Found here. Our comments in bold.
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We were introduced to this writer only a few days ago, and commented on his criteria for evaluating worship songs here. We decided there that his criteria, while useful, is largely subjective.
That post also contained our evaluation of his first critique of a worship song, "Forever and Amen."
Below is his second song evaluation. We note as an aside that the author's title is "Theological Song Review." not "Biblical Song Review." The author makes a correct choice, since he will only manage to quote Scripture a single time.
Below is his second song evaluation. We note as an aside that the author's title is "Theological Song Review." not "Biblical Song Review." The author makes a correct choice, since he will only manage to quote Scripture a single time.
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What a Beautiful Name was released by Hillsong Worship on January 6th, 2017, and won two dove awards in 2017 and the 2018 Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.
Note: For a full explanation of the rubric and a primer on our scoring methodology, click here.
Doctrinal Fidelity and Clarity: The song opens up with truth about Christ – that He has eternally existed as God. The next line states, “Your hidden glory in creation, now revealed in you our Christ.” Songwriter Ben Fielding explained that the line took its inspiration from Colossians 1:26, writing, “The mysteries of our infinitely beautiful and glorious God, once hidden for generations, have now been revealed through Jesus.” Yet in 1:26 of his letter to the Colossians, Paul does not describe a “hidden glory in creation,” but once-mysterious doctrines about Christ now given to the church, especially the mystery of Christ in us (verse 27), the incarnation of Christ (Col. 2:2), and the unity in Christ between Jew and Gentile (Eph 3:4-5). So while mysterious doctrines are now understood and brought to completion in Christ, there is no indication that God hid His glory in creation. Rather, Romans 1:20 teaches that God’s power and divinity are known through creation even by the lost: “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” This modification may seem like an inconsequential change (It most certainly is inconsequential. It doesn't even rise to a tertiary matter.
What a Beautiful Name was released by Hillsong Worship on January 6th, 2017, and won two dove awards in 2017 and the 2018 Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.
Note: For a full explanation of the rubric and a primer on our scoring methodology, click here.
Doctrinal Fidelity and Clarity: The song opens up with truth about Christ – that He has eternally existed as God. The next line states, “Your hidden glory in creation, now revealed in you our Christ.” Songwriter Ben Fielding explained that the line took its inspiration from Colossians 1:26, writing, “The mysteries of our infinitely beautiful and glorious God, once hidden for generations, have now been revealed through Jesus.” Yet in 1:26 of his letter to the Colossians, Paul does not describe a “hidden glory in creation,” but once-mysterious doctrines about Christ now given to the church, especially the mystery of Christ in us (verse 27), the incarnation of Christ (Col. 2:2), and the unity in Christ between Jew and Gentile (Eph 3:4-5). So while mysterious doctrines are now understood and brought to completion in Christ, there is no indication that God hid His glory in creation. Rather, Romans 1:20 teaches that God’s power and divinity are known through creation even by the lost: “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” This modification may seem like an inconsequential change (It most certainly is inconsequential. It doesn't even rise to a tertiary matter.
It's a simple issue to consider: Is or has been the glory of Christ hidden in creation?
We first note that there are invisible things that were created:
Colossians 1:16 "For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him."
The purpose of man, in light of the psalm writer considering creation, was a mystery to him:
Psalm 8:1, 3-4 "Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens... When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?"
There are things that only the spiritual man can understand, thus there are things hidden that the unspiritual man cannot understand:
1Co. 2:14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
And lastly, creation testifies of the glory of God [Ro. 1:20], as the author mentioned, but this also happened before the Incarnation. Since Christ had not yet been revealed, His glory was certainly part of this. Thus "hidden."
We would conclude the lyric creatively describes God's glory. We therefore grant the song writer poetic license.
We discuss the mysteries here.)
except that it lines up with Hillsong’s Pentecostal belief that special, hidden mysteries can be revealed to us through the practice of sign gifts like speaking in tongues or divine healing, (Documentation? References? Quotes?
In actual fact, the lyric itself refutes this assertion. It says the hidden glory is revealed in Christ, not that it continues to be hidden.)
and that baptism of the Holy Spirit happens after and apart from salvation. Many will likely dismiss my taking issue here, but it is a doctrinal error nonetheless. (No, we do not dismiss it. We refute it.)
The line in the song that created the most controversy follows: “You didn’t want heaven without us, so Jesus you brought heaven down.” While it is true that God’s dispositional will ("Dispositional will?" The reader can review an explanation, overly complicated and completely unnecessary, of the supposed distinctions in God's will here.)
The line in the song that created the most controversy follows: “You didn’t want heaven without us, so Jesus you brought heaven down.” While it is true that God’s dispositional will ("Dispositional will?" The reader can review an explanation, overly complicated and completely unnecessary, of the supposed distinctions in God's will here.)
is that none perish (2 Peter 3:9), (We discuss 2 Peter 3:9 here.)
it is biblically clear that in His sovereignty God indeed does want heaven without some people (Matthew 7:13, Jude 1:4). (Whoa. A doctrinal claim of substantial import. We cannot allow the author to just gloss over this. Let's cite the referenced verses:
Mt. 7:13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
This verse does not speak at all to God's desire, only the reality that some will not enter the narrow gate. We discuss this Scripture here.
