Bless

Photo by James Coleman

by Vince Wright | March 29, 2020 | 12:30 pm

Elevation Worship’s The Blessing was recently requested several times in the same week, in part because it addresses the current COVID-19 crisis.  It’s gaining a lot of attention and it’s clear that many of you want my opinion on it.  So, I caved.

It was co-written by Steven Furtick and Chris Brown (Elevation Worship). Christian artists and married couple Cody Carnes and Kari Jobe also helped pen this recent release.

Also, check out my other Elevation Worship reviews.  There is plenty to choose from!

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 the potential blessings and dangers of this artists theology by visiting Resources.

1. What message does the song communicate?

The song’s title summarizes the entire song.  It is a series of blessings offered to those who listen, containing several elements:

  • That God would grant bless us, keep us, show favor towards us, and grant us grace and peace for a thousand generations.
  • That we would become more sensitive to God’s presence that exists everywhere, including the Holy Spirit indwelling within us.
  • That we would understand God is for us no matter the time of day, location, or personal scenario.

Side Note: This song relies heavily on repetition:

  • Chorus – Three times
  • Refrain – Five times, with each containing six “amen”
  • Bridge 1 – Six times
  • Bridge 2 – Three times
  • Bridge 3 – Three times
  • Post-Bridge – Three times, with the same phrase repeating six times on the first iteration and eight times on the next two.

Score: 10/10

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

All the blessings contained in this song are either directly quoted from Scripture or inspired by it.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Chorus]

The Lord bless you
And keep you
Make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you
The Lord turn His
Face toward you
And give you peace

This is a common blessing given at the end of church services.  It was originally a blessing God instructed Moses to tell Aaron to give to the people of Israel in Numbers 6:24-26.

The Lord bless you
And keep you
Make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you
The Lord turn His
Face toward you
And give you peace

Repeats lines 1-7.

[Refrain]

Amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, amen

“So be it” stated six times.

[Bridge 1]

May His favor be upon you
And a thousand generations
And your family and your children
And their children, and their children

Elevation Worship’s blessing inspired by Exodus 20:6, Deuteronomy 7:9, and Psalm 103:17-18.

May His favor be upon you
And a thousand generations
And your family and your children
And their children, and their children

Repeats lines 1-4.

May His favor be upon you
And a thousand generations
And your family and your children
And their children, and their children

Repeats lines 1-4.

May His favor be upon you
And a thousand generations
And your family and your children
And their children, and their children

Repeats lines 1-4.

[Bridge 2]

May His presence go before you
And behind you, and beside you
All around you, and within you
He is with you, He is with you

Combines the omnipresence of God (1 Kings 8:27, Psalm 139:7-12, Proverbs 15:3, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Colossians 1:17, and Hebrews 4:13) with the Holy Spirit who lives inside believers (Acts 6:5, Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:16-19, Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 5:18, and 2 Timothy 1:14) into a blessing.  He is with us wherever we go (Joshua 1:9).

[Bridge 3]

In the morning, in the evening
In your coming, and your going
In your weeping, and rejoicing
He is for you, He is for you

Regardless of the time of day, location, or emotional state, God is for us (Psalm 56:9, Psalm 118:6-7, Psalm 121:8, Ezekiel 36:9, and Romans 8:31).

[Post-Bridge]

He is for you, He is for you
He is for you, He is for you
He is for you, He is for you

Repeats Bridge 3, line 4.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Unbelievers won’t miss the message the first time, much less the second or third.  It is a blessing offered to believers.  However, they could also be lead astray, thinking that God is with, within, and for them without repentance or faith.  Rather, Scripture says the opposite:

  • They will experience eternal separation from God (Matthew 18:8, Matthew 25:41, Matthew 25:46, Mark 9:43, Jude 1:7, Revelation 14:11, and Revelation 20:10).
  • Their hearts are far from God (Isaiah 29:13, Ezekiel 33:31, and Matthew 15:7–9).
  • God is against them.

Little in this song applies to unbelievers until they turn from their wickedness and trust in Jesus.

Score: 7/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It brings glory to God by invoking a Biblically accurate blessing to those who hear it.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Elevation Worship’s The Blessing is an excellent song.  It offers a blessing inspired by Scripture that unbelievers can easily comprehend and brings glory to God.  However, unbelievers will probably get the wrong idea, thinking God approves of their sinful lifestyle.

Those undeterred by repetition may consider ending their church service with this song; However, I cannot recommend this song for seeker-sensitive churches without an explanation.  Either way, it’s not appropriate for corporate worship.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: The Blessing (Live) (listen to the song)

Artist: Elevation Worship (Feat. Cody Carnes & Kari Jobe)

Album: Graves Into Gardens (Live)

Genre: Rock

Release Year: Will be released May 2020

Duration: N/A

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

*Copyright © 2020 Worship Together Music (BMI) Writers Roof Publishing (BMI) Capitol CMG Paragon (BMI) Kari Jobe Carnes Music (BMI) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com), Elevation Worship Publishing (BMI) (admin at EssentialMusicPublishing.com). All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Updates:

02/15/2022 – After prayerfully considering Steve Barhydt’s comments, I decided that my rating for section 3 was too harsh.  I updated it, raising the song’s overall score from 8.5/10 to 9.5/10.  I also updated conclusion to explicitly state that it’s not appropriate for corporate worship, and that seeker-sensitive churches should offer an explanation.

09/14/2021 – Per Artist Theology announcement, I expanded the red text to encourage others to study Elevation Worship’s theology.

04/20/2021 – After prayerfully considering Don’s comments, I decided to update section 3 based on his direction.  This reduced the song’s overall score, from 10/10 to 8.5/10.

03/15/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.  I tailored my commentary as a side note, to those sensitive to repetition.  This raised this song’s score from 9.5/10 to 10/10.

05/11/2020 – Added Psalm 103:17-18 as a reference for Bridge 1, thanks to Linda Carroll!

Comments

Stephen Brinton

Interesting “technical” review. I haven’t always been fond of “repetition” either but I suggest there might be good reason – we are living in a world that gets its information and much of its interaction through 30 second sound bites – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. I think the church (myself included) is suffering from spiritual “ADD”. And of course worship goes beyond simply “enjoying” the lyrics and certainly was never intended to be “tolerated” but entered into. If we think, having heard the words once through, “we get it” perhaps we haven’t – perhaps to go deeper takes time, perhaps “seeking” takes time and yes “repetition” until the truth of the scripture really captivates our spirit – beyond our mind. I acknowledge that some songs served up to the body might be better applied in a private, personal time of worship but at the same time the church needs to grow not in “endurance” but true passion and devotion. One final remark, in these days when the drum beat that is “repeated” through the media is “fear inducing”, perhaps we will need words of hope a thousand times to drown them out.

Apr 03.2020 | 08:47 am

    Vince Wright

    Stephen,

    Thank you for your comment! I appreciate reading from your perspective about repetition.

    -Vince Wright

    Apr 03.2020 | 10:18 am

      Mado

      Wow, what an interesting discussion about the lyrics of a song. It’s my first time on this site. I like the repetition because it’s like when we say “Thank you Jesus” or “Worthy are you Lord” over and over to praise God. I would’ve liked to go see Elevation Worship live but their tickets are not affordable for minimum wage earning folks like me lol

      Apr 20.2020 | 11:32 am

        Vince Wright

        Mado,

        Welcome to The Berean Test!

        I am glad that you like repetition! I also understand the pricing situation. Although, there aren’t many concerts during the current pandemic.

        -Vince Wright

        Apr 20.2020 | 01:43 pm

          Jeff

          While I enjoy thos song, it is an example of where the church is. We love to receive blessings, but not as quock to carry out the responsibility that comes with one. If we are blessed, we must be a blessing to others and not just to those around us, but to the nations. May you all receive His Blessings so that His way may be known on earth, and Hus salvation among all nations.

          Apr 23.2020 | 09:30 am

            Vince Wright

            Jeff,

            Great advice!

            -Vince Wright

            Apr 23.2020 | 09:48 am

              Varya

              I adore this passage of scripture, but this song is so incredibly boring that it detracts from the meaning behind it because you just want it to hurry up and end already! I’d rather listen to Good Good Father on repeat.

              Jun 01.2020 | 06:20 am

                Tobi

                Hi Varya, The Blessing is a song that compiles God’s promises in the bible, we repeat it back to Him in a form of prayer to remind Him of His promises for us. God is the one to enjoy our praise for it is unto Him, not, we get it wrong often that we need to enjoy a song but in truth, we are to put God first.

                Jun 20.2020 | 01:18 am

                  Portos

                  One thing I never understood, Tobi, is why would we need to remind God of his promise to Abraham and his lineage. Isn’t He God? Yet Moses had to remind Him of His promise when He wanted to wipe Israel out after they created the golden calf.

                  I, for one, don’t think we need to remind God of anything. If reminding needs done, it’s us that need the constant reminder of Who it is we belong to.

                  Feb 14.2021 | 12:12 am

                    DeMonbrun

                    Well, I’m late and maybe someone else could put this in a more biblically referenced context, but I’d just add that as human beings, we should constantly be reminding ourselves that questions of reasoning, that is, human reasoning like, “if God is all knowing, why does God need to be reminded?” are concluded from leaning on our own understanding. We should not forget He has told us He is a jealous God… jealous for us… desires a relationship with each and every one of us… and when we remind Him, He knows that we are thinking about that relationship, that we remember how important it is to us, that we are resetting it above our recent previous thoughts and actions, and that we love Him.

                    Apr 23.2022 | 01:17 pm

                    Vince Wright

                    DeMonbrun,

                    Thank you for your comment!

                    From a Biblical perspective, Moses didn’t have any problem reminding God about His promise to make Israel “as numerous as the stars of heaven”. Take a look at Exodus 32:11-18. We shouldn’t either.

                    -Vince Wright

                    Apr 23.2022 | 04:05 pm

                    egl

                    So then what is the point of telling him he is great? Or praying at all? doesn’t he already know?

                    Jun 29.2023 | 03:24 pm

                  Emily

                  Remind Him? He does not need reminding …

                  Jun 12.2021 | 11:46 pm

                    Steve Barhydt

                    Emily,

                    Moses would seem to disagree with you…

                    Exodus 32:9 – 14 (KJV)

                    9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:

                    10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.

                    11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?

                    12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.

                    13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.

                    14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

                    ********End Quote*******

                    Job would also seem to disagree with you

                    Job 14:13 (KJV)

                    O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!

                    ********End Quote*******

                    As would Samson…

                    Judges 16:28

                    And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

                    ********End Quote*******

                    As would Jeremiah…

                    Jeremiah 15: 15 (KJV)

                    O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke.

                    ********End Quote*******

                    As would Nehemiah…

                    Nehemiah 5:19 (NASB)

                    Remember me, my God, for good, in return for all that I have done for this people.

                    Nehemiah 13:14 (KJV)

                    Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof.

                    Nehemiah 13:22 (KJV)

                    And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy.

                    Nehemiah 13:29 (KJV)

                    Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites.

                    Nehemiah 13:31 (KJV)

                    And for the wood offering, at times appointed, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.

                    *********End of Quotes******

                    As would the Psalmist…

                    Psalm 25:6-7 (KJV)

                    6 Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

                    7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.

                    Psalm 74:2

                    Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt

                    Psalms 106:4 (KJV)

                    Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation;

                    *********End of Quotes******

                    In case you are wondering, in the Hebrew the word for remember is, zakar, It means, surprisingly enough, “to remember”.

                    From Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance…

                    A primitive root; properly, to mark (so as to be recognized), i.e. To remember; by implication, to mention; also (as denominative from zakar) to be male — X burn (incense), X earnestly, be male, (make) mention (of), be mindful, recount, record(-er), remember, make to be remembered, bring (call, come, keep, put) to (in) remembrance, X still, think on, X well.

                    **********End Quote********

                    Conclusion..

                    Do I believe that God forgets? Absolutely NOT!!!

                    In spite of that, is it Biblically to ask Him to remember? The above quoted scriptures would say a resounding, YES!!!

                    So, the question becomes, if God doesn’t forget, why can we and do we ask Him to remember?

                    This article at Christianity.com has a good answer in my opinion (https://www.christianity.com/wiki/god/what-does-it-mean-in-the-bible-that-god-remembered.html)

                    **********Start of Quote**********

                    Is ‘Remember’ Just in the Mind?
                    In the Old Testament examples, the text uses the Hebrew word zakar, which means “to remember.” But the definition goes deeper, for it also means to bring someone to mind — and then act on that person’s behalf. Zakar, then, is as much direct action as it is a mental exercise.

                    Indeed, in every instance of God remembering, we see in the Old Testament that it always includes an action. For example, God remembered Noah, then made the water recede. God remembered Rachel, then opened her womb. And, years later, hearing the Hebrews’ cries for rescue, God remembered His covenant with their ancestors and rescued them.

                    Raised in the faith, King David knew God brought mighty action when He remembered someone or something. So, David’s cries to the Lord in the Psalms are just as much cries for effect as for affection.

                    For instance, in Psalm 25, David begs God to “Remember, Lord, Your great mercy and love … remember me” (Psalm 25:6-7). This is a cry for help, for rescue, for deliverance — not just a cry for love.

                    It wasn’t just King David who cried out for the Lord’s remembrance. Asaph pleaded with the Lord to “Remember the nation You purchased long ago, the people of Your inheritance and deliver them” (Psalm 74:2).

                    And in Psalm 106:4, the Psalmist begs, “Remember me, Lord, when you show favor to your people, come to my aid when you save them.” He’s asking for rescue, not just kind thoughts.

                    In the New Testament, the Greek word is mimnēskomai, meaning “to remember” or “recall,” but it too seems to imply action. God’s remembering brought the Holy Spirit on one, and His wrath upon another.

                    How Does ‘God Remembered’ Apply Today?
                    God never forgets His promises or His people — He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, and the creator of the universe. He doesn’t suffer from memory lapses.

                    But God makes it clear that we, as His people, are to continue to cry out to Him with prayer and petition, with praise and thanksgiving.

                    Isaiah 62:6-7 reminds us, “I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.”

                    Many Christians take Holy Communion, consuming bread and wine as symbols of Jesus’ body and blood, which they are to do “in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19).

                    And Jesus also told His disciples that after He has left, He would send the Holy Spirit to live within them to “teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).

                    And in Luke 23:39-43, one of the criminals crucified with Christ Jesus begged Jesus to remember him in heaven. He sought forgiveness — and received it.

                    When we ask for forgiveness, talk with God in prayer, take communion, and otherwise engage with the Lord, we are in essence calling His attention upon us. He sees all and knows all. And we must trust He will act on our behalf.

                    **********End Quote********

                    Jun 14.2021 | 02:35 pm

                Anthony

                I heard it and it was astonishing! God put me in the right place to hear it. Moved me to tears and prayer.

