Brooke Ligertwood (Feat. Brandon Lake) – Honey In the Rock

Brooke Ligertwood is a Hillsong worship leader, calling them home since 2004.  She began her career in 2002 and released five albums, including:

• What to Do with Daylight (2003)
• Albertine (2006)
• Flags (2010)
• Brutal Romantic (2014)
• Seven (Live, 2022)

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Brooke-ligertwood-honey-in-the-rock-live-lyrics.

Side Note: The second instance of “[Chorus 1]” in the Genius link is Chorus 2 in this review.

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1. What message does the song communicate?

Jesus is Ligertwood’s provider, who responds to her prayers and satiates her thirsty soul.  She has found freedom, purpose, and strength from Christ, tasting His goodness and wanting more of Him.  Jesus is her most prized possession; all other pursuits pale compared to knowing Christ.

Score: 10/10

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

This song completely aligns with Scripture.

[Chorus 1]

Lines 1-3: This combines three Old Testament references to God’s providences, namely, the promised land filled with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8-17), water in the rock that Moses struck (Exodus 17:1-7 and Numbers 20:1-13), and manna (Exodus 16:1-7).

Though the Bible doesn’t specifically say honey “in” the rock, Psalm ‭81:16 says that God provides honey “from” the rock.  God is the solid rock foundation (Deuteronomy 32:4, 1 Samuel 2:2, 2 Samuel 22:47, Psalm 18:31, Psalm 28:1, Psalm 62:2, Psalm 94:22, Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 28:16, Matthew 7:24-27, Matthew 21:42, Acts 4:11, 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, Ephesians 2:20, 2 Timothy 2:19, and 1 Peter 2:6) and the honey is the finest sweetness that flows forth from this rock (Psalm 34:8 and 2 Corinthians 2:15-17).  Later in the song, Ligertwood confirms this view by describing trust in Jesus as sweetness.

Lines 4-7: Ligertwood worries not because God will provide (Genesis 2:15-16, Genesis 9:3, Genesis 22:8, Exodus 16:1-36, Psalm 18:2, Psalm 34:10, Psalm 81:10, Psalm 84:11, Psalm 107:9, Proverbs 10:3, Malachi 3:10, Matthew 6:25-30, Matthew 7:7-8, Matthew 21:22, John 14:13-14, John 14:26, John 15:1-10, John 15:16, Romans 8:32, Ephesians 3:20, Philippians 4:19, 2 Corinthians 9:8, and 2 Corinthians 12:9).

Line 8: Repeats line 1.

[Verse 1]

Line 1: Ligertwood makes her petition before God (Philippians 4:6).

Line 2: That is, living water (Jeremiah 17:13, Zechariah 14:8-9, John 4:7-26, John 7:37-39, Acts 2:1-13, Revelation 6:9-11, Revelation 7:13-17, Revelation 21:6-7, and Revelation 22:1-5).

Line 3: Everything else is rubbish compared to knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8-10).

Lines 4 and 5: References the Mercy Seat (or Cherubim), summarized in Hebrews 9:1-14 in the New Testament context, which itself references Leviticus 16:11-17.  Also, see commentary on Chorus 1, lines 1-3.  Specifically, on God’s sweetness.

Line 6: Repeats line 3.

Lines 7-10: Repeats Chorus 1, line 1.

[Verse 2]

Line 1: Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17).

Line 2: See commentary on Chorus 1, lines 1-3.

Line 3: Essentially repeats Verse 1, line 3.

[Chorus 2]

Lines 1-9: Repeats Chorus 1, lines 1-8.

Line 10: God has made everything for its appropriate time (Ecclesiastes 3:1-11).

Line 11: That is, the blood of Jesus has the power to wash away sins (Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 9:22, 1 Peter 1:2, and 1 Peter 1:18-19).

Line 12: References Jesus as the Great Physician (Matthew 9:12, Mark 2:17, and Luke 5:31).

Lines 13 and 14: This power began to activate when Jesus said “It is finished” (John 19:30) and continued through His resurrection (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).

Side Note: The last instance of Chorus changes the last line to “Jesus, who You are is enough”, specifying the subject of this worship.

[Bridge]

Line 1: Ligertwood obeyed Matthew 7:7–8 and found its words to be true in her experience.

Lines 2-4: Rewords ideas in Chorus 1, lines 4-7 and Verse 1, line 3.

Line 5: God often answers Ligertwood’s prayers.

Line 6: That is, God keeps showing He provides.

Lines 7 and 8: Repeats lines 3 and 4.

Lines 9-18: Repeats lines 1-8.

[Outro]

Lines 1-3: Referenced in commentary on Chorus 1, lines 1-3.

Lines 4-9: Repeats lines 1-3.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Ligertwood is clear in her language, mentioning “prayer”, “Jesus”, and “Spirit”, all of which point unbelievers to conclude Christianity.  While I cannot expect them to understand the Old Testament references concerning honey, water in the rock, and manna, the bigger takeaway will not be lost on them: God provides for Ligertwood’s needs, she trusts in Him, and nobody else can satisfy our deepest hunger and thirst like Christ.

Score: 9/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies Jesus as Ligertwood’s Jehovah Jireh, who satisfies her needs and heals her brokenness.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Brooke Ligertwood’s Honey In the Rock is sweet to the taste.  It proclaims Christ as her provider, whose lovingkindness satiates her thirsty soul.  He responds to her requests, empowers her with His shed blood, and grants her freedom, bringing Him glory.  Unbelievers may not comprehend the Biblical references in great detail, yet, not knowing the Old Testament will not impact their ability to draw similar conclusions.

I highly recommend this for corporate worship.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Honey In the Rock (Live) (listen to the song)

Artist: Brooke Ligertwood (Feat. Brandon Lake)

Album: SEVEN (Live)

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2022

Duration: 4:44

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

Updates:

07/03/2022 – Updated commentary on Chorus 1, lines 1-3 to include Psalm ‭81:16, which directly supports the song’s title. Thanks to Neal Cruco for discovering this!