Photo by Joseph Chan
Elevation Worship is a church-led band that was created in 2007. They join Bethel Music and Hillsong as the âbig threeâ that has the biggest reach in modern Christian music. They released many albums and EPâs.
They also won nine awards, including two Billboard for Top Christian Artist (2021) and Top Christian Song (Graves into Gardens, 2021), and two GMA Dove awards for Spanish Language Album of the Year (Aleluya (En La Tierra), 2020) and Worship Recorded Song of the Year (The Blessing (Live), 2020).
Also, check out my other Elevation Worship reviews.Â
Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Elevation-worship-trust-in-god-lyrics.
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. I strongly encourage you to consider this artistâs theologyâs potential blessings and dangers by visiting Resources.
1. What message does the song communicate?
Elevation Worship lists several acts/attributes of Jesus, including:
- Blessed
- Rescuer
- Savior
- Never fails
- Submits perfectly
- Source of rest
- Orders tomorrow
- Answers
They also describe themselves and their response to Christ’s lovingkindness:
- Christ is theirs
- Born again
- Washed in His blood
- Places their confidence in Him
- Rested
- Follows Him
- Worships Him
- Seeks
Side Note: To those annoyed by massive repetition, Bridge’s first iteration repeats the same line three times in a row, followed by a fourth, with this entire block repeated four times. Some of it has spontaneousness within it to break it up a bit.
Score:Â 10/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
This entire song agrees with God’s inspired Word.
Side Note: The lyrics linked above do not contain all the spontaneous things sung throughout the recording of this song. I went through them and only heard fillers such as Casper the friendly ghost calls, “yes”, and extensions of lyrics already stated without adding any new ideas worth examining.
[Verse 1]
Line 1: This is the opening line of Fanny Crosby’s Blessed Assurance.
Christ is Elevation Worshipâs in the sense that they possess a personal relationship with Him (John 15:1-11, Acts 17:27, Romans 8:15, and Romans 11:16-24).
Line 2: References Daniel 3:25, which many understand as the pre-incarnate Christ. He will rescue Elevation Worship in times of trouble as He did with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.
Line 3: This is the fourth line of the first Verse of Fanny Crosby’s Blessed Assurance.
Elevation Worship is born again (John 3:3), washed by the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 9:22, 1 Peter 1:2, and 1 Peter 1:18-19).
Line 4: Through Jesus, Elevation Worship received salvation via undeserved favor (Genesis 15:6, Exodus 33:19, Psalm 32:1-2, Romans 3:21-24, Romans 4:3-8, Romans 5:1-2, Romans 5:6-8, Romans 5:15-21, Romans 6:14, Romans 8:1-4, Romans 9:14-16, Romans 11:5-6, Galatians 2:21, Galatians 3:6, Galatians 5:4, Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 2:4-9, 2 Thessalonians 2:16, Titus 2:11, 1 Timothy 1:15-16, and James 2:23).
[Chorus]
Line 1: Elevation Worship has trusts in Jesus (1 Corinthians 16:13, 2 Corinthians 1:24, Ephesians 6:11, Philippians 1:27, Philippians 4:1, Colossians 1:23, 2 Thessalonians 2:15, Hebrews 3:6, Hebrews 3:14, Hebrews 4:14, Hebrews 6:11, Hebrews 10:23, and 1 Peter 5:9), who is their Savior (Isaiah 45:21-22, Hosea 13:4, Luke 1:47, Luke 2:11, Acts 13:23, 1 Timothy 2:3, Titus 2:13-14, and 1 John 4:14).
Line 2: He always keeps His promises (Numbers 23:19, Joshua 21:45, Joshua 23:14, 1 Kings 8:56, Romans 4:21, 2 Corinthians 1:20, 1 Thessalonians 5:24, Hebrews 10:23, and 2 Peter 3:9).
Line 3: Essentially repeats line 2.
Lines 4-6: Repeats lines 1-3.
[Verse 2]
Line 1: This is the first line of Verse 3 of Fanny Crosby’s Blessed Assurance.
While I initially considered this to be Elevation Worshipâs submission to Jesus, they, alongside the rest of us, violated Hisâs laws (Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 53:1-3, Job 15:14, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, and 1 John 1:8-10). Our submission to Christ is imperfect, thus, it canât be us.
