Phil Wickham – How Great is Your Love

Contemporary Christian artist Phil Wickham was 18 years old when he began his career in 2002.  Since then, he released ten albums, including:

• Give You My World (2003)
• Phil Wickham (2006)
• Cannons (2007)
• Heaven & Earth (2009)
• Response (2011)
• The Ascension (2013)
• Children of God (2016)
• Living Hope (2018)
• Christmas (2019)
• Hymn of Heaven (2021)
• Hymn of Heaven (Acoustic Sessions) (2022)

He received a Dove award in 2019 for Worship Recorded Song of the Year for his song Living Hope.

Also, check out my other Phil Wickham reviews.

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.

1. What message does the song communicate?

Wickham was once saturated in shadows, sin, and guilt.  Amid his state of dispair, he calls out the Jesus by name, hoping that He will answer.  Christ the unique, perfect man bore his burdens, wore his shame, and carried him out of darkness.  Through the cross, Wickham is transformed, following Jesus until he is led home.

Score: 10/10

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

These lyrics are written in accordance with Scripture.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Verse 1]

From the darkness, I called Your name

Wickham called upon the name of Jesus to be saved (Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13).

Into darkness, Your mercy came

God entered into this dark world (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:18-25, and Luke 1:26-38).

You called me out, lifted me up

Wickham was called out of darkness, implying that he was called into light (1 Peter 2:9).

How great is Your love

As shown through Christ’s sacrifice (John 3:16, Romans 5:6-8, and 1 John 4:8-10).

[Verse 2]

You bore my weakness
You took my shame

Jesus wore Wickham’s sin as though it were His (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Buried my burdens in fields of grace

That is, Wickham received rest (Matthew 11:28-30) amid God’s grace (Luke 18:9-14, Acts 13:39, Romans 3:20-30, Romans 4:1-7, Romans 8:3, Romans 9:16, Romans 9:31-32, Romans 11:6, Galatians 2:16, Galatians 2:21, Galatians 3:10-12, Galatians 3:21, Galatians 5:2-4, Ephesians 2:8-9, Philippians 3:3-9, 2 Timothy 1:9, Hebrews 6:1-2, and James 2:10-11).

You called me out, lifted me up
How great is Your love

Repeats Verse 1, lines 3 and 4.

[Pre-Chorus]

From the heights of Heaven
You stepped down to earth

He left His throne and glory in heaven and came to earth as a bond-servant (Philippians 2:6).

Innocent perfection

He was sinless (Isaiah 53:9, Matthew 27:24, John 19:4, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 Peter 2:21-23, and 1 John 3:5).

You gave Your life for us

He paid for Wickham’s lawbreaking (Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, John 19:30, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:6-10, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 1:3-4, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:15-26, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:1-2, and Revelation 5:9).

And we are amazed
And we stand in awe
For we have been changed
By the power of the cross

We stand as new creations, in awe of how God transformed us through Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17).

[Chorus]

How great, how great
How great is Your love
How great, how great
How great is Your love
How great, how great
How great is Your love for us

Essentially repeats Verse 1, line 4.

[Verse 3]

And in Your kindness, You lead me home
And in Your presence, where I belong

God guides us like a shepherd (John 10:11-18).

You called me out, lifted me up
How great is Your love

Repeats Verse 1, lines 3 and 4.

[Hook]

How great is Your love for us

Essentially repeats Verse 1, line 4.

[Bridge]

There has never been
There will never be
A God like You

There is nobody like our God (Exodus 8:10, Exodus 9:14, Deuteronomy 3:24, Deuteronomy 33:26, Jeremiah 10:6, 1 Samuel 2:2, 2 Samuel 7:22, 1 Kings 8:23, 1 Chronicles 17:20, Psalm 86:8, Psalm 89:6, Psalm 113:5-6, Jeremiah 10:7, Isaiah 40:18, and Isaiah 46:9).

A love so true

See commentary on Verse 1, line 4.

There has never been
And there will never be
A God like You
A love so true
There has never been
And there will never be
A God like You
A love so true
There has never been, no!
There will never be
A God like You
A love so true!

Repeats/Essentially repeats lines 1-4.

[Outro]

How great is Your love for us

Essentially repeats Verse 1, line 4.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Unbelievers should conclude that it’s Christian.  The dead giveaway is the mention of the cross at the end of Pre-Chorus.  They should conclude similarly as I’ve written in section 1: Christians were without hope, God rescued them, and made them better people who await heaven after they die.  Through this, Christians believe that God loves them.

My chief complaint is that, aside from calling out to Jesus by name, this song doesn’t have a call to action.  My concern is that those who don’t know Jesus will interpret this song as “God does it all and I don’t have to do anything”, which flies in the face of a transformed life.  Those who become new believers should show fruit that is in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8).  However, my fear is that there is great potential for false conversion when listening to this song.

Score: 7/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies Jesus as the One who redeems, transforms, and leads those who are His.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Phil Wickham’s How Great is Your Love is a great song for believers.  It reminds us that we were once immersed in our former life of sin and shame, liberated by Christ’s sacrifice, and live differently than we were before, bringing glory to God.  While I am concerned that this song could lead unbelievers to false conversion, they can comprehend the main ideas without much effort.

This song is suitable for corporate worship in churches that are not seeker-sensitive.  Those that are should either offer an explanation before worshipping with this one or look elsewhere.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: How Great is Your Love (listen to the song)

Artist: Phil Wickham

Album: Living Hope

Genre: Rock

Release Year: 2018

Duration: 5:08

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*Copyright © 2017 worshiptogether.com Songs (ASCAP) sixsteps Music (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com), Phil Wickham Music (BMI) / Simply Global Songs (BMI) / Sing My Songs (BMI) (admin at EssentialMusicPublishing.com). All rights reserved. Used by permission.