Daniel Ribeiro – Sanctuary (Let This Be A Place)

Daniel Ribeiro has requested another Berean Test review after I gave a favorable rating to his single, God of Victory.

For those who don’t know, Daniel Ribeiro is an American Christian artist and songwriter whose passionate about evangelism.  He wants to see people come to Jesus and serve Him, adding to the Kingdom of God.  He is also studying Pastoral Ministry & Music at Nyack College in New York City.

To learn more information, select Daniel Ribeiro Bio.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.

1. What message does the song communicate?

Jesus, having all power and authority, forsook his rightful place in heaven to become a frail, human being,  He gave His life on the cross, suffering and dying for Ribeiro’s lawbreaking.  He stood at the doorway of Daniel Ribeiro’s heart, wishing for Ribeiro to come to repentance and faith in Him.

Daniel Ribeiro humbly yields to God’s will, allowing Jesus to change his life.  Christ does this by removing the dirt and grime, cleansing him from all unrighteousness.  This provides fertile soil for the Holy Spirit to enter.  For this, Ribeiro offers deserving praise and worship to God, that God’s kindness leads Ribeiro to a personal relationship with Himself.  Ribeiro’s prayer and hope are that his life continues to grow, basking in the warmth of God’s Presence.

Side Note: It’s difficult to pin down this song’s structure because it doesn’t follow the basic Verse/Chorus/Bridge formula.  There are a few sections that we could potentially attach these labels; However, I like that it breaks somewhat from the traditional model without becoming overly repetitious.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

The entire lyrics align with God’s inspired Word.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

Since this song does not contain a Verse/Chorus/Bridge structure, I assigned stanzas to each paragraph.

[Stanza 1]

My heart I give You now
So You can make it fresh
For Your power to change
And make it clean

Ribeiro surrenders to God (Isaiah 64:8, Matthew 10:38, Matthew 11:28-30, Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34-38, Mark 10:28, Luke 9:23, Luke 14:27, John 15:1-11, Romans 6:13, Romans 12:1-2, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 2:5-8, Hebrews 11:6, James 4:7-10, and 1 Peter 5:6) so that He can cleanse Riberiro’s heart (Exodus 20:20, Psalm 19:9, Psalm 51:10-19, Proverbs 14:2, and Proverbs 23:17, and 1 John 1:9).

[Stanza 2]

My heart I give You now

Repeats Stanza 1, line 1.

Let it be a sanctuary
For Your spirit to dwell
Guiding me

Ribeiro offers His body as a living temple for the Holy Spirit to live (Acts 6:5, Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:16-19, Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 5:18, and 2 Timothy 1:14).

[Stanza 3]

Lord let it be
Where my life is broken and humbled at Your feet
Lord let it be
Where Your life completely changes me

A prayer offered to God, that Ribeiro remains humble in his transformation (Micah 6:8, Romans 12:3, Romans 12:16, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Ephesians 4:2, Philippians 2:3-8, Colossians 3:12, James 4:6-10, James 4:14-16, and 1 Peter 5:5-10).

[Stanza 4]

Lord let this be a place
Where Your presence dwells in us
Let this be a place
Where Your life’s alive in us
Oh, let this be a place
Where You long to come in

See Stanza 2, lines 2-4.

Jesus, have Your way

More surrender language, directed specifically to Jesus.  See commentary in Stanza 1.

You are worthy to be praised

Yes, God is worthy of our worship 1 Chronicles 16:25, 2 Samuel 22:4, Psalm 96:4-5, Psalm 145:3, and Revelation 4:11.

[Stanza 5]

You traded all heaven
To come for all mankind
So that You would die
And I may draw close

Often described as the “great exchange”, and described in Philippians 2:5-8, Jesus left a position of power and authority to humble himself to death on a cross, sacrificed for our sake.  We are to follow His example of sacrificial love to others, drawing us closer to God.

[Stanza 6]

So here’s my broken heart
Constrained from all my sin
Take it and wash it so
We can dwell in harmony

Ribeiro admits that his heart is damaged, alluding to Jeremiah 17:9.  He asks God to make it clean, to experience a restored relationship with God (John 15:1-11, Acts 17:27, Romans 8:15, Romans 11:16-24, and Philippians 3:8-10).  Also, see Stanza 1.

Side note: The lyrics don’t state this, but reading all these lyrics about cleansing reminded me of Ephesians 5:25-27, where it talks about Jesus cleaning His bride, the church, the body of Christ, by washing her in God’s Word so that He can present us as holy and blameless.  Marriage is meant to reflect this beautiful picture of our relationship with Jesus.  For those who haven’t read Ephesians 5, check it out!

