Christian Music Appreciation: How Great is Our God

Welcome back, my readers and fellow Christians! In this newest edition of my Christian Music Appreciation (CMA) series, we will focus on How Great is Our God, a very well-known worship song written by Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash and Jesse Reeves. The song was part of the DVD release of the live praise-and-worship Hillsong Worship album titled Mighty to Save.

If you want to discover and learn more about Hillsong Worship, I encourage you to click here (Facebook page), here (Instagram) and here (YouTube). To learn more about Chris Tomlin, click here (Facebook), here (Instagram) and here (official website).

Before getting into the analysis of the Biblical relevance of How Great is Our God, posted below for your reference are the lyrics composed by Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash and Jesse Reeves.

Lyrics:

The splendor of a king

Clothed in majesty

Let all the earth rejoice

All the earth rejoice

He wraps Himself in light,

And darkness tries to hide

And trembles at His voice

Trembles at His voice

How great is our God

Sing with me

How great is our God

And all will see

How great, how great is our God

Age to age He stands

And time is in His hands

Beginning and the end

Beginning and the end

The Godhead Three in One

Father, Spirit and Son

The Lion and the Lamb

The Lion and the Lamb

How great is our God

Sing with me

How great is our God

And all will see

How great, how great is our God

Name above all names

Worthy of all praise

My heart will sing

How great is our God

Name above all names

You are worthy of all praise

And my heart will sing

How great is our God

[3x]

How great is our God

Sing with me

How great is our God

And all will see

How great, how great is our God

To begin with, let’s take a close look at the first section of the lyrics above: The splendor of a king, Clothed in majesty, Let all the earth rejoice, All the earth rejoice.

The above lines emphasize the greatness of God in Heaven. In His Kingdom, the Lord is the ultimate which is undeniably true and as His faithful children, we do our part honoring Him, praising Him, serving Him, rejoicing with Him and keep on having an eternal personal relationship with Him. God’s greatness also rewards us as we keep on having unwavering faith in Him. Do not forget that submitting to His Son Jesus is the only way to the Heavenly Father. Learn from the following holy scriptures below…

To you, O God, belong the greatness and the might, the glory, the victory, the majesty, the splendor; Yes! Everything in heaven, everything on earth; the kingdom all yours! You’ve raised yourself high over all.

1 Chronicles 29:11 (MSG)

And I said: “I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments,”

Nehemiah 1:5 (NKJV)

For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.

1 Samuel 12:22 (ESV)

Jesus explained, “I am the Way, I am the Truth, and I am the Life. No one comes next to the Father except through union with me. To know me is to know my Father too.”

John 14:6 (TPT)

Then Jesus came close to them and said, “All authority of the universe has been given to me. Now wherever you go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And teach them to faithfully follow all that I have commanded you. And never forget that I am with you every day, even to the completion of this age.”

Matthew 28:18-20 (TPT)

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!

Philippians 4:4 (MSG)

Next, take a close look at the next batch of lines from the lyrics: He wraps Himself in light, And darkness tries to hide, And trembles at His voice, Trembles at His voice

The above lines explain that the holiness of the Heavenly Father is true and eternal. God is great and His light shines upon His faithful children as well as the other souls who repented and submitted to His Son Lord Jesus to come to Him in the Kingdom of Light. Darkness, sin, destruction, poverty and other elements of the enemy have no place in God’s kingdom nor in the hearts of the children of God. With unwavering and unbreakable faith in the Lord, you can defeat Satan and his minions and stay high with the Lord’s holiness! Pay close attention to the following holy scriptures.

Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great! You are clothed with honor and majesty—

[You are the One] Who covers Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain or a tent,

Who lays the beams of the upper room of His abode in the waters [above the firmament], Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind,

Psalm 104:1-3 (AMPC)

Everything I am will praise and bless the Lord!

O Lord, my God, your greatness takes my breath away,

overwhelming me by your majesty, beauty, and splendor!

You wrap yourself with a shimmering, glistening light.

You wear sunshine like a garment of glory.

You stretch out the starry skies like a tapestry.

You build your balconies with light beams

and ride as King in a chariot you made from clouds.

You fly upon the wings of the wind.

Psalms 104:1-3 (TPT)

There is none holy like the Lord, there is none besides You; there is no Rock like our God.

1 Samuel 2:2 (AMPC)

You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!

James 2:19 (NKJV)

Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God’s holy people) in the Light.

[The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

In Whom we have our redemption through His blood, [which means] the forgiveness of our sins.