Jude 4 For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
Ho-boy. The author lies to us. Neither verse speaks to the idea that God wants heaven without some people.
Further, the author is speculating on who "us" is [You didn’t want heaven without us]. He thinks it's dirty sinners. However, we could just as well say that "us" is the Elect. Or the saved.)
This verse implies that God’s will in salvation is somehow related to how wonderful we are, (What the author infers is not what the verse implies. Let's quote it again:
You didn’t want heaven without us, so Jesus you brought heaven down.
There is no implication here about our wonderfulness. Since the author makes inferences, we feel free to make our own inferences. We think the lyric is referring to the value He imputes to us as sons.)
but the Bible teaches the wretched and undeserving truth about mankind. (The author creates a false dichotomy. However, despite the wretchedness of humankind, God still so loved the world. And the Bible also teaches that the saved are marked with a seal guaranteeing our inheritance [Ep. 1:14], a royal priesthood and a chosen people [1Pe. 2:9], and are no longer under the condemnation of the law [Ro. 8:1].
We believe the author is engaging in the sin of false humility. He wants the saved to regard themselves as evil and low. He thinks God held His nose and sent His son despite having reservations about doing so.
But the Bible does not teach about our deservedness. There is no Bible verse that says that sinners deserve their fate, or that the saved didn't deserve salvation. Regarding God's attitude as it applies to mankind, deservedness and undeservedness is not mentioned anywhere. In fact, the topic is completely ignored in favor of a completely different concept:
Ep. 2:4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved.
God loved even when we were dead in transgressions. We were never loathsome to God. He never saved us reluctantly. We were lost, condemned, and destined for hell, but God loved.
We discuss deservedness here.)
Again, songwriter Ben Fielding makes this error worse by adding context about the second verse from his friend Glenn Packiam, who stated, “Heaven– God’s space– and earth– human space– were one. But sin fractured the union of heaven and earth. The beauty of the Gospel is that God’s solution was not to come down from heaven to airlift us out of earth, but rather to bring heaven down to earth in such a way that it would renew everything.” The Bible teaches nowhere that heaven and earth were ever one, (Eden before the Fall?)
nor that Christ’s first coming and salvific work on the cross “renewed everything.” (The author is a musician, but apparently not a Bible student.
Ro. 8:20-21 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.Re. 21:1, 5 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea... 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”
Since creation was corrupted by Adam's sin [Ge. 3:16-19], Christ's death and resurrection as the Second Adam [Ro. 5:15-19] redeemed all of creation by necessity.)
These ideas betray the prosperity gospel taught by the Hillsong movement.
After one of the most repetitive choruses to make it into a modern praise song (which will be addressed shortly), the song’s bridge is largely straight Bible truth and I find myself wishing its lyrics had found their way into the chorus in some fashion. (Um, sir. The bridge lyrics ARE in the song. Where they appear does not matter.) 17/25.
Doctrinal Specificity: It is clear from the lyrics that the song is addressing the Jesus of scripture, and verses refer specifically to attributes of Jesus including his bodily resurrection and preexistence. This would make it difficult to sing for those not claiming Jesus.
It is good that the song refers to the sin of the worshipper (“My sin was great”), although sin is not fully characterized as something that is the fault of the sinner. (The song is a worship song. It's about Jesus, not our sin.)
The chorus’ line “nothing compares to this” is weirdly emotional and non-specific. Nothing compares to what? (Sigh. Read the lyrics, sir. Read the title of the song. What's the song about?
Mr. Morrill, when the songwriter writes, What a beautiful Name it is, Nothing compares to this, do you not understand that nothing compares to the subject of the sentence, the name of Jesus? The whole song is about the name of Jesus.)
12/20. (Hmm. A score derived from the author's denseness.)
Focus: The song remains focused on Jesus, or at least on the name of Jesus. (Um, yeah, no. A large part of the song is the bridge, which directly extolls the greatness of Jesus.)
The worshiper is not the validator of anything claimed about God, except for the self-focused line about God’s apparent heavenly loneliness. (The author again infers something not implied.)
16/20.
Association: The list of unbiblical beliefs and practices by Hillsong Church is a mile long. They embrace Word of Faith heresy, prosperity gospel, relative silence on LGBTQ sin, and violate the Bible by ordaining women to the pastorate. More recently, Hillsong has found itself embroiled in scandal as Hillsong New York pastor Carl Lentz was found to be a rampant sexual abuser and adulterer and “Global Senior Pastor” Brian Houston is about to be put on trial for concealing his father’s reported sexual abuse of children. 5 points because apparently neither Lentz nor Houston helped write the song. 5/20. (We understand the issues with association, but the songwriter is not Hillsongs. Hillsongs is not the songwriter. The songwriter wrote a very good worship song, and Hillsongs made it famous. But it is not Hillsongs that should be evaluated, rather, the song should stand or fall on its own merits.