[Stanza 7]

Lord let it be
Where my life is broken and humbled at Your feet
Lord let it be
Where Your life completely changes me

Repeats Stanza 3.

Lord let this be a place
Where Your presence dwells in us
Let this be a place
Where Your life’s alive in us

Repeats Stanza 4, lines 1-4

Oh, let this be a place
Where You long to come in

Jesus stands at the door and knocks.  Ribeiro prays that we will allow Christ in (Revelation 3:20).

Jesus, have Your way
You are worthy to be praised

Repeats Stanza 4, lines 5 and 6.

[Stanza 8]

Lord let this be a place
Where Your presence dwells in us
Let this be a place
Where Your life’s alive in us
Oh, let this be a place
Where You long to come in
Jesus, have Your way
You are worthy to be praised

Repeats Stanza 7.

[Stanza 9]

In the Holy of Holies
I can enter in
For Your love made a way
So that I can go in

The Holy of Holies is an Old Testament concept.  In Israel’s history, there existed a temple with an outer and inner-sanctuary, separated by a veil.  Within the inner-sanctuary was a tabernacle, or the “most holy place”, which contained the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant.  Only the high priest could enter once a year to make atonement for Israel through the shedding of the innocent blood of animals.  These elements are temporary and point to a greater and more permanent tabernacle.

According to Hebrews 9:1-28, Christ is our permanent high priest, who entered through this eternal tabernacle that is not man-made.  It is through the shed blood of Lamb, Jesus (Revelation 7:14 and Revelation 12:11), that we may enter eternal life.  There is no other name by which we can be saved (John 14:6 and Acts 4:12).

[Stanza 10]

In the Holy of Holies
I can enter in
For Your love made a way
So that I can go in

Repeats Stanza 9.

[Stanza 11]

In Your presence, I lay myself down

See commentary in Stanza 1.

In Your presence, I lay myself down
In Your presence, I lay myself down

Repeats line 1.

Lord have Your way

Essentially repeats Stanza 4, line 7.

[Stanza 12]

In Your presence, I lay myself down
In Your presence, I lay myself down
In Your presence, I lay myself down
Lord have Your way

Repeats Stanza 11.

Have Your way

Essentially repeats line 4.

[Stanza 13]

Lord let this be a place
Where Your presence dwells in us
Let this be a place
Where Your life’s alive in us
Oh, let this be a place
Where You long to come in
Jesus, have Your way
You are worthy to be praised

Repeats Stanza 7.

[Stanza 14]

Lord let this be a place
Where Your presence dwells in us
Let this be a place
Where Your life’s alive in us
Oh, let this be a place
Where You long to come in
Jesus, have Your way
You are worthy to be praised

Repeats Stanza 7.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Many unbelievers will probably conclude that it’s a Christian song, given its explicit references to Jesus, spirit, Lord, and heaven.  I’m also confident that they will see surrender and sacrifice, that Ribeiro gives his life to become a Christian.

This song is also thick with Christianese, with many references that those outside the camp of Christ will probably not comprehend.  For example:

• The heart as a sanctuary to receive the Holy Spirit
• The act of Jesus trading heaven so that we can have a personal relationship with God
• The concept of sin as lawbreaking, as opposed to simply making mistakes
• The Old Testament Holy of holies reference

Though this song is not accessible to unbelievers, Ribeiro should take this lower rating as a back-handed compliment.  He took great care to provide depth of God’s Word throughout these lyrics, even if unbelievers will probably not understand it without deeper study.

Score: 6/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God that it communicates the right picture of mankind’s sinful state, where Christ sacrificed His life to rescue us, and that He makes us clean, making possible the Holy Spirit to live inside us.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Daniel Ribeiro’s Sanctuary (Let This Be A Place) is a great worship song for believers.  Christ’s surrender on the cross provides a great example of how we submit to God, where Jesus prepares our hearts to receive the Holy Spirit, bringing glory to God.  Unbelievers will likely walk away with a basic understanding of subservience, that Christians submit to God.  However, this song contains many elements that they likely won’t comprehend, including the sanctuary, the great exchange, and the Holy of holies.

I highly recommend this song for churches that would not identify as “seeker-sensitive”.

Final Score: 9/10

Artist Info

Track: Sanctuary (Let This Be A Place) (listen to the song)

Artist: Daniel Ribeiro

Album: N/A

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2021

Duration: 6:51

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

*Copyright © 2021, Daniel Ribeiro. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Updates:

03/23/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.  I moved my commentary on the song’s structure to a side note.  Scoring was unaffected.