                Jul 05.2020 | 05:48 am

                  Patricia Coomb

                  I agree… this is a beautiful song and brings me to tears every time I listen to it

                  Jul 08.2020 | 01:28 am

                    lindyhcs63

                    This is my reaction too – it brings me to tears. The repetition is worship; I sense God’s heavy Presence, love and blessing more and more, the longer it goes on.

                    Jul 31.2020 | 09:48 pm

                    Sandie

                    Brings me tears as well. It’s the heart of worship that we are repeating back to God His promises He made to us. Thank you Lord, Thank You Lord.

                    Aug 13.2020 | 08:28 am

                  Michael D Armour

                  I have listened to this song at least a dozen times, all 12 minutes of it, and I have wept every time. Such a powerful description of what God’s blessing can be. I’m not much of a 7-Eleven kind of worshipper (7-11 repeats) but this song Can absolutely get away with it. The way that it builds the way that it just speaks to us every time through. Those that just want to get through the song may not get what it’s trying to say to us.
                  You can tell that Kari Jobe is just blown away with how well the song is being received. The live video that’s out there was performed just days after they wrote the song. You can just see the excitement in her as she sings. And look at the people the close-ups of people weeping.

                  I believe it was written for this time, to cut through the noise of today.

                  Thank you for your review and listing of all the scripture that went into making this song.

                  Nov 11.2020 | 11:02 pm

                    Trougot

                    Shan … Nope & I’ll stick to being overly cautious [not saying always outright wrong] with the mystical influences [kundalini similarity] of repetition. If we can’t get then with sound Theology, let’s put them in a trance like state of euphoria Me reckon if I’m a 1st year law student, it will be folly to try and compare myself to the law Professor, or already practice law! … Similar, but even less comparable & way-way further apart is we as mere sinful beings this side of Heaven, comparing ourselves to Angelic beings, don’t you think? Indeed very presumptuous and haughty! For one thing, there is many a danger & pitfalls applying to us & not them! Let’s first get there, before we claim the spoils … Similar in the way this song claiming every Blessing under the sun, without much in the way of pre-requisites!

                    May 22.2021 | 03:27 am

            Shan

            There’s quite a lot of repetition in worship from the angels around the throne so brace yourself for heaven!

            May 03.2020 | 11:40 am

              Lee Owings

              Totally agree. Repetition is not a issue here. Praise is all that is on my mind during this.

              May 14.2020 | 04:29 pm

                Carmella

                I love the repetition! This song puts me into praise mode and I listen to it multiple times in a row when possible. The repetition makes it easy for those that are not familiar with the scriptures to remember. Both artists are incredibly talented. The song is a “Blessing” to all that hear it 🙂

                Jun 14.2020 | 07:15 pm

              loveletteredhere

              So true Shan! I don’t mind the repetition of this song. The repeated phrases is what we need to hear for that truth to penetrate our mind & heart!

              May 16.2020 | 03:07 pm

                Aniekeme Ekanem

                This song has been on repeat since the day I downloaded
                It makes me draw closer to God anytime I listen to it. I love worshipping God through songs and this fit perfectly
                Thank you, Lord bless the artist for these wonderful lyrics

                Dec 02.2022 | 11:46 pm

              Opok Joseph

              I love the comment, We are created for the glory of God

              Jan 05.2021 | 11:32 am

              Janice

              Shan – YES. This. Repetition is definitely talked about in the book of Revelation.

              You still reserve the right to dock points for repetition strictly out of preference of style, though, Vince. I love this site. Keep up the great work.

              Mar 11.2021 | 06:34 am

                Mark Shane

                Sad that we are grading music written to worship our creator and Lord based on our personal preference. Do you think your preference is going to matter in Heaven? “Hey, God, can we do a different song? This one isn’t my fav.”
                Sad that there are websites, blogs, and YouTube channels devoted to being critical of others for their expression of worship.
                Our humanness is so fickle and petty.

                Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such is good for building up, as fits the occasion,that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29

                Mar 11.2021 | 09:50 am

                  Vince Wright

                  Mark,

                  Thank you for your comment!

                  What you said pierced my soul and broke my heart. it gave me a swift kick in the pants that forced me to re-examine my position on repetition and its relation to Berean Test reviews.

                  Expect to see an announcement tomorrow.

                  -Vince Wright

                  Mar 12.2021 | 12:03 pm

                    Robert Peurifoy

                    Recent comments concerning “The Blessings” seem to miss something. These comments say this song is all about “Me.” That it is selfish and self absorbed. I do not find this to be the truth.
                    If this is the case, then every pastor who uses the Aaronic blessing at the end of a worship service should cease to do so.
                    This song isn’t about me. It is about blessing others.
                    Robert C. Peurifoy,
                    Pastor, retired

                    Mar 12.2021 | 01:38 pm

                  JM

                  Mark – Can you clarify what you mean by “grading music based on personal preference”? I ask b/c Vince has actually outlined his criteria here: https://www.thebereantest.com/criteria-for-evaluating-christian-music

                  Perhaps I’m missing what you are trying to say, but it seems like either
                  1) you are saying that repetition should not be included in the evaluation (since its subjective), to be as objective as possible
                  or 2) that we should *not be analyzing the music presented to the church / used by Christians at all, because that can *only be done in a way that is judgmental/hypocritical/unrighteous/etc…Basically, who are we to question how someone else worships God.

                  If you mean the 2nd, I think Eph. chapter 4 would actually support the idea of evaluating what we say/sing/do, as part of maturing in the faith, renewing our mind, putting on the new self, etc… Specifically thinking Ephesians 4:11-15, and Ephesians 4:17-25

                  Mar 12.2021 | 03:20 pm

                  Deborah Howard

                  I am not a skilled songwriter or gifted musician, but I heard this worship song for the first time as I was driving across the state to a wedding shower for my eldest son’s fiancé. It is a prayer based on scripture set to music. My heart was overwhelmed by the words reminding me of how the Lord loves us as his children. Far more and better than we can in our human frailty. The words declare a blessing from our heavenly Father. The song is simple..anyone can sing it and give glory to God as they do. And, as I sang along with all the repetition, I praised my God for his goodness, grace, and faithfulness and prayed this blessing in faith for my son and his soon to be bride and their future family, and their children and their children and their children unto a thousand generations.

                  EDIT: Removed first sentence, which replied to a comment now deleted.

                  Apr 28.2021 | 12:21 am

            Desi

            I Amen that!

            May 09.2020 | 10:06 pm

            Valerie Rimstidt

            Jeff, YES!!

            Jul 06.2020 | 04:41 pm

            Ashley Noelle

            I agree with this. It’s an amazing song because it’s based on everything the Father’s covenant promises—but at the same time it is just as important to emphasize the part we are to play in that covenant. Obedience, faithfulness, perseverance, persecution when necessary. We are so very blessed to receive the favor of the Most High God, but that means we are also tasked with responsibilities just as far-reaching.

            Aside from that, I always find it ironic that the church is perfectly fine with pulling from Israel’s blessings, but don’t want to sanctify the actual Sabbath as Israel is called to do, or share in the feasts of our Father as Israel is called. Yes, the people of the Most High are Israel, including the church—it’s not a genetics thing; but if that’s the case (and it is) then we are held to the same expectations in that regard, save for anything Levitical post-golden calf, as that was added after the covenant and has since been made obsolete via the blood of our Savior.

            But that’s just my two cents.

            Jul 09.2020 | 01:11 pm

            Tammy Andrews

            Yeah I hear you Jeff. I have really really struggled with this song. The purpose of the blessing in the first place was for the Lord to put His name on this group of people. And then we read in 1 Chron 7:14, what is expected of the people who are called by His name. I just felt last year that it was a bit of a ‘pathetic’ reflection of where our Christian society is at – so ready to seek out God’s favour and blessing but oh so slow to come back to His word, to repent, to truly seek His face and not just sing songs… I’m making a sweeping generalisation but that’s what I see amidst our churches in the western world who perhaps have idols of safety, comfort, and convenience and very little desire truly get to know Him and love Him and serve Him!!
            If they had couched this song in the appropriate context with the responsibility that is laid out for those receiving the blessing, I would feel really differently about it all, but alas it made just made me sad.

            Apr 29.2021 | 02:52 am

              Renee

              I agree wholeheartedly. Today’s society readily seeks the blessings of the Lord but scorns any form of repentance that should accompany those blessings. I’ve always found this song to be very man-centered even as it uses a blessing from scripture. It is unfortunate to consider but I would venture to guess that a large majority of the song’s audience falsely believe the blessings promised by this song are material or emotional blessings simply because that is the current focus of society and the most popular reason many seek God.
              It is completely unfit for corporate worship without a firm warning about the scripture’s true meaning and in that case, could we not just pick something that doesn’t require explaining?

              Jun 30.2022 | 01:00 am

                Krystal

                I agree with you as well Renee, and sadly it’s nothing surprising being the fact that this song was written by people who are heavily connected with churches that are not biblically sound and teach heresy (just listen to the messages from Elevation church and Gateway -very evidently self-centered and all about what profits them). But, it’s being readily accepted in Christianity today by watering down the gospel making it all about “us” rather than about the Lord. However, if you say something about it, they will just say you are being judgmental and YET It does not matter what other people say because only what God says is what truly matters. We are called to be bereans and fruit inspectors and I will personally not partake in messages or worship that supports heretical teachings even if they may “sound biblical”. Thank you for speaking out the truth in love, it takes great courage and it’s what this world really needs even though it may not be what it wants. God bless you! 🙂 To God be the glory!!

                Sep 18.2022 | 07:01 pm

                  Vince Wright

                  Krystal,

                  Thank you for your comment!

                  I just wanted you to be aware that at The Berean Test, I focus on the lyrics regardless of what the artist teaches. Usually, I delete these sorts of posts; However, I allowed it because the majority of what you had to say is directed towards the song in question or another person’s comments. Although I largely agree with your comments about Elevation’s teachings, in the future, let’s stay on topic and discuss the lyrical content without bringing in artist personal beliefs and theology into the discussion. While important, discussing the artists’ teachings and theology tends to start arguments and becomes unfruitful. As I said, it is important, which is why my review contains a Resources link for anyone who wants to learn more about Elevation’s theology. However, I won’t allow discussion of it on this site. There are plenty of other spaces for such deliberation.

                  I hope you understand my reasoning.

                  -Vince Wright

                  Sep 18.2022 | 07:17 pm

              Donna

              I completely agree with you. Yesss! This is the way I view all these type songs but if I were to say this to the average professing Christian I would get hung at high noon

              Dec 20.2022 | 03:03 pm

              Bartimaus

              Sure, selfishness can be an issue in modern worship music, but sometimes, in the disgusting, evil, cruel curse of life, people get overwhelmed and need a reminder that God does, in fact love us, contrary to every single shred of our existence. Feelings cannot be put over faith, of course, but being imprisoned in these physical bodies for decades, with only the obligations of faith and never actually feeling loved by God, is a truly horrible and punishing way to live. While I wasn’t expecting it, this song has been a real blessing to me, as it helps me remember that while every thing is falling apart and misery comes wave after wave, this life is only temporary, and God made a promise, which He WILL keep. Because I have accepted Jesus as Savior and received His salvation, I know that when I die I will finally know God’s love. This song reminds me of that, and that hope keeps me going.

              Jan 23.2024 | 03:38 pm

            Donna

            I totally agree that unbelievers in a worship service would certainly conclude that all the ‘blessings’ mentioned would apply to them as well…which is very dangerous. Its not just the music but sermons as well that talk about all the benefits we have who are IN Christ and many lost people hear these things and think they assume that the words apply to them as well. It is necessary to make this distinction so that lost people are not given false assurance of being a Christian and having eternal hope.

            Dec 20.2022 | 02:54 pm

          Jonathan

          Repetition is bad. It’s good in your work and training to help you build muscle memory, but vain repetition of words is definitely bad. By webster definition, that’s called “mantra”, and Jesus specifically warned against that. And don’t forget, it is the famous saying of the embodiment of the devil, that repeating a lie a hundred times makes it a truth.

          Nov 14.2021 | 02:42 am

      Jamodu Funmilayo Tosin

      Hello Vince, just stumbled on your page for the first time and I love love love. Your perception and replies are so mature and absolutely Christlike. To the Pastor that says he doesn’t think his congregation should sing the blessing, this is my simple response, the best way to remember scripture is to sing it as a song. It stays and lives with you forever. Allow them enjoy the blessing.

      May 23.2020 | 01:14 am

        Vince Wright

        Jamodu,

        Welcome to The Berean Test!

        Thank you for your comment and compliments. I appreciate it!

        -Vince Wright

        May 23.2020 | 02:07 pm

          Jason Doubleday

          There is a tendency for Christian to look at people outside the Church, with an attitude tainted with contempt. The repetition of the phrase “He is for you…” has caused me to understand, with new clarity, what i thought i knew. God is for lost people, he is so for them that he sent his only son so that they might believe and have eternal life. If God is so for them, should we be against them in anyway?

          May 25.2020 | 07:23 am

            Vince Wright

            Jason,

            Agreed.

            -Vince Wright

            May 25.2020 | 10:28 am

      Julia

      I agree in a meeting, where this fits is important, as you suggested at the end is a good place.
      This song being mostly scripture, repetition is good. We have strong mindsets often & this song breaks through IF you don’t get bored & instead, let it wash over you till the truth of God’s Word & character breaks through. It will ruin you & transform you at the same time, as the faithfulness of God dawns on our unbelieving dark corners.

      Aug 02.2020 | 04:01 pm

    Jim Bomar

    Jim Bomar: I agree with Stephan Briton, I have teach children & youth for 40 year and have always believed that the message God spoke to Jerusalem in Isaiah 28 means there is some lessons about him that can only be learned through the patient prodding of repetition. Line upon line, precept upon precept.

    Apr 11.2020 | 11:38 am

    Mark Ephgrave

    Stephen Brinton, I like your point:

    “If we think, having heard the words once through, “we get it” perhaps we haven’t – perhaps to go deeper takes time, perhaps “seeking” takes time and yes “repetition” until the truth of the scripture really captivates our spirit – beyond our mind.”

    Isn’t this reminiscent of what Biblical meditation is? Chewing over, poring over, considering again and again, pondering upon the Word of God. Repeating it.

    If we agree that this song is scripturally based then isn’t it a good thing, at times, to repeat it over until it sinks in.

    And to the point from another post about whether it is right for a congregation to sing this… I would ask, are we not a royal priesthood as believers? Jesus is our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. Okay, so that’s not Aaron and his sons, which means either no-one now can say it or sing it OR perhaps all believers can sing it to/over each other and over their families etc.

