Photo by Glen Carrie
Elevation Worship is a church-led band that was created in 2007.Ā They join Bethel Music and Hillsong as the ābig threeā that has the biggest reach in modern Christian music.Ā They releasedĀ many albums and EPās.
They also wonĀ eight awards, including two Billboard for Top Christian Artist (2021) and Top Christian Song (Graves into Gardens, 2021), and two GMA Dove awards for Spanish Language Album of the Year (Aleluya (En La Tierra), 2020) and Worship Recorded Song of the Year (The Blessing (Live), 2020).
Also, check out my otherĀ Elevation Worship reviews.
Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Elevation-worship-lion-lyrics.
Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!Ā ReadĀ About the Berean TestĀ andĀ Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.Ā IĀ strongly encourageĀ you toĀ considerĀ theĀ potentialĀ blessings andĀ dangersĀ ofĀ this artistās theology by visitingĀ Resources.
1. What message does the song communicate?
This song tells us many things about Jesus, including:
- Jacob’s God
- I AM
- Angelic ruler
- Son of Man
- Voice of waters
- Worshipped by song
- Glory is louder than the thunder He created
- Roars
- Father is pleased with Him
- Prophecied before He was born as flesh
- Messiah
- Worthy to open the scroll of seven seals
- Suffered and died
- Rose again
- John the Baptist is His forerunner
- Humbles the proud; gives grace to the humble
Side Note: To those annoyed by massive repetition, Chorus repeats the same two-line phrase four times (six times in its last iteration).Ā Bridge repeats the same two-line phrase four times in a row, followed by another eight-line phrase four times in a row.Ā The latter portion occurs again after Chorus’ final refrain.
Score: 10/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
All of it does.
[Verse 1]
Line 1: Often written as the “God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob” in Scripture (Genesis 50:24, Exodus 3:6, Exodus 3:15, Exodus 4:5, and Acts 7:32), He is also the Great I AM (Exodus 3:14), a title that Jesus claims about Himself (John 8:58).
Line 2: The angels worship Jesus (Hebrews 1:6, Revelation 5:1-14, and Revelation 19:1-8), who is the Son of Man (Matthew 8:20, Matthew 12:8, Matthew 12:38-42, Matthew 16:27-28, Matthew 18:11, Matthew 20:17-19, Matthew 24:30, Matthew 25:31-32, Matthew 26:64, Mark 2:27-28, Mark 8:11-13, Mark 8:31-32:38, Mark 10:32-45, Mark 14:62, Luke 6:5, Luke 9:26-27, Luke 9:58, Luke 11:29-32, and Luke 18:31-34).
Line 3: Scripture compares His voice to many waters in Ezekiel 43:2, Revelation 1:15, and Revelation 19:6.
Line 4: The angels sing before His throne (Revelation 5:8-14 and Revelation 14:3).
Lines 5 and 6: That is, the glory of God that thunders (Psalm 29:3) is louder than literal thunder.
[Chorus]
Line 1: Jesus is the Lion from the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5), worshipped by His followers (see Scripture in Verse 1, line 2).
Line 2: Though Scripture doesn’t cite that Jesus roars, according to 1 Peter 5:8, Satan prowls about and roars like a lion.Ā The word “like” or “as” is present (depending on the translation), indicating imitation.Ā Lions roar to establish territory and power.Ā Satan is the fake roaring lion, deceiving others by disguising himself as genuine.Ā His strength and rulership will come to a head when Christ returns and strips it from him (Revelation 20:10), showing Jesus as the true roaring lion.
Lines 3-8: Repeats lines 1 and 2.
[Post-Chorus]
Lines 1-3: Repeats the last word of Chorus, line 2.
[Verse 2]
Line 1: Zion is Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel.Ā The “pride of Zion” is not about Jerusalem’s haughtiness, but that the Father is well pleased with Jesus (Matthew 3:17, Matthew 12:18, Matthew 17:5, and Mark 9:7), who is ultimately Israel’s King (Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah 11:10, Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1-6, John 12:15, John 18:37, 1 Timothy 6:13-16, Revelation 17:14, and Revelation 19:11-16).Ā He fulfilled over 300 Old Testament prophecies concerning Himself.
Line 2: The Messiah is a man, Jesus (Matthew 16:13-20 and Mark 8:27-30).
Lines 3 and 4: Chorus establishes Jesus as the Roaring Lion. Revelation 5:5 says that this same Lion is worthy to open the scroll.
Line 5: Jesus is also the Lamb that was slain (Isaiah 53:7, John 1:29, John 1:36, Acts 8:32, 1 Peter 1:19, Revelation 5:6-8, Revelation 5:12-13, Revelation 6:1, Revelation 7:9-17, Revelation 12:11, Revelation 13:8, Revelation 14:1-10, Revelation 15:3, Revelation 17:14, Revelation 19:7-9, and Revelation 21:9).
Line 6: Contrasted with line 5, this line essentially repeats Chorus, lines 1 and 2, to make the point that Jesus is alive (Matthew 28:1-20, Mark 16:1-20, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29, Acts 1:3, Acts 3:15, Acts 4:33, and 1 Corinthians 15:3-8).
[Bridge]
Lines 1 and 2: References John the Baptist, who prepares the way before Christ comes (Isaiah 40:3, Matthew 3:1-4, and Mark 1:1-4).
Lines 3-8: Repeats lines 1 and 2.
