Bad worship songs: "Heaven Come" - Scott Ross Ligertwood, Brooke Ligertwood, Jenn Johnson

From time to to we examine the lyrics of worship songs. Our desire is not to mock or humiliate, but rather to honestly examine content with a view to calling forth a better worship expression.

With the great volume and variety of worship music available, none of us should have to settle for bad worship songs. We should be able to select hundreds or even thousands of top notch songs very easily.

What makes a song a good worship song? Is it enough to contain words like God or holy? How about vaguely spiritual sounding phrases? Should Jesus be mentioned? We think an excellent worship song should contain as many as possible of the following elements:

• A direct expression of adoration (God, you are...)
• A progression of ideas that culminates in a coherent story
• A focus on God, not us
• A certain amount of profundity
• A singable, interesting melody
• Scripture quotes or allusions to Scripture
• Doctrinal soundness

Further, a worship song should not:

1. contain lyrics that create uncertainty or cause confusion
2. be excessively metaphorical
3. be excessively repetitive
4. imply that Jesus is your boyfriend 

It's worth noting the most worship songs contain at least something good. That is, there might be a musical idea or a lyric that has merit. Such is the case with today's song, "Heaven Come." (Youtube video.) It is a well-crafted song, but it has problems.

Lyrics:

vs. 1 You are calling me again; I hear your voice upon the wind
In the quiet in the still

Heaven

vs. 2 Glory written in the sky; In the turning of the seas
Echoes of your majesty

Heaven

pre chorus: All that you have done; The promise that there's more to come
All I am cries out for more of you

chorus: Your presence is heaven

Oh to be with you
Just to be with you

Your glory all around me
Oh to be with you
I love to be with you

vs. 3: There's a stirring in my soul; And a fire here within
Deep is calling deep again

Heaven

bridge: Heaven come fill this place
Glory to glory and grace to grace
Here and now your kingdom come
Our God eternal now and forevermore

Lyrical Issues

The opening verse contains an absurdity. The songwriters hear God's voice on the wind, but yet it's quiet and still. If there's wind, it cannot be quiet and still.

Verse three contains a reference to Ps. 42:7:

Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.

We do not have the time to dive into this Scripture today. But this reference to deep calls to deep, found quite often in worship music, is probably not about the touch of God in our innermost parts. 

And we should remind the reader of what the songwriters told is vs. 1, that His voice was upon the wind, and that it was also still. However, we now find that it is like being buried underwater, and also like a fire. The songwriters are mixing metaphors in violation of our rule #2.

Thematic Issues

The central theme of the song is that God's presence is heaven on earth, and the songwriters desire this presence. The song actually develops this theme pretty well, culminating in the grand statement of the bridge (Heaven come fill this place). The song achieves the purpose promised in the title.

Let's take a look at verse one. That verse contains the statement that God is calling me again. We will never discover what that message is. On one hand God has an unstated message for the songwriters, but on the other hand a large portion of the rest of the song is the songwriters' cry for heaven to come. Therefore, the first verse seems to be a throwaway, unrelated to the theme of the song.

The second verse speaks of the glory of creation as a testimony to God's majesty. This too is unrelated to the theme of the song, though it has merit by virtue of being a direct statement of worship. 

In the chorus the songwriters tell us His glory is all around, but then tell us they want to be with Him. If His glory is all around, doesn't this mean He is with them?

Lastly, the bridge. The bridge presents a surprising problem, by combining two Scriptures with different concepts into one stanza (Glory to glory and grace to grace):

2Cor. 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

John 1:16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

Again, we do not have time to dive into the complexities of these two Scriptures, representing two doctrinal subjects. We will mention one thing, however. The songwriters change a word (grace for grace is changed to grace to grace). The songwriters imply an transformative/progressive/cumulative move of grace, while the Greek word (anti) means instead of, in opposition to. That is, one kind of grace is substituted or exchanged for another kind. This is an important difference. 

Therefore, we should not be changing Scripture to suit our lyrical needs.

Issues Related to the Congregation

Both verse one and verse three contain expressions that really only apply to the songwriters themselves. The congregation may or may not be hearing this message from God, and they may or may not be experiencing a stirring or a fire.

The purposes of congregational singing, in general order of importance, is to bow low before God in awe and reverence (worship), to express His glory and the wonders of His great deeds (praise), to give thanks (thanksgiving), and to ask of Him (petition/intercession). This song is primarily petition with a some praise and a little worship. 

Conclusion

There are no egregious issues with the song. It is simply unremarkable and at times vague. It achieves its goal, though it does not do so elegantly. We think worship songs should strive for an elegance of expression that at times approaches profundity. Especially when what's at stake is the glorious presence of the living God in our midst.