Matt Redman (Feat. Brandon Lake) – We Praise You

Matt Redman began his music career in 1993 at 15 as the founder of Soul Survivor before transitioning to his solo career.  He released a massive 18 albums, including 14 studio and 4 live albums.  These include The Heart of Worship, 10,000 Reasons, and Where Angels Fear to Tread.

He won numerous awards, including two Grammy’s, ten Dove’s, and one Cranmer Award for his work.

Also, check out my other Matt Redman reviews, including Wonderful Maker, Mercy, Better is One Day, Blessed Be Your Name, and 10,000 Reasons.

Side Note: I reviewed Redman’s version because he released this song first.  However, I added an entry for Brandon Lake on the Song Review Index.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Matt-redman-we-praise-you-live-lyrics.

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?

Praise and worship are Matt Redman’s weapons to silence his enemy, including anxiety.  It is the name of God that drives out darkness, where Redman claims victory.  It is through praise that shows the way Redman lives, how free he is, and what eternal life is like in heaven.

It also contains a few statements that could potentially support the “Word of Faith” movement, including that “all” walls will be broken down, and (possibly) faith overcomes.  It’s not inherent in the lyrics, but nonetheless concerning.

Score: 8/10

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

While most of this song agrees with the Bible, Verse 1 is incorrect.  Not all walls are broken down.  Sometimes God allows us to suffer to glorify Him.  Also, Verse 2 could potentially be unbiblical, depending on its usage to support the Word of Faith movement.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-3: Psalm 8:2 tells us that children will use their mouths to establish strength and silence their enemies.  We see two examples of this in the Scriptures.  One is where the Israelites shouted to bring down the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6:20-21).  The other is when the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir were killed (2 Chronicles 20:22).

I can’t see why anxiety could not be an enemy conquered with worship, in part, because focusing on Christ helps us to fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) instead of our problems.

Line 4: The name of God is a light that shines through the darkness (Psalm 27:1, Psalm 119:105, Psalm 119:130, Matthew 4:16, John 1:1-8, John 8:12, Ephesians 5:14, James 1:17, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 John 1:5-7, and Revelation 21:23).

Line 5: See lines 1 and 2.

Line 6: Repeats line 3.

[Chorus]

Lines 1 and 2: Redman prays expecting God to respond (Matthew 21:22, Mark 11:24, and 1 John 3:22).

Sometimes, God uses trials to make us better people (Romans 5:3-5, Hebrews 12:4-11, and James 1:2-4), where His grace is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:8-9).  While many believe that Jesus will do anything if asked in His name (John 14:14), they also forget that this request is contingent upon the Father’s glory in the Son (John 14:13).  Sometimes God says “No” and we must learn to accept His will.

Line 3: Yes, because perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).  Praise and worship is how we show love to God.

Line 4: He is for us, not against us (Romans 8:31).

Lines 5-8: All creation will praise God (Psalm 19:1-4, Psalm 66:4, Psalm 103:22, Psalm 148:7-11, Psalm 150:1-6, Isaiah 55:12, Luke 19:40, and Revelation 5:13).

[Verse 2]

Lines 1-4: On the one hand, although they were not singing, this is most likely a reference to Hebrews 11:1-40, where many people did great things by trusting in God.  Though we war against our flesh (Romans 7:14-25), we can overcome by trusting in Jesus (Romans 8:37).  Also, see commentary on Chorus, lines 1 and 2.

[Bridge]

Lines 1-4: Praise is how living, freedom, and heaven appears, feels, and sounds.  It’s how we express ourselves to the lovingkindness that God gave to us, that while we were sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8).

Line 5-8: Repeats lines 1-4.

Line 9: Incites us to, well, sing this song.

Lines 9-17: Repeats lines 1-4.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

I’m not sure if unbelievers will know that it’s Christian based on the lyrics.  Religious, yes, since it mentions God, heaven, and praise; However, I suspect that the same lyrics would be true of Isalm, Judaism, and a host of other deistic religions.  More importantly, those who have formerly trusted God to “breakthrough” in all their circumstances, only to be disappointed, will probably have a nasty taste in their mouths from hearing this.

Score: 5/10

4. What does this song glorify?

While it glorifies God that we praise Him through victory, its aforementioned potential issues veil it somewhat.

Score: 8/10

Closing Comments

Matt Redman’s We Praise You is decent.  It shows God’s glory through praise and worship, that through Him, we may obtain victory over our circumstances, and that there’s freedom and life in praise.  However, it also potentially supports Word of Faith, which teaches that faith is a force that guarantees healing if you have enough of it.  This concept has led many away from Jesus, somewhat negatively impacting God’s implicit glory in these lyrics.

If the issues I brought up are addressed on-stage, I can recommend it for corporate worship.

Final Score: 8/10

Artist Info

Track: We Praise You (listen to the song)

Artist: Matt Redman

Album: Let There Be Wonder (Live)

Genre: Rock

Release Year: 2020

Duration: 4:47

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

Updates:

02/25/2022 – Updated content/scoring to align with similar reviews.  This raised the overall score from 6/10 to 8/10, with recommend bumped up to “Perhaps”.  I also fixed a dangling modifier in my commentary on Verse 1, lines 1-3, and toned down critiques.

02/23/2022 – Added a side note to Introduction.

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.