    Apr 29.2020 | 04:56 pm

    Marie Perry

    Good review! I love the repetition – when I am struggling under a circumstance, I appreciate that repetitiveness because it helps me to remember scripture and the things that God wants me to remember, and i can sing it over myself and my situation.

    May 17.2020 | 03:24 pm

    Susan Houston

    How many times did God say “fear not,” and yet we are fearful of so much in this world. Repeating the refrains, the verses is for emphasis, to reinforce the message. We need it because we forget too quickly and go back to fear. This song is a reminder of His love, and that can’t be said enough.

    May 17.2020 | 10:39 pm

      Robert Peurifoy

      Susan, it has been years since I counted, but in some form or way the scriptures, Old and New, say in some for “Fear not” over 250 times. One for every day of the week except weekends. The term bless is also used the same way.

      Jul 29.2020 | 08:53 am

    Idahocountry

    I agree, Stephen. Beautifully stated.

    May 20.2020 | 10:33 am

    David T Leffingwell

    Exactly correct in ever respect!

    May 21.2020 | 08:34 am

    Kristina Olney

    Amen!

    May 23.2020 | 11:33 am

    Daniel Jones

    Bless you for your statement!
    Well said!
    I often am forced to watch the same commercial 4x in a row on internet TV
    However I accept that it is their way of getting my attention..
    Maybe this song will get the world’s attention and since when is Gods own words nauseating repetition?
    The writer of the article should tread lightly when condemning a song entirely derived fro Gods own book.

    Jun 26.2020 | 05:33 pm

      Vince Wright

      Daniel,

      Thank you for your comment!

      Can you explain how an overall 9.5/10 rating is “condemning a song entirely derived from God’s own book”?

      As for “Maybe this song will get the world’s attention and since when is Gods own words nauseating repetition?”, it’s not God’s Word that is nauseating repetition. It’s the way in which the artist chose to present it.

      -Vince Wright

      Jun 26.2020 | 09:23 pm

    Maggie

    Stephen, I agree with you whole heartedly. I know that historically hard and fearful times have caused believers to draw themselves closer to God. We have a tendency to wander off and need to be drawn back by our Good Shepherd. One thing about The Blessing is a musical technique that it uses. It starts with a quiet blesssing that you want to receive and tten begins to rise in intensity with repetition. When it finally get from your head to your heart that you, an individual, are being given this blessing. That God, the Creator of all things, is actually looking at you; then the next verse says, “Oh, by the way,…” His favor is upon you too. Oh, and His presence, oh, and He surrounds you… It is humbly to know that God is not only for the Body of Christ but for each and every one of us individually. Thus the repetition of the blessings as well as the amens. We need this in this time that the world is constantly telling us that the collective is important but not individuals. So the music rises in intensity to help bring that understanding from our heads to our hearts which brings deeper faith to our struggling minds.
    Comfort to all, Maggie

    Jul 16.2020 | 07:58 am

    Bonnie Bailey

    I’ve been fascinated by this song since the first time I heard it. It does seem to be inspired by God, based on the worldwide response. I can’t think of anything negative about the YouTube videos featured from all around the world. Whether or not it should be sung in church, I don’t really care. It appears to be an ‘encouraging word’ set to music. (Thus the copyright for the original piece of music.) I think it is intended to be heard by any who will receive it. I don’t think the timing was an accident. At the end of the year, I expect it to be the most ‘covered’ of any in a long time, maybe ever.

    Jul 29.2020 | 04:34 am

    Ferdinand Ibu Ogbaji

    “Day and night, they never stop singing ‘holy,holy,holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was ,who is, and who is to come”- Rev. 4:8.
    We’ll be doing a lot of what we might call repetition in heaven, but it’ll be to the awe provoking majesty of our God and His Christ. The repetition will be to a new experience of His glory.

    Aug 19.2020 | 08:28 am

    Steven Malaki

    Well said ..repetition has a place in laying emphasis on truth and yes drowning out other negative information overloads

    Sep 05.2020 | 02:38 pm

    Terry

    Stephen, you have expressed so well what has been going through my mind for months. Thank you!

    Sep 17.2020 | 12:10 pm

    Holly Schafer

    I agree. I actually have made a play list of only this song to give me 30 minutes of meditative background to my prayers. And I find it very much a good help to encourage quieting my mind and focusing on Jesus.

    Sep 18.2020 | 08:59 am

      Robert Peurifoy

      I am trying to do a recording of the several different versions, particularly in the different languages. I also leave it playing on the TV when away as a “cleansing” of the house.

      Sep 18.2020 | 12:28 pm

    Fernanda Mida

    Stephen, I couldn’t agree more! Blessed words

    Oct 01.2020 | 10:34 pm

    stormyblueseasShannon

    For me, the repetition did just that… I struggle from anxiety and this song just kept making its way into my mind and I couldn’t get it out. At different times, it was different parts of the song that would come to mind. It was so encouraging for me… knowing that The Lord does keep me and give me peace… HIs presence goes before me and He is ever present… it became almost a battle cry as I engage in a battle that is not of flesh and blood…
    I am not a fan of repetition.

    Oct 13.2020 | 12:58 pm

    Samantha Allende

    When I first heard this worship song, I immediately cried. It took everything that I read in the Bible about God’s love for me and wrapped it into the biggest blessing God can give us. His LOVE…Jesus is love. How much more can God prove His love for us. He gave us His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins so that we don’t perish and for us to have everlasting life with Him in Heaven.

    Dec 16.2020 | 08:47 am

    Zach Pyron

    For believers who are under a new, better covenant brought about by a greater, better Prophet, fulfilled by a final, best Lamb, why sing about blessings that God promised to a people under a different covenant as though they apply to us?

    When Jesus died on the cross, he ended the need for Temple worship (hence, the curtain was torn). Christ fulfilled the law completely, not just in part. He brought about a new covenant marked by the widespread indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

    Jesus taught about the blessings we could experience–persecution and hardship–when we follow Him. So does the blessing pronounced over Moses-era Israel even have any application to us at all? I don’t think so, not any more than I believe the purity, sacrificial, food and drink, or cultural laws apply to us. We don’t sacrifice sheep. We don’t leave our homes or camps for a week to purify ourselves, nor do we need a priest to call us clean. We don’t wear garments according to the Mosaic Law. (Principles remain – love your neighbors, don’t be a pagan, there’s only one God.)

    “The Blessing” is misleading to the believer, not just the unbeliever. If we embrace the blessings of Moses-era Israel, we can expect to miss out on the blessings of Christ–joining Him in His suffering.

    Nov 17.2021 | 02:56 pm

    Steve

    Consider also, in the OT, repetition conveys importance; indeed, the more often something is said and/or repeated, is an indication of an exponential amplification of the statement; e.g. “…”Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory” (Isa 6:3; Rev 4:8; NAS95). TO be sure, nothing could be more true than to amplify God’s great holiness! Similarly, repeating “May His favor be upon you and a thousand generations, and your family and your children, and their children, and their children…” certainly conveys a beautiful blessing any person should feel blessed to hear, let alone to hear it repeated and be able to meditate on the idea and His inscrutable love for us!

    May 11.2022 | 12:34 am

Mark Cole

I think the repetition is worth it the first time you introduce it to a congregation… that will help them learn it.. but after that I would try to pare it down from an 8 minute song to a 5 minute song.

Apr 04.2020 | 08:06 am

    Vince Wright

    Mark,

    That makes sense! Why didn’t I think of that? It works well for children too.

    -Vince Wright

    Apr 04.2020 | 02:23 pm

Jon V.

This song is a classic example of well-meaning believers taking scripture out of context and forcing it to apply to the Church. As the Church, we of course desire the Lord to bless us and for His Face to shine upon us. But if you keep this song in context, it isn’t for the church… it was for Aaron and the priests (Numbers 6) as a blessing for Israel. It was for Israel to keep their end of the Mosaic Covenant. If they did, they would be blessed to the thousandth generation (Deut. 7, read it all, in context). In short, this song, while well intended, is out of context for the Church.

Apr 05.2020 | 02:03 pm

    Vince Wright

    Jon,

    Thank you for your comments!

    You are correct about the original context. This blessing was given by the priest Aaron to the “sons of Israel”. However, the New Testament Church is new Israel, prophecied in Jeremiah 31 and fulfilled throughout the book of Acts. It includes Israelites and gentiles into a single fold, a point of contention for some Israelites and a major theme throughout the entire New Testament. There is no reason to think that this ancient blessing would not apply to gentile believers today, those of us who are adopted sons of God (John 1:12-13, John 14:18, Romans 8:14-17, Romans 8:23, Romans 9:1-8, Galatians 3:26, Galatians 4:5-7, Ephesians 1:3-14, Ephesians 2:11-22, Hebrews 9:15, and 1 John 3:1-3) and in effect, are adopted Israelites (Romans 11:11-24).

    -Vince Wright

    Apr 05.2020 | 02:17 pm

      Rachel

      Amen, Vince. Great to acknowledge context, but the Lord extends this blessing to us, it is unending

      Apr 19.2020 | 12:35 pm

      Joel Swenson

      Vince,

      Even if the church is the new Israel, the promise was given to Israel at a certain time based upon their actions. The promise doesn’t transfer simply because two different groups are refered to by the same name. It would be like my son claiming a promise that my father gave to me when I was his age, that is not how specific promises work. We are two different sons. This is why careful exegesis is so critical in when we interpret the Bible. At best these verses tell us about God’s character, not individualized promises we can claim today 3,000+ years later. This is one of the most significant issues of the modern church we want to make the story of the Bible about us instead of about God.

      Thanks, Joel

      May 23.2020 | 03:21 pm

      Nancy

      Jon – I agree that scripture should be read in context but I disagree that in this instance a blessing has been taken out of context.

      Vince – I think your response is very well said. I would add one thing: Under the new covenant, we, the church, are a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:4-10).

      Aug 02.2020 | 07:49 pm

    JM

    Jon – I had the similar thoughts as you; that this is very much like taking Jer 29:11, and thinking that it is meant for us individually. I might tweak what you said about the “thousand generations”, and re-word it to say that the inclusion of “1000 generations” is to indicate the length of God’s faithfulness (see bullet points below) – it goes on ‘forever’. I think this ends up being a descriptor of God’s character, more so than some guarantee of generation-to-generation blessing.

    Thank you Vince for finding all the related verses; that is a huge help. I went and read Deuteronomy chapter 7, and took away these key points, which I think helps to make Jon’s case:
    – (Deut 7:1-5) God is going to bring the Israelites into the promised land. When they get there, God is going to drive away (through the Israelites) the nations that live there. These nations are to be devoted to complete destruction, in order to prevent intermarriage, and idolatry. If this Happens, God’s anger will be kindled against the Israelites
    – (Deut 7:6-8) God chose the Israelites to be holy, set apart for Him. It was not of their own merits that God chose them, but because he is faithful to his former promises to the patriarchs, and that he loves his chosen position (he is jealous for them). God alone rescued them from slavery in Egypt.
    – (Deut 7:9-11) God keeps his covenants. He is faithful, to the thousandth generation (i.e. a really long time…God’s faithfulness is part of his unchanging character). God’s steadfast love extends to those who love him, and keep his commandments, but he will repay those who hate him – by destroying them. Do not test God on this; be careful to do all that he has commanded (reference back to Deut 7:3-5).
    – (Deut 7:12-16) If the Israelites follow God’s commands, he will bless them and multiply them. More warnings about being sure to completely destroy the nations in the land which God has devoted to complete destruction.
    – (Deut 7:17-26) The Israelites are not to fear that the nations in the promised land are more numerous / stronger than they. God delivered them from Egypt with a mighty arm and will display the same power against those nations. Be careful not to desire their idols/gods, as that will corrupt the Israelite people, and turn them from the Lord.

    It does seems like a misuse of the text to rip out the “blessing” without the curses and warnings to go along with it. We read too much of our 21st century western ideas into it, and make it mean something different than the original word.

    Apr 06.2020 | 02:48 pm

    Julie Cox

    Hello! I heard that the pastor of Elevation church (Steven Furtick) felt that God was speaking this blessing over his church and wanted his congregation to receive it, so he sat down in a room with Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes and wrote this song for his church. It was specifically meant for his church, I believe.

    Apr 16.2020 | 01:19 am

    Josh Ramos

    Jon V. That’s exactly what I thought when I first heard it. I’ve been asked by several folks from our church, “When are we singing The Blessing?”, and I have told them that I was thinking about it.

    I am still not at ease with having our congregation sing this song, not because it is not biblical, but because the reference versus are out of context. As a pastor, I have used them as a benediction to our congregation at the end of a worship gathering. Nevertheless, I do not believed they were intended for a congregation to say it, or sing it, for that matter.

    Apr 21.2020 | 01:10 pm

    D. Rose

    Jon, I would submit that you are taking a bit too far. Paul made a point of saying that we as gentiles are adopted into the family of God, and into the Abrahamic lineage (Rom 8:14-17, Gal 3:27-29). if this is so then the blessing is for us too.

    Furthermore if we take as strict a context as you are taking, then the entire Bible is not for the modern day Christian. For example, the book of Romans was for the Christians in Rome exclusively, thus it is not for modern day Christians and the books of Luke and Acts are for Theophilus, not for modern Christians, etc. If we are going to accept the Bible we have to assume that all of the bible is relevant. Some parts, like the old testament ceremonial law, have been superseded by Christ and are no longer relevant to our worship, but the old testament moral law is still very much relevant

    Jun 26.2020 | 10:00 am

    Melvin Evans

    I agree with you, except for the “well intended” part. Out of context is intentional.

    Aug 01.2021 | 01:40 pm

robert collins

Why did you copyright a song that inspiration was giving to you from the word God and his spirit – it was freely given to you and you freely admit most of it comes from “numbers” Do you have the right to Copyright it as your own inspiration? It was freely given to you as a gift from God so why now do you claim it as yours with a copyright!

Apr 07.2020 | 03:46 pm

    Vince Wright

    Robert,

    What are you talking about? I haven’t copyrighted anything. This song belongs to Elevation Worship. it’s their copyright, not mine. I simply have permission to use it from Capitol CMG Publishing and Essential Music (a subsidiary of Sony).

    -Vince Wright

    Apr 07.2020 | 03:49 pm

      robert collins

      Written by Steven Furtick, Chris Brown, Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes
      ©2020 Music by Elevation Worship Publishing, Capitol CMG Paragon / Writers Roof Publishing, Worship Together Music / Kari Jobe Carnes Music
      CCLI #: 7147007

      First thank you for approving my commit – I see your point however how do “they” have the right copyright something that is a quote right from the word of God and a freely given inspiration- the question still stands as ridiculous as you think it is – The song is a gift for Gods people- not to be sold or copyrighted- as you know the gifts and inspiration belong to the one who gave them.