[Now] He is the exact likeness of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible]; He is the Firstborn of all creation.

Colossians 1:12-15 (AMPC)

Then Jesus said, “I am light to the world, and those who embrace me will experience life-giving light, and they will never walk in darkness.”

John 8:12 (TPT)

Next, take a close look at the next batch of lines from the lyrics. Specifically, the following are lines from the chorus of the song: How great is our God, Sing with me, How great is our God, And all will see, How great, how great is our God.

The above lines emphasize again the greatness of God. It teaches us that as His faithful children, we should be ready to always recognize true greatness comes from the Lord and no other forms of greatness will ever come close to His. The greatness of the Lord is a lively reminder that we must dedicated ourselves to Him, spread His Word to others and help the lost and unsaved souls come to Lord Jesus to be with the Heavenly Father and realize His greatness. Read the hole scriptures below…

There is none like you, O Lord;

you are great, and your name is great in might.

Jeremiah 10:6 (ESV)

For God is the triumphant King; all the powers of the earth are his. So sing your celebration songs of highest praise to the glorious Enlightened One!

Psalms 47:7 (TPT)

The Mighty One has worked a mighty miracle for me; holy is his name!

Luke 1:49 (TPT)

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

1 John 3:1 (NKJV)

Death once held us in its grip, and by the blunder of one man, death reigned as king over humanity. But now, how much more are we held in the grip of grace and continue reigning as kings in life, enjoying our regal freedom through the gift of perfect righteousness in the one and only Jesus, the Messiah!

Romans 5:17 (TPT)

The time came to observe the winter Feast of Renewal in Jerusalem.  Jesus walked into the temple area under Solomon’s covered walkway when the Jewish leaders encircled him and said, “How much longer will you keep us in suspense? Tell us the truth and clarify this for us once and for all. Are you really the Messiah, the Anointed One?”

Jesus answered them, “I have told you the truth already and you did not believe me. The proof of who I am is revealed by all the miracles that I do in the name of my Father. Yet, you stubbornly refuse to follow me, because you are not my sheep. As I’ve told you before: My own sheep will hear my voice and I know each one, and they will follow me. I give to them the gift of eternal life and they will never be lost and no one has the power to snatch them out of my hands. My Father, who has given them to me as his gift, is the mightiest of all, and no one has the power to snatch them from my Father’s care. The Father and I are one.”

John 10:22-30 (TPT)

For there [is only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

1 Timothy 2:5 (AMPC)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 1:3 (ESV)

The Lord has done great things for us;

We are joyful.

Psalm 126:3 (NASB)

The above lines emphasize that the Lord is eternal and He does not change Himself. He is always present to guide the faithful and provide for them. He is always there to fight battles that are too great for us to handle. God is always present to emphasize His faithfulness to those who dedicated themselves to Him. He is always present to spend time with each of us – His faithful children – and is always ready to welcome the souls who got born again after repenting to Lord Jesus and accepting Him as their Lord and Savior. Learn from the scriptures below…

The eternal God is your refuge and dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He drove the enemy before you and thrust them out, saying, Destroy!

Deuteronomy 33:27 (AMPC)

For this is God,

Our God forever and ever;

He will be our guide

Even to death.

Psalm 48:14 (NKJV)

Have you not known?

Have you not heard?

The everlasting God, the Lord,

The Creator of the ends of the earth,

Neither faints nor is weary.

His understanding is unsearchable.

Isaiah 40:28 (NKJV)

Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

John 3:3 (NASB)

“I tell you this timeless truth: The person who follows me in faith, believing in me, will do the same mighty miracles that I do—even greater miracles than these because I go to be with my Father!”

John 14:12 (TPT)

Then Jesus came close to them and said, “All authority of the universe has been given to me. Now wherever you go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And teach them to faithfully follow all that I have commanded you. And never forget that I am with you every day, even to the completion of this age.”

Matthew 28:18-20 (TPT)

Next, take a close look at the following lines of lyrics: The Godhead Three in One, Father, Spirit and Son, The Lion and the Lamb, The Lion and the Lamb.

The above lines refers to the Holy Trinity composed of God the Heavenly Father, His Son Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Having the Holy Trinity is essential in our faith in the Lord as well as Christian living. The lion and the lamb mentioned symbolize our Lord.

Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age. Amen (so let it be).