This speaks of Christâs submission to death on the cross (Philippians 2:8) that delighted the Father (Isaiah 53:10). The Father was not happy in the sense that He harmed Jesus, but that through Christâs sacrifice, Crosby would become free from sinâs enslavement (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24). Christâs submission is perfect because He is sinless (Isaiah 53:9, Matthew 27:24, John 19:4, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 Peter 2:21-23, and 1 John 3:5), leaving us an example to follow.
Finally, those who cling to Jesus will receive rest (Psalm 95:6-11, Matthew 11:28-30, Hebrews 3:1-16, and Hebrews 4:1-16). This is especially true post-death (Mark 10:29-30, John 3:15-16, John 3:36, John 4:14, John 5:24, John 5:39-40, John 6:27, John 6:40, John 10:28, John 17:3, John 20:31, Romans 5:21, Romans 6:22-23, Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Galatians 6:8, 1 Timothy 1:16, 1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Timothy 2:11, Hebrews 5:9, 1 Peter 5:10, 1 John 2:23-27, 1 John 5:10-13, 1 John 5:20, Jude 1:20-21, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 7:16-17, and Revelation 21:3-4).
Line 2: Combines James 4:13-15 with Psalm 119:133.
Lines 3 and 4: Much like the angels in Revelation 4:8, Elevation Worship intends to worship Him eternally.
[Bridge]
Line 1: Quotes from Psalm 34:4.
Lines 2 and 3: Repeats line 1.
Line 4: His response to them is why Elevation Worship trusts in Him.
Line 5-16: Repeats lines 1-4.
Score:Â 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
This song is primarily centered on Jesus. Elevation Worship explicitly states His name. Almost all the lyrics are written in everyday language, easing interpretation.
They will most likely think that Christians trust Jesus because He was there for them. However. many of them will likely react negatively towards “He will never fail”. From their perspective, their prayers weren’t answered, thus, “God failed”. Though misguided and incorrect, this view is extremely common among unbelievers and will have a negative impact on how they interpret/view this song. This is not Elevation Worship’s fault, but something to keep in mind when sharing this song with those who aren’t yet Christians.
Finally, the phrases “Born of His Spirit” and “washed in His blood” are Christianese phrases that, outside of research, means nothing to them. The jury’s out on the “fourth man in the fire”.
Score: 7/10
4. What does this song glorify?
It glorifies Jesus as the Blessed Savior who liberates Elevation Worship from their sinful state of folly to eternal life with Him. Elevation Worship will worship and follow Him now and forever.
Score:Â 10/10
Closing Comments
Elevation Worship’s Trust in God is trustworthy. It calls us to place our faith in Jesus because He died on the cross for us, answers us when we call, and always keeps His promises, bringing Him glory. Unbelievers should conclude similarly, though likely not understanding the meaning behind “Born of His Spirit”, “washed in His blood”, and the identity of the fourth man.
Aside from the repetition in Bridge, I recommend this song for corporate worship. However, seeker-sensitive churches might want to explain the aforementioned phrases before worshipping with this one, as well as God never failing.
Final Score: 9.5/10
Artist Info
Track: Trust in God (listen to the song)
Artist: Elevation Worship (Feat. Chris Brown)
Album: CAN YOU IMAGINE?
Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)
Release Year: 2023
Duration: 7:23
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
Comments
Travis
I really like this song and am considering using it in my churchâs corporate worship. However, I have one issue Iâd like to have clarified. I understand the repeated line in the Bridge is a quote from Psalm 34:4 and I have no issue with this, however, the phrase that follows is, âthatâs why I trust in God.â This makes Godâs listening and answering those Heâs saved the qualification for them trusting in Him. As you said in your comments above, â[Godâs] response to them is why Elevation Worship trusts in Him.â Yet, trusting in God should be our response not for what we hope He will still do as He listens to our requests, but more so on what Heâs already done. This line of the Bridge seems to say that âI will trust in God only if He listens and answers my prayers.â In other words, if the believer seeks the Lord and they cannot immediately tell if Heâs heard or answered (seeing that many prayer requests are answered years later and some are answered with a ânoâ), does this mean that now they will not trust in God? The line comes across to me that trusting in God is dependent on Him listening and answering instead of sending His Son to die on the cross for sin. It presents a âwhat can Jesus do for me theology,â instead of a âHeâs already done enoughâ theology. Any thoughts on this?