Lines 9-12: References Isaiah 40:4 and Luke 3:5, which are about God humbling the proud and giving grace to the humble (Matthew 23:12, Luke 14:11, Luke 18:14, and James 4:6).Ā Also, contains backup singers who sing lines 1 and 2, which ties it to Isaiah 40:3.Ā Humility and grace both prepare the way of the Lord.
Lines 13-32: Repeats lines 9-12.
[Outro]
Lines 1-4: Repeats Bridge, lines 9-12 sans backup singers.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
Those outside Christianity will probably think it’s Jesus worship because it speaks of the Lord, Messiah, and Great I AM as the object of praise and adoration.Ā This song heavily contains Biblical references that may sail over the heads of those who are not yet Christian, including:
- Several titles, including Voice of waters, Son of Man, and Pride of Zion
- Opening the scroll
- Raised valley/lowered hill means humbling the arrogant and gives grace to the lowly
Score: 6/10
4. What does this song glorify?
It glorifies Jesus as the roaring Lion of Judah, who rules over the angels, was prophecied before He was born, suffered for us, and is worshipped by His followers.
Score: 10/10
Closing Comments
Elevation Worship’s LION is great.Ā It establishes Christ as the roaring Lion of Judah, who is the Great I AM, pleased by the Father, and makes allusions to His death, burial, and resurrection, bringing glory to God.Ā Unbelievers will get the general gist that it’s Christian and that we worship Jesus, though some will not comprehend its many Biblical references.
Those who don’t mind a lot of repetition may consider it for corporate worship.Ā However, it’s difficult to recommend for seeker-sensitive churches.
Final Score: 9/10
Artist Info
Track: LION (listen to the song)
Artist: Elevation Worship (Feat. Chris Brown & Brandon Lake)
Album: LION
Genre: Rock
Release Year: 2022
Duration: 5:55
Agree?Ā Disagree?Ā Don’t be shy or have a cow!Ā Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
Comments
Dave
Very good review of a very good worship song. Lion is true to scripture, and true to the passion of acknowledging who we adore and worship, and why. For those that find challenges in style or genre, this may not be something that they can endorse. This song was written in a certain style and context to appeal to a certain set of believers. Personal preference is a poor measure of the relevance of a song for worship.
Jarred L
Hoping to hear what “O valley be raised up, o mountain be made low” meant…
Vince Wright
Jarred,
Thank you for your inquiry!
I already answered this in my commentary; However, I will expand upon it in my reply.
If you look at Isaiah 40:3-4 and Luke 3:5, John the Baptist fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy that, as Elevation Worship puts it, “Oh, valley be raised up, oh, mountain be made low”. According to several commentators (see https://biblehub.com/commentaries/isaiah/40-4.htm), the raising and lowering represent grace and humility. That is why I brought in several passages and commentary concerning these two things. We must be humbled to prepare our hearts to receive Christ so that we can receive His grace.
I hope this helps clarify my commentary.
-Vince Wright
Si
Itās disappointing that the Berean test, once in pursuit of truth, now find itself in support of false lyrics. Is not the purpose of worship to glorify the Father and teach the children? This song serves none of those purposes. Each lyrics is taken and used out of context, providing no clear understanding of the Word. Yet the Berean test attempts to break each individual lyric into ātruthsā stating that it is scripture lead. As if the writer is looking up āwhere is āson of manā in the Bibleā and uses that to justify the lyrics. This same action is seeing done in dozens of other worship songs that the berean test seems to be GREAT for worship. Yet songs that truly teach disciples important biblical truths about God are hypocritically scrutinized by every word and perhaps deemed to be not as biblical such as o church arise. It seems the Berean test no longer seeks to find worship songs that truly teach the Word. Instead they cater to songs that only find support in emotions, music, and lyrics that end up diminishing the names of the God we worship. What happened?
Vince Wright
Si,
Thank you for your comments!
First, the purpose of worship is to proclaim to God His value and worth. Not sure how you can’t see that in Chorus, for example, where it says, “Hail, hail, Lion of Judah”. According to https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hail, this word means, “to greet with enthusiastic approval”. If that isn’t worship, I don’t know what is. Also, there is “Make Your glory known”, which is saying to God, “we want Your glory to manifest”. Again, not sure how this doesn’t proclaim to God His value and worth. A third example: “You alone are worthy to open up the scroll”. This is our affirmation that Scripture is correct: Christ is worthy. Again, not sure how you’re claiming that this isn’t worship.
Second, teaching children can be, but is not necessarily, a part of worship. Again, the point of worship is to proclaim God’s value.
Third, you say that the lyrics are used out of context. Can you elaborate on this point? How are the lyrics taken out of context?
Fourth, songs are meant to reflect God’s Word. There could be some teaching involved with that, especially to people who aren’t aware of concepts. However, the Bible should be our primary source of teaching, not song lyrics.
Fifth, if you have an issue with other Berean Test reviews I’ve done, feel free to comment on them.
-Vince Wright
Melissa Beaumont
Hi Vince,
I disagree and praise and worship songs very much can teach people about the Bible! David wrote poems and music of his struggles and love of God in psalms The first 50 psalms all from David. Beautifully written of praising and worshiping God.
Praising God teaches us through music Bible stories, names, places, we thank and worship God for showing us – through war, hardship, and Godās never ending love for his children and why we Worship and love him, respect him, how he walks with us, how Jesus Christ Died for our sins, how God the Father, His Son our brother Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit love us. All worship music should be teaching us this! š