Phil Wickham – Messiah / You’re Beautiful

We’re back again with yet another Phil Wickham review!  I’ve done five other reviews that include Christ is Risen, Your Love Awakens Me, Great Things, Living Hope, and This is Amazing Grace, all of which received perfect or high scores.

For those who are unaware, Phil Wickham is a Contemporary Christian artist who began his career in 2002, leading worship at his local youth group at 13.  Both of his parents are former members of the band Parable. He released nine albums, including:

• Give You My World (2003)
• Phil Wickham (2006)
• Cannons (2007)
• Heaven & Earth (2009)
• Response (2011)
• The Ascension (2013)
• Children of God (2016)
• Living Hope (2018)
• Christmas (2019)

He received a Dove award last year for Worship Recorded Song of the Year for his song Living Hope.

Also, check out my reviews of Christ Is Risen, Your Love Awakens Me, Great Things, Living Hope and This is Amazing Grace.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Phil-wickham-messiah-youre-beautiful-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?

Wickham sees the beauty and power of God in creation, which declare His glory.  He gazes upon Christ, who was crucified for his transgressions and rose again, sitting at the Father’s right hand.  We as Christ’s bride will join Him, no longer experiencing death or tears.

Score: 10/10

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

The entire song aligns with Scripture.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-4: Wickham sees God’s beauty through the things He made, including the sunrise (Psalm 19:1-6 and Romans 1:20).

Line 5: Indeed, He is (Psalm 27:4 and Isaiah 33:17).

[Verse 2]

Lines 1-4: Wickham uses the same Scripture in Verse 1, lines 1-4, to highlight God’s strength manifest through His creation.

Lines 5 and 6: Repeats Verse 1, line 5.

[Verse 3]

Line 1: This comes from Acts 5:30, Acts 10:39, Acts 13:29, Galatians 3:13, and 1 Peter 2:24, where the Koine Greek word “xulon” (Strong’s 3586) literally means “wood”.  It references Jesus’ hanging on the horizontal crossbeam.

Line 2: This is the Gospel message: that Christ paid the penalty for Wickham’s 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, 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) and rose again (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).

Line 3: That is, at the right hand of the Father (Matthew 22:44, Acts 2:33, Acts 7:55–56, Romans 8:34, Ephesians 1:20, Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 1:3, Hebrews 8:1, Hebrews 10:12, Hebrews 12:2, 1 Peter 3:22, and Revelation 3:21).

Line 4: That is, to eternal life with God (Mark 10:29-30, John 3:15-16, John 3:36, John 4:14, John 5:24, John 5:39-40, John 6:27, John 6:40, John 10:28, John 17:3, John 20:31, Romans 5:21, Romans 6:22-23, Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Galatians 6:8, 1 Timothy 1:16, 1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Timothy 2:11, Hebrews 5:9, 1 Peter 5:10, 1 John 2:23-27, 1 John 5:10-13, 1 John 5:20, Jude 1:20-21, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 7:16-17, and Revelation 21:3-4).

Lines 5 and 6: Repeats Verse 1, line 5.

[Verse 4]

Line 1: Wickham invites Christ-followers to sing with him.

Lines 2 and 3: When we enter the new heaven and earth, there will be no more death, our tears will be wiped from our eyes (Revelation 21:1-4).

Lines 4 and 5: Christians are called the bride of Christ in the sense that we submit to the authority of God (Ephesians 5:22-32 and Revelation 19:7-9).

Lines 6 and 7: Repeats Verse 1, line 5.

[Chorus]

Line 1: Repeats the first part of Verse 1, line 1.

Lines 2-4: Repeats Verse 1, line 5.

LInes 3-14: Repeats either line 1 or 2.  This signifies our eternal praise when we are with God in heaven (Nehemiah 9:5, Psalm 30:12, Psalm 52:9, Psalm 86:12, Psalm 89:1, Psalm 115:18, Psalm 145:1-2, Psalm 145:21, and Revelation 5:9-13).

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Despite its lack of an explicit reference to God or Jesus, those outside the camp of Christ will find interpretation easy.  Verse 3 is uniquely Christian given its references to death and resurrection “for me” and otherworldly royal seat.  Thus, Christians see His power and think He is gorgeous, essentially married to God!

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God as it compels believers to worship God, fixated on His splendor.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Phil Wickham’s – Messiah / You’re Beautiful is a wonderful song.  It demonstrates the wonder and majesty of God through creation and Jesus’ sacrificial love, inviting us to join Wickham in worship and glorify God.  Unbelievers will have little to no trouble interpreting Wickham’s message.

I highly recommend this for corporate worship.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: Messiah / You’re Beautiful (listen to the song)

Artist: Phil Wickham

Album: Cannons

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2007

Duration: 4:53

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

Updates:

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.