Prestonwood Worship – Here in the Holy

Lead by award-winning contemporary Christian songwriter Michael Neale, Prestonwood Worship resides from Prestonwood Baptist Church, a megachurch founded in 1977 and located in Plano, Texas.  Releasing their live version of Songs of the People in 2016, they released Horizon in 2017, under the name The Prestonwood Choir.  This requested review on Here in the Holy is from the former album.

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?

The integrity of the message hinges on the meaning of the holy moment, as described in the Chorus.  Though not as clear as I would like, the evidence within these lyrics points this holy moment meaning entering God’s rest, explored more thoroughly in section 2.  With this core in mind, this song explores benefits of entering God’s rest, including hope, strength, security, restoration, and fulfillment.  Though it does not explicitly mention God or Jesus by name, it calls us to bow in reverence, draw close to God, and wait upon Him.

Score: 10/10

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

This song is soaked in the Word of God, it is busting at the seams!

Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Verse 1]

This is where the desperate soul finds hope

Where is that?  According to the Chorus, it is within “this holy moment”.  We will explore that later.

According to the Bible, our hope is found in God (Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 33:20, Psalm 39:7, Psalm 62:5, Isaiah 40:31, Isaiah 41:10, Matthew 11:28-30, Romans 5:1-8, Romans 8:24-39, Romans 15:13, 1 Corinthians 15:54-58, and 1 Peter 1:3-6).

This is where the wayward heart finds home

That is, the place Jesus prepares for us, with Himself as the only means to access it (John 14:1-6).

This is where the weary find their strength again

This is found in Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30).

[Verse 2]

This is where the broken life’s restored

This occurs through repentance and trust in God (Psalm 51:12, Acts 3:19-21, Galatians 6:1, James 5:16, and 1 Peter 5:10).

This is where the thirsty thirst no more

The living water Jesus offers us, spoken to the Samaritan woman in John 4:7-14 and applicable to us today.

This is where our emptiness is finally filled

Eloquently captured in Psalm 23:1-6, containing the famous “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me” passage in Psalm 23:4.

[Chorus 1]

Here in this holy moment, heaven’s open

There is strong evidence within these lyrics to conclude that this holy moment, as Prestonwood Worship describes it, is entering into God’s rest (Hebrews 3:1-16 and Hebrews 4:1-16).  Naturally, this includes the Gospel message, succinctly captured in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11.

This evidence includes:

1. Chorus 1, line 3, where the glory of God meets us;
2. Verse 3, line 3, referring to God’s presence;
3. Bridge, waiting upon God; and
4. The effects of entering God’s rest as described in Verse 1 and Verse 2.

Calling us close, calling us closer still

References God’s drawing us to Jesus in John 6:44.

This is where glory meets us and mercy reaches

This occurred when God the Son became a man (John 1:1, John 1:14, Romans 8:3, Philippians 2:5-8, Colossians 1:15, 1 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 1:2-3, Hebrews 2:10, and 1 John 4:2).  It is through His atoning work that mercy can reach us (Leviticus 17:11, Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, 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).

Calling us close, calling us closer still

Repeat of line 2.

Here in the holy

See line 1.

[Verse 3]

This is where we bow in humbleness

Bowing is an inherently humbling practice, showing reverence to God.  See Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 5:7, Psalm 138:2, Micah 6:6, and James 4:10 for some examples.

This is where You raise us up again

Tying in line 1, when we bow in humbleness, God (and others) exalt us (see Proverbs 29:23, Matthew 18:4, Matthew 23:1-12 and Luke 14:1-11).

Nothing but Your presence gives us confidence

The word “confidence” is a compound Latin phrase, “con” meaning ‘with” and “fidence” (derivative of fides), which means “faith”.  Literally, when we have confidence, we are expressing faith!  It is God Himself whose work causes us to believe in Jesus (John 6:29 and Romans 12:3).

[Bridge]

So we wait, oh we wait
We wait on You

Much like the Psalmist, David, in Psalm 27:14, and the words of the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 40:31, those of us who wait upon the Lord shall receive strength.

[Chorus 2]

Here in this holy moment, heaven’s open
Calling us close, calling us closer still
This is where glory meets us and mercy reaches
Calling us close, calling us closer still!
Here in this holy moment, heaven’s open
Calling us close, calling us closer still!
This is where glory meets us and mercy reaches
Calling us close, calling us closer still
Calling us close, calling us closer still
Here in the holy

All lines derivative of Chorus 1.

[Outro]

Calling us close

See Chorus 1, line 2.

We wait on You, Lord

See bridge.

Oh, oh, oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, ooh-ooh
Oh, oh, oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh

Did a ghost suddenly appear?  Oh wait, this is filler?  Is that even biblical?  I honestly do not know.  There is nothing for or against a ghostly-sounding filler within a Christian song, a Romans 14 issue.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Unbelievers will find it extremely difficult to interpret this song differently than I have, despite the lack of direct references to “Jesus” or “God”.  The benefits of worshipping God will intrigue some to explore Christianity.

Score: 9/10

4. What does this song glorify?

Given the plethora of Biblical references, it seems obvious that this song glorifies God as Prestonwood Worship intended.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Armed with so many Scriptural references to make my nose bleed, Here in the Holy is a masterpiece.  While I criticized the level of clarity within the Chorus, this is a minor distraction that detracts little from the powerful message Prestonwood Worship presents, one that both Christian and unbeliever can appreciate.  Though unnamed explicitly, God receives glory through praise, exploration of His benefits, calls to reverent worship, and of course, an indirect Gospel presentation.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Here in the Holy (listen to the song)

Artist: Prestonwood Worship

Album: Songs of the People (Live)

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2016

Duration: 7:00

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

*Copyright © Capital CMG Paragon (BMI), Farren Love And War Pub (SESAC), Integrity’s Alleluia! Music (SESAC) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Updates:

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.  I increased section 1’s score and updated Conclusion.  This did not affect the overall rating.