Photo by Stefano Pollio
Hillsong United’s Not Today marks my 16th Hillsong review to date. They are the most popular artist requested for review. Below is a list of some of my high-scoring favorites:
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?
Despite all the words Hillsong used, poetic in expression and emotionally-charged, the message is surprisingly simple.
The name of Jesus makes the devil go away; His resurrection destroyed the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). It is in Him that fear and troubles cause His followers to stand their ground, resisting the devil.
Speaking of the name of Jesus, I am excited to see it in full display! While many other songs beat around the bush, Hillsong explicitly uses it, a breath of fresh air.
I think Hillsong sends the wrong message when they state, “I’ll sing my soul into Your Presence”. It works the other way around.
Side Note: To those who don’t like massive repetition, there’s a lot of it in Chorus.
Score 8/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
I find most of the lyrics to agree with the Bible; However, I have an issue with one of the lines in Chorus 1.
Lyrics posted with permission.*
[Verse 1]
Trouble won’t throw me
Won’t break me
Won’t scare me
No more
Fear must have thought I was faithless
When it came for my heart
This is an attitude of resilience against fear, whose source, according to Chorus 1, is the devil (1 Peter 5:8). We are to resist the devil so that he may flee (James 4:7).
[Pre-Chorus 1]
‘Cause I got a song that will never die
That is, a message for other people.
I know Your love is the reason why
Chorus 2 contextualizes “Your” as Jesus. It is His love that causes the things in Chorus 1 to occur (Romans 5:6-8).
[Chorus 1]
I’ll sing the night into the morning
This is probably not a reference to Psalm 30:5 because its context is about God’s wrath at night and forgiveness that leads to morning. Rather, it is a responsive expression to God’s love, seen in Pre-Chorus 1.
I’ll sing the fear into Your praise
More expression.
I’ll sing my soul into Your presence
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. We cannot force ourselves into God’s Presence. Rather, we can enter simply by becoming washed by the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 9:22, 1 Peter 1:2, and 1 Peter 1:18-19), going through a purification ceremony much like the High Priest of Old Testament times (Leviticus 16:1-34 and Hebrews 9:7).
Whenever I say Your name
Let the devil know not today
It is the power of the name of Jesus that removes the devil and his angels, the demons, from other people (Mark 9:38-39, Mark 16:17, and Luke 10:17).
[Verse 2]
Tell me did the enemy panic
As You took up that cross
Probably. Some speculate that the shouting, the spitting, and mocking is Satan’s last temptation towards Jesus. Matthew 27:40, Mark 15:30, and Luke 23:37 seem similar to Satan’s temptation in Matthew 4:6 and Luke 4:9.
Tell me did the darkness cry mercy
As You rolled back that rock
Well, they probably shuttered (James 2:19).
The stone rolled away are referenced in Matthew 28:2, Mark 16:4, Luke 24:2, and John 20:1.
[Pre-Chorus 2]
‘Cause I know Your life is the life in mine
The wording throws me off. I think Hillsong is saying that God lives in them (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).
I know Your love is the reason why
Repeats Pre-Chorus 1.
[Chorus 2]
I’ll sing the night into the morning
I’ll sing the fear into Your praise
I’ll sing my soul into Your presence
Whenever I say Your Name
Let the devil know not today
Repeats Chorus 1, lines 1-5.
Whenever I say Your Name
Jesus
Yes!!!!!! The name of Jesus!
Let the devil know not today
Not now not ever again
Repeats Chorus 1, lines 4 and 5.
[Bridge]
Your love stood down death
That is, Christ resurrected (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20, Acts 1:3, Acts 3:15, Acts 4:33, and 1 Corinthians 15:3-8).
Crushed the devil’s head
The wounded warrior struck the heel of the serpent, the devil, but experienced the pain of suffering and death (Genesis 3:15).
Fear is just a liar
Running out of breath
The fight beneath Your feet
Probably a reference to the race, where the prize is eternal life (1 Corinthians 9:24–27, Philippians 3:13-14, and Hebrews 12:1).
I’m standing on Jesus’ Name
Yes, because Christ is the foundation (Matthew 7:24-27 and 1 Corinthians 3:11).