      Apr 07.2020 | 04:11 pm

        Vince Wright

        Robert,

        This is a question that transcends this song. Elevation Worship is not the first, nor are they the last, to copyright something inspired by the Bible. Virtually all artists copyright their music, including Christian artists who borrow from the Bible for their music. Almost all translations of the Bible (if not all translations) are copyrighted. What gives them a right to copyright their work?

        In short, the government.

        Copyrights are meant to protect the imaginations of those who work on media, whether that is music, movie, book, or video game. Christian artists, in general, are “worthy of their wages” (Luke 10:7 and 1 Timothy 5:18). We could argue about any individual artists, as to their deserving of it, but my point is, the copyright is the government’s way of protecting intellectual property and prevent theft. That includes derivative work, including Elevation Worship’s The Blessing.

        Artists work hard to produce music and lyrics. Translators work hard to transliterate and translate the Bible. What would happen to their livelihood if people stole their work and sold it as their own? Copyrights are meant to protect against it.

        As you might recall in Romans 13, governments are established by God and we are subject to our governing authorities. It is the government that grants these protections known as “copyright law” to artists, translators, and other individuals.

        I understand your point. This song is a gift and should be given away, not sold. I suppose Elevation Worship could ask for donations rather than selling their music. But, if they don’t copyright it, someone else might and do whatever they want with it. That is the government we live in.

        In one sense, it is given away. You’ve probably heard of YouTube, Pandora, and Spotify. This song is available in all these mediums, free of charge (though there might be the occasional ad). As are just about any Christian song. So, I’m not sure how far your argument goes.

        -Vince Wright

        Apr 07.2020 | 05:35 pm

          robert collins

          Dear Vince Wright

          Thanks again for you reply and you are “right” this issue/subject transcends this songs, our Bible is not copyrighted however the translations are and the very songs we sing together on Sunday morning are copyrighted as well- I’m also well aware you already know this from reading your reply.

          Also let me say this song is a wonderful song!! and it’s blessing to people why? because the word of the Lord is not void in it’s work- But something bothered my spirit when I saw the video attacked to this song everything was perfect the lighting the stage everyone looked so beautiful the camera work was out standing- So…what bugged me? I realized it’s a show and they are selling tickets to their show for $50 dollars you can be blessed by the Lord here is the link https://www.stubhub.com/elevation-worship-tickets/performer/100273774/

          Yes, we are able to listen to the song for free like you stated however the real catch is tossing down $50 bucks for the real anointing they are offering where everything looks so so perfect because that has to be God.

          Vince, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to go on and rant or even sound angry but the gospel of greed is a real problem here in the USA and apparently I’m not sure what can be done about it – you asked me how far my argument goes – I think it started and ended here – things like this bother me and because Jesus didn’t charge me a dime when he loved and saved instead he paid the price..but anyway this turning into word salad and I know you got better things to do so let me end with this..

          You quoted Romans 13, I agree, you are 100 percent right!! But I can almost assure you that Feat. Cody Carnes & Kari Jobe) didn’t write their song from a open source Greek and Hebrew manuscripts that they translated them self’s.

          Even money say they copped their song from the NIV which is copyrighted by law and owned by HarperCollins

          Copyrights being stolen by Copyrights all in the name of money- just like Jesus planed !!!

          Be blessed Vince and thank you for letting reply. BTW. I’m not sure how I found my self on this page, I simply looking for more info about the song.) I wont be posting anymore But welcome your reply be blessed brother and I love you.

          Apr 08.2020 | 12:24 am

            Vince Wright

            Robert,

            I think I understand where you’re coming from. Yes, when artists play their music, there is often a charge to hear them play. In effect, there are two ways to pay for operating expenses: charge tickets or ask for donations. Of course, they also sell merchandise and albums.

            Insofar as I am aware, the people who pay for the tickets are not just looking for a spiritual experience. They are there to specifically listen to that artist for entertainment. Even Christian artists are entertainers. That is part of their job. Christian music is as much a business as anything else. This doesn’t sit well with many people and you might be among them!

            I’m not sure how any of us can get away with quoting from copyrighted Bible translations. Perhaps it’s because we aren’t trying to sell them as our own work?

            How do I respond to this? With Philippians 1:15-18. Even if the Gospel is preached with a heart of greed, trickery, and deceit, if the Gospel is preached, then I rejoice.

            That doesn’t mean you have to pay for it!

            Most people find this site by doing a Google search. I appreciate your support!

            -Vince Wright

            Apr 08.2020 | 06:40 am

              robert collins

              I know that I said I wouldn’t post any more but I wanted to say I love you keep fighting keep holding on Vince and sorry for the bad grammar and spelling- God loves you so much! and I hope we can rejoined in heaven to meet pray for me you are also in my prayers ! much love and blessing on you!

              Apr 08.2020 | 03:33 pm

          LINDA ROSS

          Just a couple of thoughts on copyrights:

          1. The instrumentation is as much a part of what is copyrighted as the lyrics, so even if the words themselves are in the public domain, the way they are arranged and the instrumentation is original to that artist.

          2. Having a copyright gives the author some level of control to keep their work from being misused (for example, from being used to promote some event or product that the author believes runs counter to his/her intent with the work). It also gives recourse to the author through the court system to stop misuse and to impose a penalty on those who refuse to comply with the author’s limits on the use of his/her work.

          Aug 17.2020 | 07:28 am

Julie Cox

I usually think repetition is a bit much as well, but in this case, I think the repetition was to build it up and make it more powerful. Like a declaration. This time it moved me. Love this song! 🙂

Apr 16.2020 | 01:23 am

    Vince Wright

    Julie,

    Thank you for your thoughts! I admit that my constant criticism over repetition is subjective (although any opinion will be subjective) and it affects the scoring. My advice is to take the meat and throw away the bones.

    -Vince Wright

    Apr 16.2020 | 06:13 am

BRADY

This is a beautiful song (thoughts and opinions of Cody Carnes, Kari Jobe and Elevation aside), but IMO, this song does not belong in church. It is not a worship song. I’m pro blessing, and it’s absolutely biblical, but it’s not a worship song in nature.

Apr 20.2020 | 01:00 am

    Vince Wright

    Brady,

    Thank you for your comment! I agree that it’s not a worship song. Since it’s a blessing, and blessings are given at the end of the service, my thought is that a church service could potentially end with this song.

    -Vince Wright

    Apr 20.2020 | 08:29 am

Amy

Thanks for the review! May I respectfully point out, if you get bored of the bridge after 3 times you might begin to get bored in heaven when we sing with the elders or 4 living creatures the same songs and verses repeated over for all eternity?
I understand it might not fit nicely into a church service but if the point is to glorify God, as your review seems concerned with, then I don’t think being repetitive is something He’s concerned with. Just a friendly thought!
Again, thanks for posting the passages these songs are from!

Apr 23.2020 | 05:57 pm

    Vince Wright

    Amy,

    Thank you for your comments!

    It’s difficult to say if I would be the same person as I am today when I finally meet Jesus in His Kingdom. Yet, if I were a betting man (and I’m usually not), I’d wager that the “Me” that you see before you and the “Me” in heaven, with my spiritual body, would be like night and day. it’s also impossible to know precisely what it will be like for me when I get there; However, I understand that you referenced Revelation 4:8 with your commentary, that the four living creatures and elders state the same statement, over and over again, day and night.

    Earlier reviews downgraded section 4 based on massive repetition; However, another commenter convinced me that God’s inherent glory has nothing to do with how often lyrics repeat. I’ve since upgraded the scoring and, as you no doubt noticed, I gave a 10 for that section on this review.

    Grain of salt aside, I am glad to help with Scripture passages!

    -Vince Wright

    Apr 23.2020 | 09:36 pm

Karen V

I’ve been wrestling with this song because I don’t know if it should be classed as a worship song.
Maybe a blessing to sing over others, like a benediction post service, but is it really me worshiping God? It feels like I’m singing a blessing over myself. If so, is my focus on God, or is it on what He gives me?

The psalms also talk about things that God hates (like a lying tongue). Can we honestly sing that God is for people, when we don’t know where they are in repentance with Him?

I haven’t come to a conclusion with these thoughts. I just feel wary of painting God as this benefactor when people could be setting their faces again God with their unrepentant sin.

Happy to sit in the shade of someone with more knowledge than me though!

Apr 27.2020 | 12:45 am

    Vince Wright

    Karen,

    Great question!

    I agree, I don’t see this as useful for corporate worship. If anything, it is useful in church at the end, to bless the congregation.

    -Vince Wright

    Apr 27.2020 | 06:44 am

Jeff

A comment about the “ad nauseum” repetition…

Blessed is the one who meditates on the instruction of the Lord – cf. Psalm 1:1,2

Meditation, at least applied to scripture, is a repetition of thought and focus on a particular portion. In this case, the blessing found in Numbers 6 and through repetition I followed this song into an incredibly rich presence with the Lord.

At first I just listened with reflection. But then I listened to the song again, and I sang along, in a sense praying the blessing over my family (perhaps encouraged by the reminder of His favor to a thousand a generations of those who love Him).

And then over more of my extended family. And now the song is just on repeat….I picked up my church directory and sang along over each one listed there. Sang for my city and our country, especially for those who have yet to know the Lord and experience the blessing of life with Him.

So some of the comments about receiving a blessing for ourselves over and over I certainly get. But in many ways, we are blessed, for a purpose of being a blessing. Even the word, blessing, may be somewhat misunderstood.

In praying through this song, I had a deep experience of blessing in the sense of well-being. I imagine a lot of that came from being aligned with the Lord in his desire to bless his people. And while we may often think of blessing in material terms, this was a blessing to my heart and soul, as I gave to others through prayer what I was receiving. And no shortage of accounts of people talking to me about some hardship they were enduring that day, but enduring it with a sense of the Lord being with them … well, it helped to affirm the power of prayer.

For those who felt it was overly repetitive, consider shifting the focus from a blessing over you, to a blessing offered to others and see if perhaps you might follow the same path to the presence of the Lord.

May you be blessed as richly.

Apr 27.2020 | 08:51 pm

    Vince Wright

    Jeff,

    Thank you for your comment! You’ve given me a lot to think about.

    -Vince Wright

    Apr 28.2020 | 06:39 am

Mike

Regarding specifically the question of this song being used in corporate worship – is the command to worship God through “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” exclusively meant for adoration? If we take our cue from the psalms, the answer would be a resounding no. Many psalms include blessings, statements about enemies, requests for destruction of said enemies, as well as the oft extrapolated adoration and supplication. If we take Paul too literally, beyond what he intended, we’d be singing for the destruction of all those who persecute Christians. But we don’t do that – we naturally gravitate toward adoration in our song writing and corporate singing, without direct biblical instruction to do so. But Paul’s actual instruction is to be “speaking to on another in psalms…and make music from your heart to the Lord.” So not just singing to God, but also to each other. Singing a blessing corporately to one another and over one another is not only perfectly acceptable but is in fact part of our instruction. This song is a beautiful, simultaneous pronouncement of blessing over the corporate church and the individual believer.

Sometimes I think in our desire to be sensitive to what God wants from us we over complicate things and neglect the truth of the Holy Spirit’s role to “will and to work in you for his good pleasure.” Concern over man-centered song worship has it’s place, but song worship is only a snippet of whole worship, or as Paul calls it, true and proper worship – “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice to God”. Our entire being, not just corporeal but our actions, our thoughts, our choices, our very nature, is worship because we are one with Christ, because we are indwelt by the living God where our very hearts have become the most holy place where God sits. We’ve synonymized worship with singing songs of adoration, confession, and supplication, but that’s merely part of the whole.

Additionally, I find that repetition is the key to effectual learning. From learning to walk, talk, ride a bike, mathematics, etc., most of our learned skills and patterns form through repetition. This also includes poor and unhealthy behaviors and patterns of thinking. For people who suffer from depression, PTSD, anxiety, negative self-talk, repetition of good and positive things is often the only way to recovery, because of how potent and incessant the unhealthy thought patterns are. Mantras and meditations become means of healing and recovery – what is better to hear on repeat, that you are a worthless, hopeless piece of garbage, or that in all things God is for you, with you, and within you? That, essentially, you are valuable to and will be cared for by God.

Ultimately our relationship to God is just that – ours. We are each responsible to God for ourselves, not others. It is totally fine that someone gets super irritated by repetition. But don’t make a law out of that or condescend on someone who finds it to be refreshing and healing – and vice versa. It’s our individuality and willingness to be ourselves, as God made us, that creates the mosaic of the corporate church. I vote to sing blessing over that.

Apr 30.2020 | 12:14 pm

    Mark Ephgrave

    Amen!

    Apr 30.2020 | 01:47 pm

    Vince Wright

    Mike,

    Thank you for your thoughts!

    Another commenter to a different song mentioned that they use repetition to help others learn a new song, then slowly reduce it over time. I agree that it can help us learn and reinforce concepts; However, it can also become hypnotic. Learning is great, but manipulating minds is something we want to avoid in churches.

    In terms of corporate worship, I see your point. In hindsight, I boxed myself into the standard format, where a blessing is offered at the end of the service. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to sing blessings mid-service!

    -Vince Wright

    Apr 30.2020 | 02:24 pm

M. Freckleton

I am not normally in favor of gross repetition in worship songs, but in this case it absolutely works. As a father of two, I cannot (I feel) ask God enough for protection, blessing, and mercy for my children. The repetition in this song conveys my sense of urgency to have God truly bless my children – not with possessions, wealth, or fame – but Himself. “May his favor be upon you and a thousand generations. And your family, and your children, and their children, and their children.” “He is for you! He is for you!” How I hope and pray this will be true for my children.

May 04.2020 | 04:40 pm

Simon Smallwood

I’ve come on this site for the first time – thank you for helpful comments. I’m trying to get my head around the way this song is being used. It’s just gone viral in the UK, being used to sing a blessing over the nation in the midst of (Covid 19 lockdown) crisis.
So my understanding is that Num 6 is a pronouncement of the LORD’s blessing on his people Israel, usually said by the temple priests after the daily sacrifices.
It seems therefore it should only be pronounced to the church [to those who are in Christ by faith (1Pet 2:9/ Rev 1:5-6)] and probably best after a reminder of the gospel – the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sin.
It seems it only appears in the New Testament at all on the lips of Jesus, in shorthand as he blesses his disciples or says ‘Peace to you’ (e.g. Luke 24:50-51; John 14:27; John 20:19).
The Exod 20:6 and other refs are equally reserved not only for God’s people Israel, but conditional on them loving him, keeping his commands, etc. Again, I guess this applies only to those in Christ who has fulfilled the requirements of the law on their behalf and thus brought God’s blessing to them.

It therefore seems to me that this can be gladly heard by the church or sung to the church, but not to unbelievers and certainly not to a whole nation.
Waddya think?