Matthew 28:19 (AMPC)

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:16-17 (ESV)

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

John 1:29 (NKJV)

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain

To receive power and riches and wisdom,

And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:

“Blessing and honor and glory and power

Be to Him who sits on the throne,

And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

Revelation 5:11-13 (NKJV)

And I wept audibly and bitterly because no one was found fit to open the scroll or to inspect it.

Then one of the elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin] said to me, Stop weeping! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root (Source) of David, has won (has overcome and conquered)! He can open the scroll and break its seven seals!

Revelation 5:4-5 (AMPC)

The Lord also will roar from Zion,

And utter His voice from Jerusalem;

The heavens and earth will shake;

But the Lord will be a shelter for His people,

And the strength of the children of Israel.

Joel 3:16 (NKJV)

Finally, we take a close look at the following lines of lyrics of the song in two similar looking batches: Name above all names, Worthy of all praise, My heart will sing, How great is our God and Name above all names, You are worthy of all praise, And my heart will sing, How great is our God.

Our Lord’s name is the ultimate of all names. No name can be greater than the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the only begotten son of God sent here on Earth to lead humanity out of darkness. Jesus died on the cross carrying all of humanity’s sins and trespasses with Him, and a few days later He returned from the dead (conquered death), made His presence felt to the faithful and ascended to Heaven with the promise of returning in the future. Lord Jesus is the Messiah, the King of all kings and the One we must follow in order to be with the Heavenly Father in His kingdom. The Lord is worthy of all our praise! Learn from the following scriptures below…

Because of that obedience, God exalted him and multiplied his greatness! He has now been given the greatest of all names! The authority of the name of Jesus causes every knee to bow in reverence! Everything and everyone will one day submit to this name—in the heavenly realm, in the earthly realm, and in the demonic realm. And every tongue will proclaim in every language: “Jesus Christ is Lord Yahweh,” bringing glory and honor to God, his Father!

Philippians 2:9-11 (TPT)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

John 3:16-17 (NKJV)

And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND

LORD OF LORDS.

Revelation 19:16 (NKJV)

She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.

Matthew 1:21 (NASB)

I will exalt You, my God, the King,

And I will bless Your name forever and ever.

Every day I will bless You,

And I will praise Your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised;

And His greatness is unsearchable.

One generation will praise Your works to another,

And will declare Your mighty acts.

On the glorious splendor of Your majesty

And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.

People will speak of the power of Your awesome acts,

And I will tell of Your greatness.

Psalm 145:1-6 (NASB)

For through the eternal and living Word of God you have been born again. And this “seed” that he planted within you can never be destroyed but will live and grow inside of you forever. For: Human beings are frail and temporary, like grass, and the glory of man fleeting like blossoms of the field. The grass dries and withers and the flowers fall off, but the Word of the Lord endures forever!

1 Peter 1:23-25 (TPT)

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah is God’s spiritual child and has been fathered by God himself. And everyone who loves Father God loves his children as well. This is how we can be sure that we love the children of God: by having a passionate love for God and by obedience to his commands. True love for God means obeying his commands, and his commands don’t weigh us down as heavy burdens. You see, every child of God overcomes the world, for our faith is the victorious power that triumphs over the world. So who are the world conquerors, defeating its power? Those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

1 John 5:1-5 (TPT)

Very clearly, the worship song How Great is Our God is a very holy song. Indeed, the lyrics composed by the writers are very biblical and it is safe to say that the Lord anointed them as well as their musicians to make this great praise-and-worship song. Musically, it is unsurprisingly beautiful to listen to and easily it is ideal to lead your fellow faithful Christians at church to the Lord with. How Great is Our God will easily fit in with your local church’s Sunday worship service music as well as during special worship events that involve the church’s music team. Ultimately, How Great is Our God will not only remind you of His everlasting greatness but also inspire you to deepen your faith in Him and help lead the lost and unsaved souls to Him through Lord Jesus!

In conclusion, posted below are YouTube videos of How Great is Our God for your faith and viewing pleasure. While watching it and listening to the music, remember to be faithful and thankful to the Lord. Always remember to realize the good life from the Lord, practice Christian habits (click here and here for reference), have private time with Godget yourself planted in a local church (allow the Holy Spirit to guide you) and remember the truth that He rewards the faithful abundantly and He established plans for you before you were even created! Continue to live with God’s Word, seek God through His son Jesus, follow the light of Jesus, and keep on being the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus!