So let the devil know not today
Let the devil know not today
No no
Not now not ever again
Jesus
Let the devil know not today
Not today
Not today
Derivative of Chorus 1, lines 4 and 5.
[Chorus 3]
I’ll sing the night into the morning
I’ll sing the fear into Your praise
I’ll sing my soul into Your presence
Whenever I say Your name
Jesus
Let the devil know not today
Let the devil know not today
No no
Not now not ever again
Let the devil know not today
Let the devil know not today
Let the devil know not today
Repeats various portions of Chorus 2, with a few equivalent lines that do not add anything new.
Score: 9/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
Those outside the camp of Christ should easily identify it as a “Jesus” song; However, they will probably find the imagery difficult to follow at times.
Score: 8/10
4. What does this song glorify?
It glorifies God, but a lone line in Chorus 2 adds a slight damper on it.
Score: 9/10
Closing Comments
Hillsong United’s Not Today is a pretty good song. It has a great Biblical message that some unbelievers can comprehend, glorifying God. However, the heavy use of repetition and filler makes it hard to recommend for church usage. It also contains an outlier line that seems contrary to Scripture. Still, I am overall happy with the outcome.
I cannot recommend this for corporate worship due to its focus on “me”.
Final Score: 8.5/10
Artist Info
Track: Not Today (listen to the song)
Artist: Hillsong UNITED
Album: Wonder
Genre: Electronic, Pop, Rock
Release Year: 2017
Duration: 4:13
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
*Copyright © 2017 Hillsong Music Publishing (APRA) (adm. in the US and Canada at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Updates:
05/07/2021 – Per Artist Theology announcement, I expanded the red text to encourage others to study Hillsong’s theology.
03/24/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement. I moved my commentary as a side note and added a sentence to section 1 about Chorus. This did not affect any scoring.
02/08/2020 – Added paragraph separation in section 2 and updated the conclusion to include my recommendation for corporal worship.
Comments
Michael Ramsey
I definitely agree! I love listening to this song but it never gave me praise and worship song “vibes” if you will.
Val Khieya
Hello!
Your review is excellent as always, but I disagree with one point you make.
The “sing my soul into Your presence” line does not refer to salvation or our entering into heaven when we die.
Instead it references Psalms 100:2b “Come before His presence with singing”
As our mind is part of our soul, to “sing my soul into His presence” would be to direct my mind on God and not my earthly troubles by singing, and thus, come before God in the spirit by worshipping Him.
I would forgive any ambiguity in the name of poetic license.
Vince Wright
Val,
Thank you for your compliment and challenge! The reason why I said “forced” is because of the word “into”. To me, it sounded like language where Daigle is forcing herself into God’s Presence. If it was worded “I’ll sing my soul in Your presence”, then I would agree with you. Yet, I thought it was a minor issue, so it only lost a point in a few sections.
I understand where you are coming from! I just don’t agree.
-Vince Wright
Val Khieya
Vince,
I took a look at the definition of the word ‘into’ and I found some interesting things.
Here’s the top definition from google search:
expressing movement or action with the result that someone or something becomes enclosed or surrounded by something else.
I know it’s a minor point, but I’m only going down this rabbit hole because this is language that, as a worship leader and songwriter, I deal with very regularly.
Thank You! 🙂
Vince Wright
Val,
Thank you for your thoughts! I am glad that you think deeply about the songs you choose and write when it comes to clear communication. As evidenced by some of my reviews, I’ve experienced many facepalm moments. Although to be fair, I’ve facepalmed my writing too. That makes me an equal opportunity facepalmer!
We all have a lot of learning to do. Some of us require helmets to prevent red palms and foreheads.
-Vince Wright
Steve Kuhn
Another great review tastywallet! This song spoke to me, and when that happens the song gets added to my Christian playlist. That’s six beautiful, soul touching songs I have downloaded since coming to your website. You have enriched my faith, and I can’t thank you enough!
tastywallet
Steve,
I am touched, thank you so much! Thank the requesters and voters too for submitting/prioritizing my reviews. It exposes me to a ton of content that I never knew existed!
-TastyWallet
Steve Kuhn
You are absolutely right tastywallet. I sincerely thank our entire community for submitting, and voting on these songs!