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Content in Hillsong Songs
I am a great lover of many Hillsong and Hillsong United songs, and God has used them immensely in my walk with Him. However, I do fairly reguarly have discussions with the rest of my worship team and with our pastor about the content of their songs - grammar/theology etc.
I am pretty sure that they are just me not understanding though, so if anyone has insight then please do let me know. I know that there must be room for poetic license in songs but I also think that there should be a limit to how far it can be done.
For instance, in "The Stand" (Actually an AWESOME song - I love using the "So what can I say..." bit and the chorus, but im less sure of the verses at current because of the line):
"My soul now to stand"
Now, most poetic license in Hillsong songs I can understand, but this case does leave me wondering harder than usual about it. I am guessing it must come from somewhere in the bible though?
Theres also the line "So I'll walk upon salvation" in one of the verses which confuses me slightly...
I am in no way having a go at hillsong here though ;) they produce some awesome music and do awesome things in this world for the Lord.
I am pretty sure that they are just me not understanding though, so if anyone has insight then please do let me know. I know that there must be room for poetic license in songs but I also think that there should be a limit to how far it can be done.
For instance, in "The Stand" (Actually an AWESOME song - I love using the "So what can I say..." bit and the chorus, but im less sure of the verses at current because of the line):
"My soul now to stand"
Now, most poetic license in Hillsong songs I can understand, but this case does leave me wondering harder than usual about it. I am guessing it must come from somewhere in the bible though?
Theres also the line "So I'll walk upon salvation" in one of the verses which confuses me slightly...
I am in no way having a go at hillsong here though ;) they produce some awesome music and do awesome things in this world for the Lord.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mikey Powell on
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I know what you mean Ben, I sometimes wonder about some of their songwriting. They do tend to include strange turns of phrases in them.
I think what they mean by 'my soul now to stand' is 'in order for my soul now to stand' ie you did all this so that now I can live the life.
There was a question over the theology of a Hillsong song at my church (see 'My Redeemer Lives' discussion) and my first instinct would be to trust someone like Chris Tomlin over Hillsong in terms of theology, although this could be a bit unfair of me. I do know that they have special people who check the theology of the songs before they release them, so they should be Ok!
Interestingly, I've always thought that their choruses are far better than their verses. Take 'Mighty to Save' for example - absolutely fantastic chorus and bridge but the verses didn't even seem that relevant.
Still, they put out quality merchandise and have been equipping the church for years, so respect to them!
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Permalink Reply by Ben Atkins on -
Yeah I think you're right there. Yeah I agree with you in terms of their choruses and bridges. Some of their songs are balanced with very good everything, but alot of them I prefer just the chorus and the bridge/refrain!
Thanks for the help.
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Permalink Reply by Nick Mangiapane on -
My boss challenged me in the content of "From the Inside Out". There is a line that says, "The art of losing myself in bringing you praise". At first glance it might not be clear. Our church believes in worshiping in Spirit, but also in Truth. My boss asked me to explain what this line meant in the song. It isn't the kind of lost where you lose direction. Worship is very much focused on the direction of God. I looked up the definition of art and the dictionary told me that art is a couple of things...It can be an expression and it can also be a skill/craft. We can express to God that we are losing our earthly self in praise to Him. And losing ourself can also be crafted over time when we draw close to Him.
Sometimes Hillsong can be very metaphorical and artistic in their lyrics, but I really enjoy worshiping with their songs. When investigating the lyrics in any worship song, dig deep to find out what the lyrics mean and see if there are Biblical references to the statements made.
Nick
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