My church played this song recently and I fell in love with it. As I worshipped God with hundred’s of others in our congregation, I knew immediately I had to review Living Hope. I had done one other review of his; another song that I enjoy, namely, This Is Amazing Grace.

I sang the Chorus for a week, so it better be good!

I was asked to provide a link to listen to the song, something I should have done when I started this blog. I intend to go through all my previous posts and add this to the last section Artist Info, in line “Track”.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Phil-wickham-living-hope-lyrics.

Update: Thanks to commentor Mal Green who pointed out the phrase “life after God” in my review. I corrected it to “life after receiving God”.

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?

Phil Wickham has done an excellent job weaving together a canvas describing the entire Gospel message from start to finish, including the three most important elements: life before God, His death, burial, and resurrection, and life after receiving God. The language is poetic and emotionally driven, touching our hearts on a spiritual level.

The name of Jesus is explicitly mentioned, littered throughout the entire lyrics. Given the Gospel as its focus, we should not expect to see attributes of God, though one can argue that Christ’s resurrection serves as a pointer to His eternal existence.

The amount of repetition is acceptable with a maximum of four stanza repeats in the Chorus (2 per Chorus) and a short outro.

Score: 10/10

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

Everything is Biblical.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1 and 2: That is, the partition between man and God caused through sinful actions. Left unchecked, we would experience eternal separation from God (Genesis 3:7-8, Isaiah 59:1-2, Matthew 7:23, Romans 6:23, and 2 Thessalonians 1:3-9).

Line 3 and 4: the last line of this verse clarifies whose name Wickham spoke: it is the name of Jesus. Realizing that he could not cross the divide, he spoke Christ’s name in hopes for salvation. No other name will do (see John 14:6 and Acts 4:8-12).

Lines 5-8: Expanded in greater detail in Verse 2 and Verse 3 This is Wickham’s introduction to the Gospel, succinctly captured in 1 Corinthians 15:3-11.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1-4: An excellent paraphrase of Philippians 2:5-8 combined with 2 Corinthians 5:21.

Line 5: Without the shedding of Christ’s blood, there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22).

Lines 6 and 7: Refers to God’s adoption of us as His sons and daughters, we have an inheritance in His eternal Kingdom (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).

Line 8: A subtle nod to the resurrection of Jesus expanded in Verse 3. Christ is described as our living hope in 1 Peter 1:3.

[Chorus]

Line 1: A call for us to praise Christ for redeeming us, with rationale explained in subsequent lines.

Line 2: That is, the second death (Romans 6:23, Revelation 2:11, Revelation 20:6, Revelation 20:14-15, and Revelation 21:8). It no longer has claim on our lives given that Christ defeated it (more on that in Verse 3).

Line 3: Chains are a common Christian metaphor describing slavery to sin, as described in John 8:34, Romans 6:6, Romans 6:20-22, and 1 Corinthians 6:12. Christ came to break the yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1; also see Matthew 11:28-30).

Line 4: See Verse 1, lines 3 and 4.

Line 5: Repeats Verse 2, line 8.

Lines 6-10: Repeats lines 1-5.

[Verse 3]

Lines 1 and 2: Refers to the resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20, Acts 1:3, Acts 3:15, Acts 4:33, and 1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

Line 3: Revelation 5:5 describes Christ as the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

Line 4: Christ’s resurrection gives us hope of a life beyond the grave. All the prior references of Christ’s resurrection, Him as our living hope, our adoption, and our inheritance are all eloquently captured in 1 Peter 1:3-5.

Lines 5-8: Repeats lines 1-4.

Line 9: The apex of the entire song. In my own congregation, I can hear shouting and clapping at this moment. Savor it. It is where we proclaim back to God Jesus’ victorious triumph over death.

[Outro]

Line 1: Repeats Verse 2, line 8.

Line 2: A great shift on Wickham’s part to shift from speaking to the audience to singing back to God. It is a great high note from which to end.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Most (if not all) unbelievers will immediately recognize this as a worship song to Jesus. Though it does not describe how one receives Christ, that is a small concession compared to the strong, raw, emotional impact on those who listen. They can simply ask their pastor how to find this living hope, much like Samaritan woman asked Jesus for living water in John 4:4–42. It is not a criticism worth docking points.

While Wickham uses some idioms and metaphors that only Christians and those who have studied Christian theology will comprehend, he also throws enough everyday language for unbelievers to understand the basic message. He skillfully balances Christian worship with evangelistic effort.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies Jesus as the One who rescues us from damnation, eradicating our sins and presenting us before the Father as spotless.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Phil Wickham’s Living Hope had a profound emotional impact on me. He demonstrates mastery on so many levels with lyrics that are Biblically sound, balances between Christian praise with unbeliever comprehension, touches the hearts of his listeners, beautifully poetic, and brings glory to God.

Sing this one at your churches. It will cause people to lift their hands faster than Jimmy John’s can deliver a sub.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: Living Hope (listen to the song) (buy the song)

Artist: Phil Wickham

Album: Living Hope (buy the album)

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2018

Duration: 5:27

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

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