Photo by Akira Hojo
What can I say about Hillsong that hasn’t been said in 30+ other reviews? Leading CCM artist. Check. Run by a church organization in Australia. Check. Song List. Check. Awards for Hillsong UNITED and Hillsong Worship. Check. Brian Houston controversy. I’m not touching that with a ten-foot pole.
Also, check out my entire list of Hillsong reviews and Christmas songs, Seasons and Prince of Heaven.
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. I strongly encourage you to consider the potential blessings and dangers of this artist‘s theology by visiting Resources.
1. What message does the song communicate?
This song starts by reminding God of His promises, that He remembers what Jesus did for Hillsong. This is more beneficial to Hillsong than God since He knows everything. Hillsong surrenders to God’s will, concluding that He is more important than anything else this world has to offer. Christ is God who became a man. He was tempted and tried as we, took the penalty for our lawbreaking, and resurrected from the dead.
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
The entire song is Biblical.
Lyrics posted with permission.*
[Verse 1]
Savior I come quiet my soul
Possibly references Psalm 131:2, though used in the context of coming to Jesus.
Remember redemption’s hill
Where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom
Much like Moses did in Exodus 32:11-14, so too does Hillsong remind God of His promises. In this case, it is Jesus’ payment for our lawbreaking (Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, John 19:30, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:6-10, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 1:3-4, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:15-26, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:1-2, and Revelation 5:9). This reminder is not for God’s sake but for ours. After all, God knows all things (1 Kings 8:39, 1 Chronicles 28:9, Psalm 44:21, Psalm 139:4, Psalm 147:4-5, Isaiah 40:28, Matthew 10:30, John 16:30, John 21:17, Acts 1:24, Hebrews 4:13, and 1 John 3:20).
[Pre-Chorus]
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as loss
Quotes from Philippians 3:8, implying that Jesus is most precious to Hillsong.
[Chorus]
Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
That is, lead Hillsong to a place of complete and total surrender to God (Psalm 43:5, 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).
Oh lead me lead me to the cross
Essentially repeats line 1.
[Verse 2]
You were as I tempted and tried human
Jesus was tempted in every way as man (Hebrews 4:15).
The word became flesh
Christ is the Word that became a man (John 1:1, John 1:14, and Philippians 2:5-7).
Bore my sin and death
See commentary on Verse 1, lines 2-4 sans paragraph 2.
Now You’re risen
Jesus rose from the dead (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]
To Your heart
A partial statement. See line 3.
To Your heart
Repeats line 2.
Lead me to Your heart
That is, to do God’s will and not Hillsong’s (see Chorus, lines 1-6).
Lead me to Your heart
Repeats line 3.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
Chorus explains the entire song for unbelievers. Hillsong is asking God to lead them to the cross in submission to God’s ways. The cross where His blood was spilled is the dead giveaway that it’s a Christian song. I can’t find anything here that unbelievers will not comprehend or will misinterpret.
Score: 10/10
4. What does this song glorify?
It glorifies God that Hillsong yields to Jesus, not forgetting how much it cost Him to redeem us.
Score: 10/10
Closing Comments
Hillsong UNITED’s Lead Me to the Cross is a great song. It invites us to surrender to God’s will, remembering His sacrifice and resurrection that makes salvation possible. This glorifies God. Unbelievers shouldn’t have issues interpreting similarly.
I highly recommend this song for corporate worship.
Final Score: 10/10
Artist Info
Track: Lead Me to the Cross (listen to the song)
Artist: Hillsong UNITED
Album: All of the Above
Genre: Rock
Release Year: 2007
Duration: 4:19
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
*Copyright © 2004 Hillsong Music Publishing (APRA) (adm. in the US and Canada at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Comments
💚Grace F.💚 (@SoGoRox1)
I enjoyed this review! I just had a question about your statement that the first verse is to “remind God” of his goodness. Is it possible that the word “remember” is a continuation of the previous line rather than the first one? In that case, it could just mean that the singer is remembering God’s goodness, not reminding him of it. What do you think?
Vince Wright
Grace,
Great question!
The first line tells us that the artist is speaking to the Savior. The artist comes before God and quiets their soul. Then they say to them, “Remember redemption’s hill”. Had the artist meant to articulate that they remembered it, they would have added the personal pronoun “I” before the word “remember”.
-Vince Wright
💚Grace F.💚 (@SoGoRox1)
Thanks for your reply, Vince. I think I wasn’t clear enough with my initial comment. What I was trying to say was that maybe the “I” from “Father, I come” was also supposed to modify “quiet my soul” and “remember.” However, I guess it could go either way. 🙂
anonymous
Not touching things with a 10-foot pole is the reason power-unbalance goes unchecked and issues in our Church remain – questions need to be asked. Saying (or singing) one thing, and then doing another….
Vince Wright
anonymous,
Thank you for your comments!
My reasoning is that the purpose of The Berean Test isn’t to expose unchecked unbalance in churches. There are plenty of other sites that address it and I’m grateful for that. My focus is on examining song lyrics independent of these events. Thus, I’m not touching it here.
-Vince Wright