May 05.2020 | 08:09 am

    Vince Wright

    Simon,

    Thank you for your comments and question! I think that the blessing was intended for believers; However, I see no opposing Scripture that forbids an unbeliever from hearing such a blessing, even if they are outside the camp of Christ and may not partake of its benefits.

    -Vince Wright

    May 05.2020 | 08:14 am

Simon Smallwood

Thank you Vince. The UK version states as its headline:
‘Churches around the UK have come together to sing a blessing over the nation.’
It’s one thing hearing/listening into such a blessing (and hopefully being drawn to enquire further!) but it’s another to ‘sing a blessing over’.

May 05.2020 | 08:36 am

    Mike

    It’s important to consider God’s precedent in Jeremiah:

    7 And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace

    This would also be akin to Christ’s command to render unto Caeser what is Caeser’s (implied peacefully) and also Paul’s instruction to Timothy:

    “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”

    It seems to be a base assumption that we would pray for blessing and peace for the nation in which we live “so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity”. God will do what he will, allowing persecution or unrest or discipline or judgement, but our command as believers is still to pray for peace and to bless the nation in which we find ourselves living.

    May 05.2020 | 09:24 am

      Simon Smallwood

      Thanks Mike
      Yes, but it’s one thing to pray for the blessing of another; it’s another thing to declare they are blessed by God (like Eph 1:3 ‘…in Christ.’)

      May 08.2020 | 04:54 am

    Kelly

    First time reader here! Thank you for the time and effort you’ve put into this site Vince! Wow! Guessing from the ads, it’s voluntary work. I hope it’s supporting you well for your time – and if not – I’m sure God will fix the tab on the other side 😉

    Found myself here after the principal of our Christian school (in Australia) shared the UK version that Simon above spoke about. I shared the clip with my family when I got home and then hubby and I have been discussing this a bit deeper.

    There have been some great comments here. Wonderful food for thought. Thank you for giving us a platform to unite together internationally. I especially loved Roberts heart in grieving about greed.

    I was also prepared about your frustrations with repetition after being a good girl and following your links to the criteria section. 😁 Thanks for those who commented and shared their opinions on this. Something more to chew on!

    As for my personal comment, when talking about ‘The Blessing’ – My two cents are we may not know what the blessings from God look like when we ask Him to intercede on behalf of others, so don’t fear in praying this over people – believers or even pre-believers!!

    Sometimes Gods face on us may involve revealing sin, or stripping away human traits or taking away our comforts or idols so we see Him more. As for being gracious to us – We all need this indeed! Thank You God for Your Son!!

    Blessings from God are not always pain free (from what I’ve read in scripture) but He knows the best time, the right dosage and perfect pressure – to reveal our failings and bring us before Him.

    So I’m all for praying this over the UK as the lip suggests – and the rest of the world too! Even more so now as His Sons return date gets closer every day!! 🙌

    Oh that was long, sorry! Thank you!

    ☺️ Kelly

    PS – What’s the story behind the name ‘TastyWallet’? 🤣

    May 05.2020 | 03:05 pm

      Vince Wright

      Kelly,

      Welcome to The Berean Test and thank you for your comments! I am glad that you checked my criterion before reading my review. It gives you a sense of my thought process and how I score songs.

      I would love to do this full-time; However, yes, I advertise to cover costs. I consider The Berean Test a hobby; a place to express my opinions about Christian lyrics. I became profitable this year, covering all the costs I put into it since 2018. Praise Jesus!

      I know from personal experience how trials bring about blessing. I’ve gone through things that I would not wish on my worst enemy, coming out a gentler, kinder, and more generous individual.

      The name “TastyWallet” is something I came up with several years ago. I wanted to create a screen name for a game I used to play called Maple Story (I don’t recommend it) using two words that don’t belong together, could bring joy to others, and would likely never trigger the frustrating “this name has already been taken” message in the future. So, there I was, staring at my wallet and thinking about how hungry I was. Then it hit me: “TastyWallet”. I’ve been using it ever since!

      -Vince Wright

      May 05.2020 | 03:26 pm

        Kelly

        Ha ha! ‘TastyWallet‘ made me smile! My son sometimes uses ‘ItchyTurtle’ when gaming, which also paints a quirky image!

        Thank you for using your hobby to bless others a congratulations on breaking through! Great news! May it continue to grow and provide you with God pleasing conversation and connections – as well as a good reason to keep on searching scripture.

        Thanks again!

        – Kelly

        May 07.2020 | 04:08 pm

Linda Carroll

Hello and thank you for this review. I appreciate your insights and that you found scriptural basis for the lyrics. Thank you also for what you wrote in the comments about the church being new Israel, with all the scripture references. That was helpful to me!

I didn’t read all the comments, so I apologize if I’m repeating what someone else already said. I wanted to suggest adding Psalm 103:17-18 as a reference point for “May his blessing be upon you…children’s children”

Thanks again. Nice review!

May 11.2020 | 09:22 am

    Vince Wright

    Linda,

    Thank you for your compliment and Scripture reference! I added it and gave you credit.

    -Vince Wright

    May 11.2020 | 09:26 am

Laura

This is my first time on here. Great review and I’m so glad to see one. So I have had a hard time with this song from the beginning. I think it’s great and definitely a nice song. It’s biblical in context but I have a hard time with it being a worship song. Aren’t worship songs for glorifying Jesus and what He’s done for us? They are meant to be outwardly focused on Him and though the Bible is filled with promises and blessings for us I feel worship should be reserved to worship Him and show our reverence for Him. Right? Just my thought.

May 12.2020 | 09:34 pm

    Vince Wright

    Laura,

    Welcome to The Berean Test and thank you for your comment!

    I’ve been using a format within, I think, the last year or so, where I end the review with my recommendation for corporate worship. To reiterate, I believe that it’s a song that could be used in place of the usual blessing that ends a service.

    -Vince Wright

    May 12.2020 | 09:40 pm

Sarah

I really struggle with this song, which is why I’m here. I can’t find anyone aside from me struggling with it in my spirit as much as I am. I am not claiming to be correct, this is just my reasoning, if anyone could help me resolve this whether for the validation or invalidation of the song’s glorifying-of-God qualities. Yes, they used scripture to write the song. I’m not sure how I even feel about that as it is taken out of context, but that’s something I’m working through right now. But here’s my biggest issue that I’m struggling with: the fact that this is a worship song. Who are we worshipping when we sing it? It really sounds like ourselves. May His blessing be upon us is biblical, but perhaps this is a song of encouragement of the Body of Christ rather than worshipping Christ Himself (which is the purpose of worship)? We aren’t saying “Lord, thank you for your abounding blessings that you freely give us,” in an attempt to thank Him. Rather, it seems like a secret agenda of hoping He’ll give us what we want (hindering on the prosperity gospel here…). I’m weary because if we’re worshipping ourselves, we have entered into idol-worship, and we know how much God HATES that (Exodus 20:4). I’d love to hear what Scripture backs this up as a worship song (not the lyrics being from the Bible, but this actually being a worship song). This song is beautiful, I can’t lie. I was brought to tears when I watched the video of people from all around the world singing it. But, is that just very well-produced, glimmering, love-bombing deception? Please someone plead your case!!! No judgment, this is a comment from a believer struggling with this song’s place in worship.

May 16.2020 | 01:47 pm

    Vince Wright

    Sarah,

    Thank you for your comment!

    I agree it’s not a song that worships God. Having said that, I also don’t believe that it’s intended to be man-centered, that somehow the blessing will guarantee its outcome, or that it worships idols. But, that doesn’t mean that it cannot be used in such a way. The same can be said about Scripture, that people twist it for their own gain. Does that mean that Scripture is problematic? Of course not!

    The problem, then, lies with not with the lyrics. The issue lies within its use. How do worship leaders and pastors intend to use these lyrics? That’s the question you have to ask yourself.

    I hope that helps.

    -Vince Wright

    May 16.2020 | 08:43 pm

    Michael Ramsey

    Hello, if i may at my church we divide Christian songs into 4 categories. 1. Praise ( songs about or to God most of the time the word “you” is withheld in these songs) 2. Worship ( talking to God the word “you” is commonly used) 3. Transitional (these songs transition from praise to worship or from worship to praise and usually have some elements of a typical praise/and or worship song) and 4. Ministry ( these songs are focused on building us up songs that use the pronoun “I” usually fall here and songs that don’t fall into the other three categories). I would say The blessing falls under the 4th category. * Songs that are almost like God talking to us or how he feels about us are either in the 3rd or 4th category those ones are tricky.

    Aug 05.2021 | 02:51 pm

Dani

Hi Vince,
Good to see your review and thank you for those biblical references. I reached your page here after searching for a while for the Biblical references of this song ” The Blessing”. I don’t Know how others feel about repetitions but for me its a handy thing to make the word built strong inside me. Even in every music player we do have something called as repeat mode. i really use it a lot. For past couple of days i couldn’t get out of this song. I’m listening to it repeatedly. I normally wont concentrate on lyrics when i’m listening to any other secular music. But when it comes to gospel or worship or biblical. I First check it whether it is completely biblical or not. after a conclusion When i listen to it Ill be taking the lyrics and the word directly to my heart. As we all know Songs are one of the easiest way to memorize something, it helps me a lot in memorizing the word of god.

He is with you
it might sound like just as a sentence
But inside, you know how much it strengthens the soul
repeatedly listening to it not just made me to memorize it but also to think that ” the great god is here with me and he is here for this mere me.”
And each and every time i listen to it. without my brains signal or something my cheeks make a smile automatically. Repetitions create Emotions

this song is completely a blessing for not just any church but for each individual soul listening to it.

May 18.2020 | 07:47 am

    Vince Wright

    Dani,

    Welcome to The Berean Test and thank you for your comment!

    When it comes to repetition, I’ve noticed that there are usually two types of people: those who are annoyed with it (depending on how much/context/etc.) and those who see it as a blessing, reinforcement, and helpful. I haven’t seen much else. It seems that the masses like it!

    -Vince Wright

    May 18.2020 | 01:16 pm

Ken Dubois

I guess Holy Holy Holy could be cited as repetitious too?

May 18.2020 | 10:34 am

    Vince Wright

    Ken,

    Great question! It technically repeats, but it’s not nearly annoying as, say, an entire phrase on repeat four or more times. “holy, holy, holy” is highly acceptable, not to mention Biblical!

    -Vince Wright

    May 18.2020 | 01:18 pm

JM

Vince – have you considered the alternate lyrics in this version? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1ZjB0UOzOg&list=WL&index=9&t=0s

May 22.2020 | 09:14 am

    Vince Wright

    JM,

    Thanks for the laugh!

    -Vince Wright

    May 22.2020 | 09:15 am

    FM

    Thank you for making my day.

    Jun 29.2020 | 11:32 am

Marshall B

The first time I heard this song it was evident that it was almost scripture verbatim, which I very much appreciated and enjoyed the way it was presented through the music and melody. That being said. The near endless repetition of it all almost ruins it as far as the musical aspect. We get it!! It’s dizzying the amount of times the song is repeated. After 2 to 3x, it starts to become far too distracting. This is too evident in much of today’s worship music.

May 27.2020 | 06:57 pm

    Vince Wright

    Marshall,

    Thank you for your comment! I find it bothersome as well, but others who have cited its benefits have a good point also.

    -Vince Wright

    May 27.2020 | 07:27 pm

Debra W

I love the whole thing lyrics, repeating, music, the way I feel when I’m singing, saying amen over and over and then repeating everything all over.

May 29.2020 | 03:18 pm

    Vince Wright

    Debra,

    I am happy for you!

    -Vince Wright

    May 29.2020 | 03:19 pm

Jimmie Garrison

Slog? The word of God is powerful. Never a toil or labor. Are you a worship leader or a musician? Just wondering… I accidentally came across your site and I do think it’s important to examine lyrics. Even in some of our older hymns they had some poetic privilege. Lol.

May 30.2020 | 10:33 am

    Vince Wright

    Jimmie,

    Thank you for your comments!

    Great question! No, I’m a layman with some extra time on his hands! I am passionate about apologetics, philosophy, logic, critical thinking, and of course, Jesus Christ! Lyrical examination seemed like a good fit to use my talents, especially since there are very few websites dedicated to it.

    -Vince Wright

    May 30.2020 | 08:35 pm

Jean Ledbetter

There has been a lot of indepth commentary about this song. I took this song as it was presented…..at this particular phase of my life, God put His beautiful promises there (in form of song) for me to hear, hide in my heart and to ponder as needed. These are beautiful words to remind me of how loving our Father is and how willing He is to rain down blessings on us, our children, their children, and their children’s children. There is nothing wrong with asking the Lord to bless those we hold dear. How can He bless? He can bless them with good health, happiness, safety, opportunities to witness, care for others. The list goes on and on. It’s not just about prosperity. I pray for my generation and those generations to come to be safe, happy and healthy; to accept Christ as their Savior and for the salvation of their spouses-to-be whomever they shall be. In our coming and going He is with us…….and our children, and their children, and their children’s children……..

Jun 11.2020 | 04:29 pm

Dakota Searles

I think part of the lyrics in Bridge 2 are taken from or allude to St. Patrick’s prayer. Several songs have used his words. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Breastplate

Jun 14.2020 | 06:24 pm

Julian W

I agree about the excessive repetition, although I think one’s response to that can change with age, with younger people often wanting a more emotional, intense encounter and those who are a bit older wanting more actual content.
But even when younger, and more so now, I find that when phrases get repeated a lot, as in this song, especially when done in an intense way, they it can work really well for a while, but sometimes they start to lose their meaning, and if that happens, then the band is probably still really giving it some, and some of the people round you are still really into it, and you’re left standing there with all that going on, thinking it was initially great, but now it’s just banal. Intense feelings about the words are great, but there’s a danger of overdoing it.

Jun 17.2020 | 10:20 am

    Vince Wright

    Julian W,

    Thank you for your comments! I agree with you.

    -Vince Wright

    Jun 17.2020 | 10:26 am

HearUsJesus

Thank you for taking it to the Bible. Keep up the great work – shine for His glory!

Jun 25.2020 | 03:59 pm

    Vince Wright

    HearUsJesus,

    Thanks, much appreciated!

    -Vince Wright

    Jun 25.2020 | 04:01 pm

Julia

I have a real issue with this song as a praise and worship song. Yes, it quotes scripture, but not once does it thank Jesus for who he is. It does not glorify God in his holiness. It has no echo of repentance or obedience. When this blessing is offered in Numbers, it’s after a bunch of laws have been brought forth, and even after the Nazarite vow! I don’t know how we Americans can look at our current culture and compare it to Israel in Numbers. We don’t deserve God’s blessing. We deserve God’s wrath, and it is only by the blood of Jesus we don’t have it. I think it has great harmonies that are catchy and make peoples’ voices sound good and THAT’S why people like it. I think it has very little to do with God or the Holy Spirit. Just that fun, free spirit we feel when we sing well.