Association: The list of unbiblical beliefs and practices by Hillsong Church is a mile long. They embrace Word of Faith heresy, prosperity gospel, relative silence on LGBTQ sin, and violate the Bible by ordaining women to the pastorate. More recently, Hillsong has found itself embroiled in scandal as Hillsong New York pastor Carl Lentz was found to be a rampant sexual abuser and adulterer and “Global Senior Pastor” Brian Houston is about to be put on trial for concealing his father’s reported sexual abuse of children. 5 points because apparently neither Lentz nor Houston helped write the song. 5/20. (We understand the issues with association, but the songwriter is not Hillsongs. Hillsongs is not the songwriter. The songwriter wrote a very good worship song, and Hillsongs made it famous. But it is not Hillsongs that should be evaluated, rather, the song should stand or fall on its own merits.
The author uses the scoring in this category in order to make sure songs from sources with which he disagrees fall below his standard for recommendation. That is, it's a big enough category that it only takes a one or two small deductions in other categories to manipulate the results.)
Musical Value: There is nothing special about the music underpinning this song, but the composition works the standard verse-chorus-building bridge-big chorus formula to capable effect. The chorus is quite repetitive (The reader can review the lyrics below. They repeat, but are not repetitive. This is what a chorus is supposed to do in a song, repeat.)
Musical Value: There is nothing special about the music underpinning this song, but the composition works the standard verse-chorus-building bridge-big chorus formula to capable effect. The chorus is quite repetitive (The reader can review the lyrics below. They repeat, but are not repetitive. This is what a chorus is supposed to do in a song, repeat.)
and offers very little in the way of meaning beyond “Jesus is good” (as true as this is). (His name is beautiful, wonderful, powerful, and nothing compares to it. The author gives short shrift to the greatness of Jesus' name, as if the name has "very little" meaning. The author is wrong:
He. 1:4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
Ph. 2:9-10 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth...
The fact that the author would minimize this is astonishing.
But more to the point, the author wants to pronounce judgment based on the chorus as a stand-alone, but the song in its entirety is a very good, and occasionally profound expression of the greatness of God.)
12/15.
Total score: 62/100. Not only are there better songs out there in terms of doctrine, the Hillsong label has become indefensible for even those willing to ignore their aberrant doctrine. The 5/20 association score disqualifies this song for recommendation. (That is, he set up his rating system to ensure that songs he has pre-judged as unacceptable do not make the cut. So in fact, it is the last category alone that comes to bear on the quality of a worship song. If the rating does not pass this hurdle, the rest of the evaluation, the part of the evaluation that determines actual quality, is moot.)
Total score: 62/100. Not only are there better songs out there in terms of doctrine, the Hillsong label has become indefensible for even those willing to ignore their aberrant doctrine. The 5/20 association score disqualifies this song for recommendation. (That is, he set up his rating system to ensure that songs he has pre-judged as unacceptable do not make the cut. So in fact, it is the last category alone that comes to bear on the quality of a worship song. If the rating does not pass this hurdle, the rest of the evaluation, the part of the evaluation that determines actual quality, is moot.)
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vs. 1
You were the Word at the beginning
One with God the Lord Most High
Your hidden glory in creation
Now revealed in You our Christ
chorus
What a beautiful Name it is
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a beautiful Name it is
Nothing compares to this
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus
vs. 2
You didn’t want Heaven without us
So Jesus, You brought heaven down
My sin was great, Your love was greater
What could separate us now
chorus 2
What a wonderful Name it is
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a wonderful Name it is
Nothing compares to this
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus
bridge
Death could not hold You, the veil tore before You
You silenced the boast of sin and grave
The heavens are roaring the praise of Your glory
For You are raised to life again
You have no rival, You have no equal
Now and forever, God, You reign
Yours is the Kingdom, Yours is the glory
Yours is the Name above all names
chorus 3
What a powerful Name it is
What a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a powerful Name it is
Nothing can stand against
What a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a beautiful Name it is
Nothing compares to this
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus
vs. 2
You didn’t want Heaven without us
So Jesus, You brought heaven down
My sin was great, Your love was greater
What could separate us now
chorus 2
What a wonderful Name it is
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a wonderful Name it is
Nothing compares to this
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus
bridge
Death could not hold You, the veil tore before You
You silenced the boast of sin and grave
The heavens are roaring the praise of Your glory
For You are raised to life again
You have no rival, You have no equal
Now and forever, God, You reign
Yours is the Kingdom, Yours is the glory
Yours is the Name above all names
chorus 3
What a powerful Name it is
What a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a powerful Name it is
Nothing can stand against
What a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus
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