Jesus wears white (Matt. 17:2), and so do his angels (John 20:12) and the saints in heaven (Rev. 7:9). In the Old Testament, prophets like Isaiah look forward to the day when God will wash his people white from their crimson sins (Isaiah 1:18).

3: Jesus has not only saved our life, but he holds our life safe with him, and he is our life (Col. 3:3-4).

4: The darkness is our enslavement to sin and the forces of evil; Jesus redeems us from that and gives us status as citizens in his Kingdom of marvelous light (Col. 1:13, 1 Peter 2:9).

VERSE 2
1-2: 1 Peter 2:24 says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” If the sins were ours, then it stands to reason that the cross and the tomb were ours, representing the fate we were headed for until Jesus took those sins on our behalf.

3-4: Jesus was indeed buried for three days. The walking part is assumed. He could have run or skipped, I guess?

5: Death loses its sting in 1 Corinthians 15:55.

6: John 3:16. Eternal life. Boom.

7-8: Much of the New Testament details what it means to live a transformed life. Romans 1:1-2 states it most clearly. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sin, we get to be living sacrifices to God and he is constantly transforming us and renewing us.

BRIDGE

1-3: If blood represents life, then Jesus’ blood is certainly the strongest life force imaginable (Gen. 9:4, Heb. 7:16). We’ve already detailed some of the wonders that his blood accomplishes. This line is also a reference to the hymn “There is Power in the Blood” by Lewis Edgar Jones.

4-6: Jesus’ work on the cross redeems us as his sons (and daughters by extension) in Galatians 4:4-6.

OUTRO
This is the chorus from the well-known hymn “Glory to His Name,” by Elisha A. Hoffman. And it is, of course, fitting to glorify the name of Jesus (Hebrews 2:9)

Accessibility

This song does not beat around the bush regarding Jesus’ sacrificial death. It cries out “the blood!” four times in the climax of the bridge. It also does not shy away from our culpability in our own sin, and the death that we deserved and would have received apart from Jesus. These ideas are offensive to the non-Christian and jarring to those believers who have grown complacent in their faith. I also doubt this song would play well in churches that emphasize the Christus Victor aspect of Jesus’ death and resurrection and downplay the aspect of substitutionary atonement.

While this song references a lot of Scripture and covers a wide range of theological topics, I think it states its ideas clearly and passionately through word pictures that are accessible even to someone who’s never read the Bible. People unfamiliar with the Gospel will get a clear picture that we believe in a glorious, many-faceted salvation that Jesus bought for us with his blood.

Music

Musically, you could do this song in just about any church. The recording leans on piano and organ for the first half, and then adds punch and dynamic range with the drums and bass, but it would work great with only a single instrument, whether that’s a piano or an acoustic guitar. Its simple gospel style is powerful and playable. While the melody is a little tricky at first, it repeats enough that your congregation will pick it up quickly. The refrain of “Thank you, Jesus,” in the chorus is a good entry point even if that’s the only line someone sings in the whole song.

EDIT: After doing this song on Sunday, I have concluded that the music is deceptively simple. Listening to it, you think it’s easy, but then when you go to play it, you discover just how many chord changes there are and how many little idiosyncrasies there are in the melody of the verses, and how rangy this song is. I still think your band can play it, but make sure your keyboard player and your lead vocalist have plenty of time to learn it before you rehearse.

Conclusions

While I was a little hesitant at first about this song’s blatant emphasis and celebration of the blood of Jesus, I am completely won over. It is likely to offend some people, but that’s exactly what Paul says will happen when you proclaim the Gospel, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor. 1:18) There is such a wealth of Christ-exalting truth in this song that I am certain I will be singing it in church for a long time.