Jul 02.2020 | 02:22 pm

    Nancy

    We cannot know anyone’s heart but our own. I believe it is unwise to make any sweeping judgement regarding what God can or can’t do through the Holy Spirit in people’s hearts through a song… through any song. If He didn’t speak to you through this song, it doesn’t mean He can’t or hasn’t spoken to anyone else through this song. That’s the beautiful thing about God, He speaks to each of us in a personal way, one that we can hear.

    To give a really silly example of where I’m coming from… God used one of The Twilight series movies to speak to me. In a time of self-loathing, He used a line in one of those cheesy movies to tell me that I don’t understand how much He loves me. And you know what, He loves us all more than we know! Enough to send His Son to us & to send His Spirit to live in us!

    The song doesn’t claim anything for Americans – but seems to me to be a prayer of blessing over those listening. If you do believe this particular blessing is only for priests, I ask you to consider this: We, the church (all over the world) have, according to the New Testament, been grafted in, adopted & made a holy priesthood (1Peter 2:4-10 & see previous posts from Vince for other verses regarding adoption & grafting).

    To you all – As a beloved daughter of the King, as God’s image bearer, as a sister in Christ and a part of the body of Christ, I am blessed to be a blessing and I ask God to bless you and keep you, to make His face shine on you & be gracious to you. May He turn His face toward you and give you peace.

    Aug 02.2020 | 09:09 pm

Rebecca Nissen

I simply love this song. We make things so complicated. I first heard it when I needed to hear that message repeated many times. Thank you Lord for the musicians and the gifts you give them to speak to us through music. God alone!

Jul 08.2020 | 03:18 pm

    Mike

    100%!

    Jul 08.2020 | 04:09 pm

Cathy

This song is really beautiful despite the lyrical repetition because it is scripture, AND it is scripture written to Gd’s people: Israel. I don’t think of it as much for the New Testament Christian, though it is entirely applicable. To me, this is a Jewish song more that’s anything especially given the trials, persecution and struggles that many Jews face even today, simply as a result of their Jewish faith. To know what the Word says, about post rapture and so forth, it seems only natural that this is actually a prayer for Israel.

Jul 10.2020 | 07:07 pm

Robert Peurifoy

Vince,
It is nice to hear someone presenting an analytical approach to worship music.
I had not hear The Blessing until a week ago while attending a conference (with social distancing.) I was very touched though the last half was painful. After 45 years of sometimes heartbreaking ministry mixed with lots of joy am coming out of a very depressed time away from ministry. As a pastor of a “traditional” denomination I seemed to end up with very dysfunctional congregation. I had become known as something of a healing pastor. But eventually the stress led me to step away from pastoral ministry. In these churches it was custom to end with the Aaronic blessing. The Blessing was one of several songs which have become part of my personal healing. The last part was very hard. The “Blessing be upon your children, and your children’s children to a thousand generations” was very difficult. This past week was the first anniversary of the death of our daughter, a worship leader in her own right. Coming up is the anniversary of the death of our son six years ago. I have no children, no grandchildren. I realize this was an emotional reaction to the song, but this is still significant. The current generation is emotionally starved in history. Lost parents, dead churches, humor in the place of joy. We are still children of the age of rationalism. Everything has to be explained, emotions are suspect, “bad” theology is…”Bad.” But honestly, I know few who have good theology.
As for repetition, Messiah, by Handel, is one of the most repetitious songs in history.

Jul 23.2020 | 02:20 pm

    Vince Wright

    Robert,

    Thank you for your testimony! I am sorry to hear about your tragedy. I know what it’s like to lose a son.

    -Vince Wright

    Jul 23.2020 | 08:25 pm

Teresa Klassen

I do appreciate the work put in to note all those Scripture passages! Exactly what I was looking for. As to the repetition, sometimes you need 3,4,5 times before your heart opens enough to get it. Psalm 136 repeats “ad nauseam” also, probably for this reason. When it feels like a “slog” sometimes that’s the analyst not giving way to the poet.

Aug 13.2020 | 12:23 pm

Ryan

Thanks for this review. I agree with your assessment and love this song.

I do have a question about the lyrics that I wonder if you can help me understand- and am curious and not intending to criticize the song.

At one point they say “as we receive we agree.” I didn’t see that line analyzed. Can you tell what that’s a reference to?

Aug 22.2020 | 08:58 am

    Vince Wright

    Ryan,

    My pleasure, and great question!

    All my research points to this line added in the UK version. Contextually, it ends the Chorus, stating that Elevation Worship receives and agrees with the blessing.

    -Vince Wright

    Aug 22.2020 | 09:17 am

      Ryan

      Of course, thank you! That should have been obvious to me but my mind didn’t readily make that linkage.

      Aug 22.2020 | 02:28 pm

Mark White

Check out the New Zealand Version – The Blessing Aoteorea. It inspires unity and adds another language to break the repetition. Beautiful.

Aug 22.2020 | 07:45 pm

Cheese

I believe the comment in the conclusion saying “Despite its overreliance on as nauseum refrains” is unfair and a detriment to the beauty of this song and as such should be removed from the analysis … and besides, it seems that most people love the repetition,

Aug 23.2020 | 10:28 am

Walter Wilhoit

Psalm 136 – “His love endures forever,” repeats at the end of each verse, twenty-six verses, twenty-six times. Repetition is not new in the praise of God.

Aug 23.2020 | 12:46 pm

Michael Negru

Spurgeon said in one of his writings: Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong but rather between right and almost right. Satan is always 90% right and 10% wrong… think about the deception of Eve in the garden. Elevation, Hillsong, and Bethel have the same tactic — 90/10 … well maybe 60/40 when you look at the core beliefs. Music is just the initiation process. Why do we support these business organizations (to not be too harsh)??? … I have no idea… Well maybe because our flesh enjoys this type of music…. high on emotions and minimal on sound thinking. People think that these songs are so supportive when they go through a depression or tough time … Nothing like the word of God and prayer without any sounds in that period of time… and if you really want a song during that time just go to a hymnal book and pick a song that speaks to your mind not emotions. Songs that are emotional like this one, produced by these outfits, only escalate the problem (looking at the comments some may disagree and that is OK by me) There is a lot of GREAT contemporary christian music out there.. Getty music, City Alight, Sovereign Grace… etc.. This post might not make it here but I just wanted to post it even if only the site owners will read it. I pray that God in the later days will give people discernment to know the difference between what is right and almost right!

Aug 23.2020 | 11:21 pm

    Robert Peurifoy

    Thank you Michael. Good thoughts, but I disagree on one major point. The modern protestant church is a child of the enlightenment. Everything has to be logical. Emotion is always suspect. I think this has been to the detriment of the world today and especially the church. Many people are emotionally starved when they come to church. They are hurting and don’t need a theological band-aide. I mean those who have had deaths in their families (I’ve recently lost both my children,) those who have lost jobs, those in family crisis or drug addiction. Love is an emotion, not an idea. I grew up in and then served churches with three hymns (reduced to only two so a children’t sermon could be fit in the requisite 60 minutes) and a sermon with three points and a poem. Talk about sentimentality. It isn’t that this is what people want, but emotional outlets are what people need. We are taught to suppress our emotions. Since the loss of my children it has been singing in worship “The Blessing.” I broke down, surrounded by people, who helped me finally grieve. God isn’t really concerned if our theology is correct. But God is concerned if our hearts are whole.

    Aug 24.2020 | 12:15 pm

      Michael P Negru

      Robert, I am very sorry for your loss. I am not at all disregarding emotions as the Bible teaches us to Love our God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind.. The major problem I see is that most people emphasize the emotional aspect of worship. If you read in Matthew 5 you will understand who is truly blessed coming from the mouth of our Saviour. The emphasis and focus of all these cults is Prosperity and comfort… your best life now.. and we all know that the Bible teaches that our best life is not here on this planet. We will all experience hardship, struggles, persecution even from a society that has deteriorate and moved away from God’s standards. God is extremely concerned with our Theology. Knowing is more important that feeling. Love you my brother in Christ. Again if I would of been there I would of cried with you …. nothing worse than losing people we love.. the only thing that is worse is not knowing God and loosing heaven and God’s presence. Again, So sorry for your lost… but we have the hope of re-uniting with our loved ones that have gone before!

      Aug 24.2020 | 09:12 pm

      Steve Barhydt

      Robert,

      I could not agree with you more!!!

      I have never been able to understand the “fear” that some Christians have for the emotional side of the human experience.

      God made both the intellectual AND the emotional within us.

      Yes, too much emotionalism can be harmful. However, too much intellectualism is equally dangerous.

      A balance between the two is something for which we must strive.

      To quote John Piper …

      “Worship must be vital and real in the heart, and worship must rest on a true perception of God. There must be spirit and there must be truth. . . . Truth without emotion produces dead orthodoxy and a church full (or half-full) of artificial admirers . . . . On the other hand, emotion without truth produces empty frenzy and cultivates shallow people who refuse the discipline of rigorous thought. But true worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine. Strong affections for God rooted in truth are the bone and marrow of biblical worship. (Desiring God, 81-82).

      Aug 26.2020 | 03:39 pm

    Vince Wright

    Michael Negru,

    Thank you for your comments!

    The scope of The Berean Test is to analyze lyrics for its message, Biblical accuracy, outsider interpretation, or inherent glorification of God (or lack thereof) based on my evaluation criteria. Examining artist theology is important to discuss and there are websites that talk about the terrible theology that comes out of churches such as Bethel, Hillsong, and Jesus Culture; However, it exists outside the purpose of this website.

    To quote from my criteria page,

    “a high score does not necessarily endorse the theology of said artist. For example, Hillsong is well-known for promoting the Word of Faith and New Apostolic Reformation movements, both of which are unbiblical in my view. They also received many high scoring reviews, some of which are 10/10. We should all do our own due diligence to examine the theology of artists.”

    -Vince Wright

    Aug 24.2020 | 02:14 pm

Abigail Gendron

I love this song and agree with most of your review of it but I don’t believe it first brings glory to God when sung in a worship service. Number 6:24-27 was given to Moses by God for the priests to speak OVER Israel so that they might bear His name well. This song’s (like you said) main focus is blessings on believers- but that means it’s for believers not for God. If we are to sing “holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come” for all eternity- doesn’t that say something about the standard to which a “worship song” should be held to? There’s a preacher who comes to our church on occasion and even before this song came out he would sing Nu. 6:24-27 over the congregation at the end of service. It was so weird at first but the more I read and searched about it it made absolute sense. If this song were sung by the pastoral team or just the worship team as a blessing at the end of service I believe that is its proper context. But to be sung by everyone in a time where it is thought that we’re bringing glory to God I believe it is out of its proper context.

Sep 17.2020 | 01:11 pm

    Robert Peurifoy

    Should not the entire worship service be a time of bringing blessing to all the people. Our perverted 20th century worship if filled with announcements, children’s messages, presentations, and such that we have missed the whole point of worship: To Glorify God and receive God’s blessing. For decades I as a Pastor used this to close the service. It is not a prayer, but a proclamation. Is this different from “passing the peace,” which I consider another time stealer, especially when this action is done before the confession, as is the situation in many protestant churches, which no longer have a prayer of confession. People today need to be blessed, from the rising of the sun till the time it goes down.

    Sep 18.2020 | 12:45 pm

Ironia Broyles

While browsing the internet to find out which Scripture this song was taken from, I saw your website. I hesitated to read your review because I did not what any one to take away from me my appreciation of this worship song.

Thank you for the Scriptures you gave.

I don’t mind the words being repeated over and over again. I just want to make sure that it is Scriptural.

Sep 21.2020 | 04:21 am

Kelly

On the surface this song appears to be quoting scripture but it leaves out a very important part and therefore is dangerously deceptive.

Numbers 6:25: The LORD make His face to shine upon you

Song: Make his face shine upon you

The song makes it seem like WE can somehow make His face shine upon us.

Oct 07.2020 | 12:40 am

    Vince Wright

    Kelly,

    Thank you for your comment!

    The context seems clear that it is the LORD who makes His face shine upon you. The LORD is stated at the beginning and end of the first Verse. There’s no reason to think that the artist says that the LORD does it, then shifts to man shining God’s face to you, then again to God. Especially since there is no stated noun that precedes “make”. The Context doesn’t lend itself to that sort of interpretation.

    -Vince Wright

    Oct 07.2020 | 07:08 am

Matt Hickok

I’m ok with this song, as long as we recognize that it is NOT a worship song. Worship songs have God as the intended target; this song is clearly a blessing upon the congregation, which is fine, but it’s not directed at God. Take a different song: “Bless the Lord oh my soul … worship His holy name.” That song IS a worship song, because it is directed at God. IF (big if) the song is being sung AS worship THEN it is actually idolatry, because it is worship of the congregation, the blessing, “your children, and their children and their children.”
Let’s keep in perspective what this song is and is not useful for and we should be in good shape.

Oct 21.2020 | 10:19 am

Trougot Lundall

Michael Negru & Matt Hickok I feel more closely associated with your overall thoughts hereto, not that others have not raised some good points as well.Michael 100% correct about these songs playing to the emotional side of people in wanting to work themselves up into a frenzy with the repeating lyrics and musical crescendo, tones, drums & lightshow galore.This is for the most part false worship & false spiritual feelings. I quote from a video of one missionary Spencer Smith, titled “What Happens When We Worship Worship” actually specifically talking about this song & having experienced similar things in Africa … “This Religious emotional euphoria that they are being given, is nothing more than a spiritual hit of crack. They get a little high & they feel good about it. But you & I both know that people from that audience, a large majority though; is not living right & this forms part of the emergent stuff ” … He has done tremendous work in exposing false worship & this video as well as many more on his youtube channel, is well worth some of everybody’s time – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ji5mwWVHMk … People will also do well to look up the kundalini spirit & repetitive style there-off.

And Vince I totally understand your evaluation criteria being solely directed towards the lyrics in as far as what is Biblically sound. Thus said, thank you & your site is indeed a Blessing, though I do think one should not totally remove other areas of concern such as the music style & directed Doctrine.
Now as far as whole Doctrine is concerned, Matt is also hitting it on the nail saying this song is not a Worship song, but could in fact be idolatry. I equally feel it’s mostly about man & very little about God, other than being God is good assurance & a Deity succumbing to our desires & needs.Obviously we all will agree God is good, but God is vengeful & jealous as well. Hence I feel you might have been far too generous with your score under the “What message does the song communicate ” criteria. I believe this song is totally word of faith movement preaching inspired & 3/10 is adequate.