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Christian Music Appreciation: Goodness of God

Happy New Year and Happy New Decade to everyone reading this! We are now living in the twenty-twenties (2020s) and for as long as we keep faith in the Lord, He will guide us, love us and take care of us. Keep the faith in the Lord always, no matter how good or how hard your situation is right now. Whatever decision you make in your life, never drift away from the Lord who is generous to offer us opportunities or options that we could use to move forward in life. Before making a decision, keep declaring Jesus as your Lord, Savior, Healer and Victory with a lot of heart. Your decision, by the way, is needed to authorize Heaven here on Earth.

For this new decade’s first Christian Music Appreciation (CMA), I chose the song Goodness of God written by Jenn Johnson, Ed Cash, Jason Ingram, Ben Fielding and Brian Johnson. The song was performed by Bethel Music.

Let’s start with the song and its lyrics now.

Lyrics:

Verse 1

I love You Lord

Oh Your mercy never fails me

All my days

I’ve been held in Your hands

From the moment that I wake up

Until I lay my head

I will sing of the goodness of God

Chorus

All my life You have been faithful

All my life You have been so, so good

With every breath that I am able

I will sing of the goodness of God

Verse 2

I love Your voice

You have led me through the fire

In darkest nights

You are close like no other

I’ve known You as a father

I’ve known You as a friend

I have lived in the goodness of God

Bridge

Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me

Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me

With my life laid down, I’m surrendered now, I give You everything

Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me

The song is about God our Heavenly Father being faithful, loving and caring for us (His children who willingly became faithful to Him). In other words, this song examines the personal relationship between the faithful Christian and God. It is a relationship that is strictly off-limits to everyone else and there is no room for intervention by another person (including the most misguided, self-righteous person blinded by religion, rituals, idolatry and traditions).

More on the title and subject matter of the song, God’s goodness is not only about His generosity but also His enduring generous attitude towards his faithful children. As I learned in church, God is not a tyrant (He punishes the wicked) and in fact He is gentle and caring, and He has plans for His faithful children to prosper. Of course, we the children of God who have been saved must keep on persevering with living in holiness under Him. The blessings from the Lord will come but that does not mean we can be lazy and just wait for blessings to land on us. We still have decisions to make and personal circumstances to handle on our own. As mentioned earlier, keep faith in the Lord, pray to Him and read His Word (the Holy Bible) before making decisions. When things are done properly with our Christianity, God’s goodness will manifest.

God’s goodness is emphasized in the Holy Bible and her are some scriptures for you.

The LORD is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.

Psalm 145: 9 (NKJV)

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16: 34 (NKJV)

So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is God.”

Mark 10: 18 (NKJV)

Psalm 145: 9 and 1 Chronicles 16: 34 show that God is full of goodness and mercy. What we Christians can at least do is remain faithful and dedicated to Him, thank Him in return, and give back (tithing) in return.

Mark 10: 18 emphasizes that true goodness is the prerogative of God. However, the man called Jesus “Good Teacher”. If Jesus was only a teacher, then He did not deserve to be called “good”. On the other hand, if He was indeed good, then He was God. The lesson here is that Lord Jesus directed the man to pay attention to God who is the Heavenly Father, the Creator, the Source and the ultimate standard of goodness!

The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.

Nahum 1: 7 (NKJV)

As mentioned earlier, no matter how good or how hard your situation is right now, always keep faith in the Lord. This means keep on trusting Him and endure with Him. God is undeniably the stronghold for those who trust in Him. Because He knows His faithful children who remain trusting and faithful to Him, God will NOT abandon them! This is a powerful look at God’s goodness.

He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.

Psalm 33: 5 (NKJV)

Psalm 33: 5 emphasizes that God’s goodness also refers to unfailing love, lovingkindness, mercy and steadfast covenant love. As we the saved Christians live in a very screwed-up world (read: anti-Semitism, Marxism, liberalism, socialism, idolatry, religion, sacraments, murder, crime, abortion, theft, corruption, secularism, atheism and the like), we must persevere living in holiness under the Lord, remain faithful to Him, preaching His Word to others and finish our respective efforts to meet God’s High Call. Our Heavenly Father loves the righteous and He is a just creator!

In closing this, and going back to the song Goodness of God, I encourage you to check out Bethel Music’s album Victory which carries the song. You can check out the album by clicking here.

Goodness of God is more than just a great Christian praise and worship song. It is a very lively reminder about our Heavenly Father’s goodness which cannot be matched by others. All the more reason to stay faithful to Him!

Remember, you don’t really need religion and unbelief. You need faith in the Lord and once that has been established (by repenting, submitting to Him and becoming born again), His goodness will manifest in your life.


Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com