Photo by Daniel Jensen
I want to have a chat about Hillsong. Just between me and you. It is quite obvious that you, my loyal viewers of ten’s and ten’s, have a slight obsession with this collection of artists. It shows up in my requests. It ranks high in my polls. Heck, most of you probably found this site from reading my So Will I review that nobody asked for. They are my most heavily reviewed artist, with 10 reviews and counting. Look, I really don’t mind doing Hillsong reviews, but can we put them on ice for a while? Surely there are plenty of other non-Hillsong songs for me to beat up or blow into oblivion? We can do this, good people!
Joking aside, my previous review of Wake left Hillsong with their only major scar. Perhaps Hillsong can lick their wounds and improve with Touch the Sky.
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?
I understand what Hillsong attempted to communicate. It was supposed to be a song about a man or woman pursuing fortune, finding emptiness within material wealth, surrender to God, and His rescue. Yes, it explains that happiness and fulfillment cannot be found in riches, a good teaching point for all who listen; However, it does not explain why or what caused it.
Also, who is the “You” in this song? Are they clearly identified or hinted at? The end of Verse 2 is the only hint that possibly links “You” to Jesus. But surely a boyfriend can metaphorically trade heaven to have his girlfriend again? Which is the better interpretation? It is not clear to me.
Finally, Hillsong’s focus is more about how they feel rather than expressing objective truth.
Score: 3/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
Given my commentary in section 1, we will assume God as “You” in the analysis, at the cost of a few points. While most of it agrees with the Bible, I have a slight concern with the end of Verse 1 and a major issue regarding the Bridge’s end.
Lyrics posted with permission.*
[Verse 1]
What fortunes lies beyond the stars
Those dazzling heights too vast to climb
I got so high to fall so far
As summarized in Proverbs 11:28, the pursuit of material wealth for its own sake will lead to one’s own downfall (also see Proverbs 15:27, Proverbs 28:22, and Ecclesiastes 5:10).
But I found heaven as love swept low
I think this is supposed to be Jesus’ rescue, combining 1 John 4:8 with Philippians 2:5-8; However, it seems a clunky expression of it.
[Chorus]
My heart beating, my soul breathing
I found my life when I laid it down
Upward falling, spirit soaring
I touch the sky when my knees hit the ground
Humility is a requirement for repentance and finding Jesus (Micah 6:8, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, and James 4:6-10). What God is looking for is a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17). Also, see Matthew 10:39, Matthew 16:25, and Luke 9:24.
[Verse 2]
What treasure waits within Your scars
A reference to the cross.
This gift of freedom gold can’t buy
I bought the world and sold my heart
See commentary in Verse 1, lines 1-3.
You traded heaven to have me again
Alludes to Christ’s sacrifice for sinners, as succinctly captured in Romans 5:6-8. Also, see Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:28, 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, Hebrews 9:22, Hebrews 9:26, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:1-2, and Revelation 5:9.
[Bridge]
Find me here at Your feet again
See commentary in Verse 1, line 4.
Everything I am, reaching out, I surrender
See commentary in Chorus.
Come sweep me up in Your love again
And my soul will dance
On the wings of forever
Unfortunately, this is not why God came to rescue us. It was not so that we can “dance on the wings of forever”. He wants us to have a relationship with Him (see Acts 17:27, Romans 8:15, John 15:1-11, and Romans 11:16-24).
[Outro]
My heart beating, my soul breathing
I found my life when I laid it down
When I laid it down
When I laid it down
Repeats Chorus, lines 1 and 2.
Score: 5/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
An unbeliever’s largest takeaway will be a brief summary of the pitfalls of loving money. It is not nearly as detailed as, say, David Ramsey’s commentary; However, the message should be somewhat clear.
The issues laid out in section 1 are far more pronounced with unbelievers. If we take our Christian glasses off for a second and read all the lyrics, without any knowledge of God or Jesus, would we think this was talking about God? Certainly not me!
Score: 2/10
4. What does this song glorify?
I think Hillsong was trying to glorify God; however, with all the issues laid out, it is hard to justify it. It rightfully condemns attaining wealth as an end and that does bring God glory, but that is all I can see.
Score: 4/10
Closing Comments
Hillsong bombed once again with Touch the Sky. Its only redeeming quality is denouncement of earthly treasures. However, with the “Jesus as my boyfriend” approach, its lack of clarity on the identity of “You”. To their credit, Hillsong has produced several high-quality songs, with great messages, biblical themes, evangelistic effort, and brings glory to God. Not so with this one.
It’s going to be a long 2019 for Hillsong!
Final Score: 4/10
Artist Info
Track: Touch the Sky (listen to the song)
Artist: Hillsong United
Album: Empires
Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)
Release Year: 2015
Duration: 4:22
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
*Copyright © 2015 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.
Comments
Eka
I’m not sure I agree with your negative interpretation of the phrase, “And my soul will dance. On the wings of forever.” Having a joyous response to God’s love is biblical and I don’t see what the problem is. Considering the previous phrase discusses their surrender to God, I don’t see why you’d infer a lack of relationship with God.