Under ” How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture” Agreed all of them in vague sense & I feel it does not deserve a mark at most higher than 5/10 for lyrics solely focussed on what man can gain from A Lord, with excluding the measure within the Christian text’s you supplied indicating man’s responsibility of i.e those that love Me & keep My commandments / fear Him / keep His covenant / remember His precepts etc to receive such Blessing. His Blessings are not a blanket promise, but a promise of Blessings towards His children.In essence some of these places / singers became so good in deceiving, that they can be Theologically very sound. And yet have absolutely no saving grace accompanying it, but rather a well veiled self adolatery one sided mine,mine,mine entitlement approach.This equally plays towards the next criteria method.

“How would an outsider interpret the song” And here I feel you got it wrong. Based solely on the song, an outsider will gain no idea of how to become saved & worse, who is needed to become saved. He will simply think whoever this Lord is being sung about, seems good. With such vague universal lyrics, have a Hindu or Muslim sing it & it equally can be about their false god’s which also can be referred to as lord’s or god’s & even satan can be the lord of someone & indeed directly or indirectly actually is with many of these false movement’s.0/10

Lastly ” What does this song glorify? ” This criteria is mainly based on the aforementioned criterias in rounding things off. Therefore it could not be anything else but a song about man’s speciality or entitlement to Blessings i.e self adolatery & false euphoric emotional abuse,coupled with easily equally applicable to any false god worship.

In closing; The song is not all just bad, just mostly & a true discerning Christian within Christian context, can find assurance & some solace there-in, as any other false religion would be able to. Overall my humble opinion is that it is far too vague taken as solely a Christian song & doctrinally not as sound as one would prefer. But that has become the norm from a heretical Steven Furtick and Elevation Worship, with sweet pretty face Kari Jobe selling the poison with a smile.

Dec 17.2020 | 06:38 am

Trougot Lundall

Apology, I neglegted to add the following within my previous comment.
Pertaining towards your referring to “This is a common blessing given at the end of church services. It was originally a blessing God instructed Moses to tell Aaron to give to the people of Israel in Numbers 6:24-26.” [ section 2 Chorus ] which you are 100% correct about & under criteria 2 Bridge section 2, you add as proof text Jeremiah 23:23-24… Interesting though, the point I wish to make is exactly within the verses prior to vers 23 … which expands on the commen Church Blessing & one could ask if it is in fact Biblical in all circumstances, or should one not be more careful in how we phrase it in general?

“Jeremiah 23:16 – 22
[16] Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
[17] They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.
[18] For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?
[19] Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.
[20] The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.
[21] I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
[22] But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.”

The Cambridge Bible states vers 16 – 18 very clear … “Jer_23:16-18. It is from the prophets’ own imaginations and not from Jehovah that their pleasing promises of immunity from evil come. Who is there who has visited His heavenly abode, there to learn His purposes? ” … “prophets” here ijn Jeremiah chapter 23 as in meaning those Pastors falsely teaching the Word of God.

Vers 19 – 20 indicate God’s wrath to those false pastors misleading His people.
Vers 21 – is exactly whats happening today i.e word of faith movement, prophesying over themselves & those claiming to receive extra Biblical revelations or dreams, such as stated in verse 25 not included here … ” I have dreamed, I have dreamed ”
Vers 22 – Where are all the Godly men of God, Preaching truth, sin, Heaven & Hell ? Surely then they wil more willingly turn from their evil way!

Maybe instead of finishing Church with gentle little pats on the back, such as indicated in 2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;” …. Pastors should pay more attention to instilling the fear of God again, within a world that only seeks to want the nice, gentle & good side of God … such as this song !

What does the Bible indicate about fear & real peace …
Matthew 10:28 “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Dec 17.2020 | 08:34 am

Mark Joseph

It is hard for me to write here because motive is always being assumed as bad by critics. So at the outset I will say no motives (good or bad) are assumed here. But I think it fair to say you all need to call this what it is – ministering to self. In the evaluation above it is said that it brings blessing to the people. This is simply not worship! It is the elevation of self or self blessing. Worship’s direction is upward toward God and God alone. It is elevating Him not blessing us – worship is not for my or any believers blessing! Read Ezekiel Ch44. There were those that ministered to the house of God (the people) and there were the wonderful son’s of Zadok, who were permitted to minister to God – to Him, not to them or us. This is worship – ministering to God. Hebrews says it well in Ch13, offering UP to God spiritual sacrifices. A sacrifice is a sacrifice – it is the opposite of self blessing – so I’m opposed. If scripture teaches anything good in the NT, it is that others (in worship’s case God) are the focus and not self. When I listen to testimony of elevation “worship” all I ever hear, is how wonderful it makes ME feel. That says it all.

Dec 18.2020 | 03:51 pm

gwendajensen

Thank you. I like your helpful analysis, particularly your explanation of how The Blessing links to scripture. Like others I actually like the repetition and find the song very moving rather than boring. I have watched several versions and my favorite is the one from New Zealand/Aotearoa, which really fills me with God spirit and with a great homesickness for New Zealand, which is one of three countries that I call “home.” I fill the love (aroha) and the caring (manaakitanga) of all those singing the Blessing.

Jan 06.2021 | 12:22 pm

Regina

To be honest I had never heard this song until today. I don’t care for the repetition but it seems to be a good song. I think my only real issue is that it comes from a church with questionable doctrinal issues that I don’t want to get into because I wish to stay on topic.

Jan 10.2021 | 03:14 pm

Karen S Brown

This blessing always seems to come straight from the mouth of God, when I hear it. I urge you, during the repeats, to change it to first person. Ask God for these blessings for yourself. For example…Lord bless me, and keep me, make your face shine upon me…… Lord bless my family and my children and their children and their children. You get the idea , I hope. This brings it home even more powerfully and personally for me. I hope you will find the same result. Of course, this might be best done when in private worship, but it could be done corporately as well. The Lord bless you!

Jan 25.2021 | 06:50 pm

    Mark Shane

    It appears God has a thing for repetition.

    8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night THEY NEVER stop saying:

    “‘Holy, holy, holy
    is the Lord God Almighty,’[a]
    who was, and is, and is to come.”

    Revelation 4:8

    Feb 18.2021 | 10:57 am

Randall Ainsworth

Just the fact that it’s from Elevation tells me that I don’t want anything to do with it. As a musician, it’s just another fluff song – way too much repetition and overall simplistic. And I don’t see it as a congregation song – something that a group of people can sing to.

Feb 02.2021 | 11:03 am

Austin

Could I submit that though I really like this song and can take it personally as a believer, after reading through the lyrics, I didn’t see that the artists mentioned anywhere who the recipients of these blessings are? I think only believers receive the type of blessings they are proclaiming and would sing “amen.” So I assume they’re addressing believers, but it could be unclear.

Feb 12.2021 | 10:51 am

    Mark Shane

    The song is quoting scripture. God blessed numerous people who were not believers. Naaman, leader of the Syrian army and pagan, for example, was healed of leprosy by God. The song is for anyone who has ears to hear. To consider that such blessings are reserved only for believers can rub close to the idea that belief produces blessing. God’s favor doesn’t come from anything humans do. Blessings are given as God sees fit, through grace so no person can boast.

    Feb 18.2021 | 10:53 am

trougot

LOOK, FOR ARGUMENTS SAKE, LET US TOTALLY ACCEPT THERE IS NOTHING REALY WRONG WITH THE WORDS OR EVEN REPITITION OF THIS SONG …… BUT ………..
BEFORE READING & SORRY FOR MY THESIS …. ASK YOURSELF – IF SATAN PHYSICALLY IS STANDING IN FRONT OF YOU, PITCHING SELLING ETERNAL DEATH, WITH 99.9% OF TEMPORILY FUN CANDY – ARE YOU ONE OF THEM WHO WILL ACCEPT IT ?

So …. Me-Me-Me, It’s all about Me – NO, it’s not about you … It’s about God … ALL OF IT !!!
As so often is the case & case in point with this song amongst so many, is who do we think we are to exalt ourselves so often towards standards or achievements hardly in it’s infancy development. This side of Heaven looking up proclaiming speciality whilst shrouded in sin, Apostleship & even Angelic equivalency as some posted here in example, notwithstanding & ignorantly discarding the impossibilities there-off. But Hey, some indeed are already Heavenly tourist and what not, so why not.[ sarcasm].

Discernment is something each and everyone should diligently work at everyday through more and more exposure to ” READING GOD’s WORD”, and hearing trusted men preaching from pulpits [ And yes, I said MEN ] having proven themselves rightfully dividing the Word of God. But here’s the punchline, although you will gain a vast amount of needed knowledge & insight, God opens up His Word to each & everyone as only He sees fit & neither one will ever fully receive or develop it to an infallible state like being & surely not to a Heavenly comparable state. But how readily we all stand first in line with thinking we are the special one God favours in doling out Blessed measures of such a great Spirit Of Discernment. See, just recently I started on this journey of Faith & wow, I can already hear God speaking so clearly to me & feel Him working through me as His vessel.[sarcasm – sound familiar] Ridiculously puffed up we all are, too often not for our own good. [ Speaking as a general rule ]

Now let us discern this, the problem with songs labelled Christian; is not just lyrics, music, performance style or in fact often have nothing to do with the song or the artist performing it being possibly found sound by measure, but the where-from. All those critique do count & the closer they can be to STRICT Christian applicable principles, Doctrinal correctness & Holiness, the better I’d say; don’t you think? Measure each with such surety / purity & chuck the unnecessary thousands of other songs on your phone or hard drive. Say why not just have a Top 100 or less you could learn by heart & sing yourself in worship to God where-ever you may find yourself. You are called to be the broadcaster of God’s Word, not merely a consumer/listener there-off & true worship is you proclaiming singing it, instead of just listening to it by sometimes it moving you with fussy feelings or emotions. Most often not due to reverentially to God, but rather by way of applying the words to your own life’s circumstances, which cause your fake spiritual euphoric moment. Most of us are anyway listening too much without truly understanding & should rather read more of God’s Word, whereby we will gain more understanding & find ourselves in regular prayer. This is the original no fail way to worship God !

I mentioned the where-from & here my dear Christian already chewing on a bit of meat, is where you should not mislead the ones yet drinking milk into perdition. Having already gained some discernment, you can more easily divide right from false teaching[ And yet sometimes still get it wrong].
FACT, many if not most of these songs are “PRODUCED – NOT INSPIRED” [ another huge matter in itself ] and are done so as to SELL them and use them to draw in unsuspecting gullible and primarily youth to establishments fronting as a Christian ministry, but spreading a different or more earthly palatable gospel version of it. Designed to influence, entrap & cause emotional addiction. There-in lies the biggest danger, which explains why it take countless of years for those able to eventually see some truth, to rid themselves of such a place, leaving far more behind oblivious to their lost nature !

Now you Christian roaring down the road, full blast blaring the song “the Blessing” because hey, everybody should hear “the gospel” & here you are doing God a favour, stopping next to little miss drew & charley; Hey mister that’s a cool song, who is it & with chest swelling with job well done pride, you puffed up declare Kari Jobe from Elevation worship – check them out ! …… SO THEY DO & 15 years down the line they have learned how to jump up and down in false idolatry worship & writhe uncontrollable on the floor under the kundalini spirit, with a watered down version of God’s Word devoid of any saving power, heading straight to hell … ON YOUR SAY SO !

Mar 12.2021 | 03:53 am

Bryan Abbott

Just explaining my context. I work at a rehab in South Africa. We had a patient who had a cross addiction of TRANCE MUSIC which relies on repetition. Furthermore, amongst the San Bushmen ( a local hunter gatherer people), the evening before a hunt (with bow and arrow), they dance around a fire, with a set step and rhythm, singing a repetitive song till they fall over in a trance-like state, where they see things in the spiritual realm. We have a staff member, who will break into tongues and sobs uncontrollably when they play that song. Unfortunately, there is a staff member who likes to play it for his devotions with the patients. Although the song is scriptural, it relies heavily on repetition that in my context elicits a cultural animistic mystical response. It is of note that most people don’t sing with and many are uncomfortable with it.

Apr 08.2021 | 03:44 am

Don

I’m surprised the moderator has given no mention/ interaction offered humbly by the UK ministry leader Dave Brennan. If you Google “the blessing critique”his is one of the first pages that come up. Quite a lot of discussion here to wade through on the repetition – you may want to have a separate forum on that. I would put forward that it makes a difference what is being repeated. I did appreciate the quote from Spurgeon on discernment. A commentator I recently read noted that discernment comes from a word meaning the space between. On that note, I think Dave Brennan makes a valid point on the added repeated phrase and I might suggest unqualified words “He is with you.” I will paste a portion of the article below and wait for your comments. Thanks, Don
“Here’s the essence of my concern about the message, copied from my plea to the producers:

…in its present form the message – quite unintentionally I am sure – dangerously misleads the lost as to their spiritual standing before a holy God by insisting and repeating, without qualification, “He is for you.”

Of course God…loves all people (Psalm 145:9), Jesus came to save sinners, not condemn, we all agree on that, but is his message to lost sinners one of affirmation only?…

“He is for you” unaccompanied by anything else suggests that God is pleased with unrepentant sinners as they are, who neither know, love, nor follow him – there is no hint in this song that people need to turn to this God and change their ways, in order to experience his full blessing.

The Bible repeatedly states, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (e.g. Psalm 138:6; Proverbs 3:34; Proverbs 29:23; Matthew 23:12; Luke 1:52; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5.)

The truly humble are not those who care for the vulnerable, or NHS workers (by means of paid work or voluntary service), but those who acknowledge their sin and turn to God. Have we forgotten that all our righteousness is but filthy rags before a holy God? Those who do not accept this truth, regardless of whether they are doing kind and compassionate things at this time, remain enemies of the living God, cut off from him, and condemned to death for eternity if they don’t repent.

We actually read in many places that he is “against” even his own people when they are sinning. (e.g. Ezekiel 5:8; Nahum 3:5; Rev. 3:3.)

Jesus’s opening words were not “bless you” but “repent and believe the good news” – and his followers carried on in the same vein in the evangelistic sermons we read in the Book of Acts.”

Apr 18.2021 | 11:58 am

    Vince Wright

    Don,

    Thank you for your comments! After much prayer and consideration, I updated my review borrowing from Brennan’s wisdom.

    -Vince Wright

    Apr 20.2021 | 08:48 am

      Steve Barhydt

      Vince,

      I must say that I disagree with Don’s assessment (and, consequently, your revision of section 3) of this song.

      As I so often do when questioning the “legitimacy” of a song, I go to the Psalms.

      In this case, Psalm 23. (KJV)

      1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
      2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
      3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
      4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
      5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
      6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

      The exact complaint that Don has presented against ‘The Blessing’ (and you accepted) can be made against this Psalm.