Vince Wright
Travis,
Thank you for your inquiry!
The end of Verse 1 says, “And what He did for me on Calvary is more than enough”, which Chorus immediately follows with “I trust in God, my Savior”. This tells me that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is part of why Elevation Worship trusts Him.
I hope this helps.
-Vince Wright
Jon
Hey Travis, I completely agree with you. That line doesn’t sit right with me either. Theologically, we know that God always answers, but it may not be in the way we want. Therefore, if we don’t see an answer, then He must not have heard or He’s not faithful, which means I no longer trust Him. I would agree with you that it presents a trust that is based on a results instead of truth regardless of seeing any results.
Miguel
I think scripture is clear that God’s way is higher than our way, and His wisdom is not our wisdom. I hear this song as God will never fail, thats why I trust him, not I trust Him because He answered the prayer my way. I understand your point, but if your foundational theology is sound, and that is what is being taught, this is in my humble opinion a profession of praise that God never fails, not that we get what we want after we put a quarter in the bubble gum machine. It is a worthy conversation because we have to see God as He is, not as we want Him to be.
Margie
Exactly! This line doesnât sit right with me at all. It feels too conditional. We should trust God regardless if He chooses to answer our prayers in the way we would like. He ALWAYS answers, but itâs not always a âyesâ. He also answers, no, or not yet. It could give people false hope that God will always answer the way theyâd like Him to, and could cause them to lose trust in God when He doesnât answer their way.
Joseph Fillmer
Good commentary! I am rolling this one out on 11/5. The only real bone I have left to pick with it is that like ‘Firm Foundation (He won’t)’ it turns the word ‘fail’ into a word with far too many syllables. I gotta remember never to use both songs on the same morning. đ
colleen
It seems the new version of blessed assurance misses out on Fanny’s version there is no mention of perfectly delighting in God, there is no mention of the purchase of God or the heir of salvation or the visions of rapture It seems they have taken her hymn and well made it less than. We are missing the being able to not only be saved but delight in our saviour to also have visions of the dead in Christ meeting with those still here on earth and going to meet the Lord in the air… It seems to me they took all the great meaning of the song and downsized it while making it seem like it has more words and more content there is too much repeating in this song and God says you will not be heard for your many words. To me Fanny Crosby’s hymn while shorter had way more depth and theological content and for that reason I would sing hers over this new one .
Joseph Fillmer
Why not do both? We still sing hymns in our church so I’ll be modulating into ‘Blessed Assurance’ at the end of this one.
Vince Wright
colleen,
Thank you for your comments!
When you consider that artists such as Elevation Worship, Hillsong, and Bethel Music are appealing to the common demoninator in Christiandom, that is, the nominal Christian, and their music draws such people by the ten’s of thousands to their churches, sells albums and merchandise, and increases their video clicks, it is unsurprising that such artists produce bland music that, though is Biblically accurate, lacks depth and substance that you and I would enjoy in Christian music.
Have you seen my Song Review Index lately? Almost everything I review is milk. Generally speaking, the more popular the song is, the more likely its theological depth is shallow. When you consider who Elevation is targeting, what Elevation did to Crosby’s hymn is unsurprising. Depth isn’t popular.
Just to be clear, I’m not against milk songs. They have their place and can be appropriate for corporate worship. However, if all people are drinking is milk, then they won’t grow.
-Vince Wright
Joseph Fillmer
Sorry if this is a duplicate. I did not see my response after I posted it a minute ago. I say why not do both? I almost always tag my sets with a traditional hymn. We still sing them in our church. I plan to modulate right out of this one straight into a round of ‘Blessed Assurance’. Three verses with the refrain after each and I final refrain voices only. This is one of the more well received practices I’ve adopted. If it’s not a tag, it may be a prelude as in singing ‘Amazing Grace’ before launching into ‘This is Amazing Grace’. Try it. Ya might like it.
Vince Wright
Joseph,
Great question!
I’m not against doing both. Actually that would be great because your audience might include some people who aren’t ready for theological depth, so, milk songs are perfect for them. Personally speaking, I think a mix of milk, meat, and mixed songs is an excellent way to appeal to everyone in your audience.
-Vince Wright