Mayen
Wings of forever happens to be a common phrase in Hillsongs music. What exactly it does mean, I wonder. It has no biblical references. Perhaps “wings” as in God’s wings, and “forever” in reference to his eternal nature. This description is far reaching and shouldn’t be so difficult to discern, but possible.
Another Berean
Hi Mayen. You are right. The “wings of forever” are not in the Bible, but they belong to the mythical phoenix bird. A 2011 secular song called “The Wings Of Forever” by the group “Holy Force” explains this as follows:
“The power that we own
It’s called the wings of forever
Like a phoenix through the storm,
We’ll fly into forever”.
You can see on the image they used on YouTube for their song that there is the fiery phoenix bird rising from the ashes, its wings encircling the Ying Yang, a symbol used by Chinese Taoism, which teaches that there is a higher power in the universe, “the Way”. Yet instead of being all good or all bad, it’s a little of both, just like Yin and Yang.
Lucille Bullard
I fail to see how “you traded heaven to have me again” is ambiguous. It’s pretty obvious. The only way someone could find any other interpretation is if they refuse the obvious intended interpretation, in which case they still know exactly what the intended interpretation is, but simply choose to ignore it. As far as “I touch the sky when my knees hit the ground”, the same thing applies. I believe you have good intentions, but it’s a stretch to think lines like those would really be unclear to anyone, unless the were somebody who had never even heard of Christianity at all.
Vince Wright
Lucille,
Thank you for your comment!
It could easily be seen as a metaphor for someone who sacrificed a lot for their loved one. Yes, if we assume God, it references the Great Exchange, but without anything else in the song that supports this conclusion, it’s easy for anyone to interpret this song as a boyfriend/girlfriend and not Jesus.
On the flip side, if we assume the entire song is about God, the song rates really well. I don’t think the assumption is justified solely based on the lyrics, but that’s my opinion on the matter.
-Vince Wright
Roz
I can’t understand the upward falling. What falling are we doing upwards when we know that Holy Spirit lives within us. Also touch the sky as a song title is sung by many other secular artists. Touch the sky reminds me of Babylon and it’s obsession with reaching the top hence ‘ what fortune lies beyond the stars’ I’m sorry the song seems off.
Another Berean
Hi. What I have found out out is that this strange idea of upwards falling is from the book “Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life” by Catholic Priest, Father Richard Rorh. It is on Amazon. Apparently this “very important book explores the counterintuitive message that we grow spiritually much more by doing wrong than by doing right–a fresh way of thinking about spirituality that grows throughout life.”
For me it just reminds me of the warning in Isaiah 5:20 – Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Pric
i agree with most of your analysis on this, i just wonder how you would rate this song if (mature) believers who know the metaphors and biblical reference were the intended primary audience.
As a long-time believer, I found the song very beautiful and poetic, and a very good reminder, because God knows we forget important things! But again, it is a shame that it’s very unclear for people without biblical knowledge.
Vince Wright
Pric,
Fascinating question! I would say somewhere around the neighborhood of a 7 to an 8, depending on how strongly I would penalize the Bridge.
-Vince Wright
Daniel
I think a secular person would have a really hard time making this song about a boyfriend with the lyrics ‘touch the sky when my knees hit the ground’ and ‘you traded heaven to have me again’. Also just because a song can easily be misinterpreted by other people doesn’t make it bad. Psalm 34, in some translations, says that God will ‘give you everything’ or ‘give you all you need’. People can easily misinterpret that to be talking about worldly riches. Does that mean that Psalm 34 is a bad song? Also, I disagree with the premise that there is something objectively wrong with songs about feelings instead of just facts. There are plenty of Psalms that are definitely based off of feelings. You have to show us why it is wrong to have write songs based off of feelings. I appreciate what you are trying to do certainly! I just think some of your comments need to be thought through carefully to find out why certain things are wrong or right in song writing. Thanks again for what you do!
tastywallet
Daniel,
Thank you for the challenge! Allow me to respond to each point one at a time.
The phrase “touch the sky when my knees hit the ground”, as you correctly stated, is not boyfriend language per se, but “you traded heaven to have me again” can easily be seen as an idiom, that the boyfriend sacrificed a lot to have me again. Both have a legitimate Christian interpretation; However, in my view, the first takes little away from the boyfriend view of outsiders.
I agree that easy misinterpretation doesn’t necessarily make it bad. But, it does make it unclear, which is why I gave it such a low rating.
I also agree that feelings aren’t bad either. Feelings are part of the human condition and even Jesus had them! The issue I have with feelings is when it becomes the central focus of the song. Psalm 34 does not focus on the psalmist’s feelings, but on fearing God and the great things He has done/will do. Even laments like Psalm 60, though mostly contains feelings, puts the focus on God as their rescuer and offers prayer to Him for help.
I appreciate the compliment! Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment. I hope that I have given you a better understanding of my thought process.