      When this Psalm is read in it’s context (and exclusively in it’s context) one could legitimately say…

      1) “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” unaccompanied by anything else suggests that God is pleased with unrepentant sinners as they are, who neither know, love, nor follow him (I substituted the Words from verse 6 in the place of “He is for you” in the original quote)

      2) there is “no hint in this PSALM that people need to turn to this God and change their ways” (I substituted the word PSALM for SONG in the original quote.

      Within the context of the whole Word of God we know what it means to “follow” God and to “dwell” in His house but if we stick to Psalm 23 only and alone, these concepts are not explained.

      As I have asked before on other topics, if the Holy Spirit, when writing Psalm 23 through David, did not see fit to explain the blessings, love, and care that God has, is it fair to hold the songwriter to a higher standard?

      As to your observation “Unbelievers won’t miss the message the first time, much less the second or third. It is a blessing offered to believers. However, they will also be lead astray, thinking that God is with, within, and for them without repentance or faith.” I think that it is overstating the case by saying that “they WILL… BE lead astray.’

      This song is replete with it’s declaration of the goodness of God

      Romans 2:4 (KJV) tells us that God’s goodness leads us to repentance.

      Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

      Matthew 5:43-46 (KJV) specifically says that God blesses the unbeliever and that we should do the same.

      43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
      44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
      45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for lhe maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust

      From https://www.gotquestions.org/rain-just-unjust.html

      *******Begin Quote*******
      So, how does God love His enemies? There are a number of ways, but in Matthew 5:45 Jesus gives two practical examples. “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” In that agrarian society, good weather was all-important. There are righteous farmers (who would be considered God’s friends) and unrighteous farmers (those who would be considered God’s enemies). Regardless of the farmer’s disposition toward God, God gives sunshine and rain to all the farmers in equal portion. When God gives good sunshine and good rain to an evil farmer, it’s an example of God loving His enemies. God makes no distinction between the evil and the righteous in this instance—He gives good gifts to both of them.

      There will be a time of judgment in the future, but, until then, God graciously gives good things, even to those who hate Him. He gives the blessing of rain to the just and the unjust alike. Wicked people, people who mock Him and even deny His existence still get to enjoy good weather, good food, the love of family, and a great many other things. God does not withhold all blessings until a person comes to Him in repentance and faith in Christ. Since God is so generous with His enemies, then we should be as well.

      **********End Quote***********

      In summary, I believe that a score of 2 out of 10 in section 3 is overly harsh.
      1) It assumes that the unbeliever WILL automatically misunderstand that the song meant for believers and, therefore, WILL NOT repent of their sins.
      2) I also disagree with the statement that “God is against THEM” (emphasis mine.) He is absolutely against our sins based on all the scriptures that you referenced. However, on a personal basis, God did everything He did for us BEFORE we had accepted His gracious offer.

      Romans 5:6-10 (KJV)

      6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
      7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
      8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
      9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
      10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

      I believe that it is appropriate to have some penalty based on how the song MIGHT be interpreted but the current deduction imposed is too high.

      Steve

      Feb 14.2022 | 05:45 pm

        Vince Wright

        Steve,

        Thank you for your comments!

        First, Psalm 23 starts with “The LORD is my shepherd”. Is the LORD the unbeliever’s shepherd in their unrepentant, sinful state? No, He isn’t. Does He restore their soul? Again no, He doesn’t. What about God’s rod and staff? Do they comfort them? Nope. However, the bigger issue is, will an unbeliever interpret Psalm 23 as applicable to them? Your answer is essentially “no, they won’t interpret it that way”. Same for the blessing, when read in the Bible. However, if they just heard this song without any context to it, will some think it’s about them and be led astray? It’s hard to deny the possibility.

        Second, in my review, I worded “However, they will also be lead astray, thinking that God is with, within, and for them without repentance or faith.” poorly. I should have stated it as a possibility, not a guaranteed reality. Even in Dave Brennan’s commentary, he uses the word “can” in terms of misleading. My score heavily relied on this point, so for that reason, I can significantly adjust it.

        Third, it says in several places in Scripture that God is against unbelievers:

        -Those who are not with Christ are against Him (Matthew 12:30 and Luke 11:23).
        -God opposed the proud (James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5)
        -Friends of the world are God’s enemy (James 4:4)
        -God reserves wrath for His enemies (Nahum 1:2)

        Of course, He also made a way for His enemies to be forgiven. According to Romans 5:6-8, He died for us while we were sinners, rebellious, His enemy. This gives us an enormous responsibility, that we can choose to remain His advasary or choose Him. However, I do agree with your first point. My score was way too harsh.

        I’ve updated this review.

        -Vince Wright

        Feb 15.2022 | 08:13 am

trougot

Bryan, Don, Randall …. Last few comments is great & Vince thanks for updating your review, but I’m not gonna say I’m happy with such a high grade of 8.5 / 10 for as Randall rightly called it, a “fluff” piece from an heretical establishment. Which rather should produce no music & who’s music should not be spread around; or at least Christians should be extremely careful in what way it is supported & approved!

There is deeper things than a direct song review bothering me & I think it should similarly bother all Christians! One may wonder if per say this review is contributing to assist leading young immature Christians away from truth & on the flip side, is it doing everything it can, to lead the lost or seeking listeners to Christ? …. We may wanna ponder long on that !

Apr 21.2021 | 01:18 am

Trougot

A universal comment I can place anywhere, but suiting the GIMME,GIMME,GIMME attitude of this song.

“HAMSTERS ON A WHEEL TREADMILL” … That is what we as image bearers of God, are being formed into by the world, with our own consent whilst not realizing it or hardly seeing the dangerous problem!

I’m reminded of two Bible verses … Proverbs 25:16 “Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.” … & … Luke 10:27 “And He answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.”

In explanation, over eating makes you sick & too much of anything diminish it’s value, instead of increasing it’s value & “with all thy mind” include we as Christians meditating on Spiritual things the right way. How a Christian applies his mind is of crucial importance! A favourite sport of satan is keeping Christians so busy and occupied with abundancies, over indulgences, nicky nacky noos stuff, that the the truth or real value items becomes muddied and lost between the ” it’s still ok, but Christians WILL do better without” things of life. This takes you further away & not nearer to God! And yes, I’m especially referring to these places churning out thousands of contemporary, shallow, often nonsensical “Christian” songs, mainly for or partly for other reasons than truly caring for where those consuming it, ends up! …. CHOMP-CHOMP-CHOMP …. NO,EAT HEALTHY!

What do we use listening & “informal” participation within “Christian” songs/performances for?, as PART of worship right. But THAT WAY [even done in Church] is not the biggest part & definitely not the most important part of worship. This falls behind Bible study, Prayer, Meditation & selected “personal” worship singing songs / hymns. Christians should saturate their minds with such first and foremost, BEFORE they concern themselves with another Christian band or song, another Christian band or song, another Christian band or song, another Christian band or song … you get the picture I hope. Doing this, Bible verses & those selected truly meaningful worship song lyrics learned by heart, will come more & more effectively to mind in times of trial, temptation or affliction.

DO NOT GO ROUND N ROUND CHASING EVERY RABBIT & MAYBE END UP CATCHING THE WORTHLESS ONE’s. DISCERN IN-DEPTH, SELECTING THE ESSENTIAL WORTHWHILE ONES & DISCARDING THE ABUNDANT EXCESS. LEARN THESE SONGS & PERSONALLY SING THEM TO GOD IN TIMES OF NEED & ONE TO ONE TRUE WORSHIP…. ALWAYS APPLY QUALITY OVER QUANTITY.

May 22.2021 | 02:57 am

Greg Parden

Hi, I am new to your sight, and I first would like to say thank you for doing this work. As a musician and worship elder in my church I am tasked with testing the biblical integrity of the music we use in worship. What you are doing here is very important in today’s world where there is so much noise and confusion in and around Christian music.

After reading this review and your evaluation criteria, I would like to suggest that your score for “how an outsider would interpret this song” might be too heavily weighted in comparison to the other more important criteria. Your stated principle references 1 Thessalonians 5:22. Since the lyrics of this song are direct quotes from scripture, and scripture is infallible, I don’t believe this principle can apply, even if an unbeliever is confused.

Non-believers are more often than not, confused about a lot of things in God’s word. I don’t believe Christians should be afraid to quote scripture in order to avoid confusion by outsiders. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” It is our job to proclaim God’s word and it is the Holy Spirit’s job to give understanding, faith, and discernment to those who God calls.

Secondly, the Bereans were noted for testing the Gospel against the scriptures (which at the time consisted only the Old Testament). Luke praised them for their doctrinal integrity, not for being sensitive to the feelings of unbelievers. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be sensitive to unbelievers in the context of 1 Thessalonians 5:22, I’m just suggesting that 1 Thessalonians 5:22 doesn’t apply in this case because all scripture is the holy word of God and cannot be withheld or moderated to avoid misunderstanding in outsiders. If the message is God’s law and gospel, we must proclaim it and let the Holy Spirit sort out the rest.

In the modern era, the idea has crept into the church that everything we do has to be seeker oriented. This was clearly not the case in biblical times. God’s message of the blessing through Moses was given to His people, not to outsiders. It has been used continuously in Jewish and Christian worship for over 3300 years as a blessing for God’s people. It never was intended for unbelievers. To use a really bad metaphor, It’s kind of like Costco or Sam’s club – everybody understands that you have to join the club (so to speak) to get the benefits.

Other than that one point, I thought your review was spot on. Personally, my biggest issue with this song is that they turned a 2 minute song into a 12 minute song, and I feel like I’m getting tired of getting blessed by the time it’s over…..(kind of like this comment, lol)

Sep 09.2021 | 10:21 am

    Vince Wright

    Greg,

    Thank you for your comments and welcome to The Berean Test!

    You’ve given me a lot to chew on in terms of section 3. I’ve noticed that many songs don’t receive 10/10 scores because of how I believe an unbeliever might interpret this song. But, you’ve made a case for why that shouldn’t exist when we evaluate songs. Admittedly, I’ve had a lot of complaints about this section, especially that it seems to discourage unbelievers from understanding the artist’s intent (which may lead to studying Scripture). It’s not my intent to keep unbelievers from learning more. But, a lot of people (including myself) have concerns about how songs might lead unbelievers in the wrong direction.

    -Vince Wright

    Sep 09.2021 | 01:35 pm

Helen

I enjoy this song but as a worship leader I have a responsibility to use songs in church services that give praise and worship to God. I don’t believe this song does either. While it’s Biblically accurate it is neither a song of praise nor worship because it’s focus is on us and not on God. I do believe it is an appropriate song to sing with believers in order to provide a blessing e.g. over a marriage, in sending missionaries etc. it does require some explanation in a church service so that congregations don’t think that singing “God loves me and wants to bless me” is enough.

Feb 13.2022 | 05:24 am

Michael Ramsey

I responded to a previous comment but a lot of people missed it so I will say it again. At my church we divide Christian songs into 4 categories. 1. Praise ( songs about or to God most of the time the word “you” is withheld in these songs) 2. Worship ( talking to God the word “you” is commonly used) 3. Transitional (these songs transition from praise to worship or from worship to praise and usually have some elements of a typical praise/and or worship song) and 4. Ministry ( these songs are focused on building us up songs that use the pronoun “I” usually fall here and songs that don’t fall into the other three categories). I would say The blessing falls under the 4th category. * Songs that are almost like God talking to us or how he feels about us are either in the 3rd or 4th category those ones are tricky.

Apr 08.2022 | 11:11 am

    JM

    Michael – that’s an interesting breakdown. Can you talk to the thought process behind those categories, how they came about, relevant biblical examples, etc…?

    Apr 08.2022 | 11:18 am

Beam Me Up

I was struggling in sin and when I heard this song it called me back to obedience to God, because it reminded me that even though my sin is abominable, He has called me (and everyone else) to repentance through grace, forgiveness and love in His own life by leading the way in action. I’m not a fan of Elevation’s theology- in fact I think some of it is not biblical. And yes, there are many songs that just repeat the same human-centered ideas over and over, especially from certain seeker friendly churches. But surprise, this song actually uses biblical language and concepts which are common to the old testament covenant and the new testament gospel to remind us that God has been at work building relationships with people from the very beginning of His creation… even when we choose to ignore or reject Him. He has been, is, and will always be more powerful than our sin. We are never beyond his rescue. The Blessing song is a reminder to those whom God has called that His blessing is far more amazing than the things of this world. And that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ! To the extent that this song glorifies God, it is for Christ, not against Him, even if the church where it comes from is misleading people with man-centered teaching.

Apr 25.2022 | 10:01 am

Tom

Robert —

While I cannot relate to your loss, may you be encouraged to consider that the Spirit of God working within you will bring, and likely has brought, God’s blessing and truth into the lives of those you have come in contact.

Not all of us are called, or privileged, to have children, but consider that your powerful witness and testimony may carry out God’s favor and blessing upon generations and generations. For the person who sees Christ in you and comes to know the Lord today, that may be the very blessing of God that breaks the cycle of sin and destruction in their life, passing the blessing forward into their children, and children’s children, and beyond.

We may never know or see, on this side of Heaven, the specific impact of our life on Kingdom, but if you do ever get a glimpse, it will catalyze your faith like nothing else; I had that happen once back in my college day, in which my interaction with someone, which at the time for for purely personal reasons, was used by God to further His Kingdom — I came to find out that this person saw the love and grace of Christ in me, despite me, and gave their life to Him. Today, they are raising a family with Christ at its center, not something that would ever have been likely given their own upbringing.

So, be encouraged, brother. God’s favor and blessings go beyond us, far exceeding our wildest imaginations!

Aug 06.2022 | 05:20 pm

SDA Hymnal Songs Lyrics (@AadityaSardar)

Thank you for sharing this profound article! God bless your ministry work for His cause!
SDA Hymnal

Jan 23.2023 | 10:39 pm

Candy Porostosky

Just read Matthew 5:2-12 and realize that the Blessings of Life are more from being poor in spirit, being in sorrow, humble, a deep hunger and thirst for righteousness, being merciful, being a peacemaker, being persecuted and insulted because of Jesus. These don’t seem like blessings when they happen, but we have the blessings of Jesus on our lives when are lives are not perfect and we trust in God anyway. Often, when deciding and questioning whether to lead a song in worship, my measuring stick for any song is, “is it biblically accurate, AND, can I lead this song in a third world country?” For me, I like the song and it does have it’s place. For example, I recently sang the song at the wedding of a couple who separated from living together and abstained from sex until married and pronounced a pure faith in God. I felt God’s anointing because it was a testimony of their faith in God and His blessing on their marriage. But in most cases, If I were to lead the congregation with this song on a Sunday morning, I am concerned that people may think they have God’s blessings just because they come to church, but in reality are not pursuing a relationship with Jesus as their first love. My personal preference, I wish it had less repetition and a third verse/bridge which clarified the blessings of God.

Jul 23.2023 | 08:04 pm

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