HYMNS & SONGS

A Contemporary Advent Song?

By Lim Swee Hong

HERE I AM TO WORSHIP

Light of the world
You stepped down into darkness.
Opened my eyes, let me see.
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with You.

Chorus:

Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
All together worthy,
All together wonderful to me.

King of all days
oh, so highly exalted
Glorious in heaven above
Humbly You came
To the earth You created
All for love's sake became poor. [Chorus]

Bridge

I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
I'll never know how much it cost.

Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
All together worthy,
All together wonderful to me.

- Tim Hughes

This popular praise and worship song is the work of Tim Hughes, son of an Anglican vicar, and the music director of Holy Trinity, Brompton, an Anglican church in London.  In recent times, he has done some credible writing including praise and worship songs that take a serious look at poverty and our response as the Church. However, in examining this song that was reputed to be the number one song on the CCLI song chart for two years, I have mixed feelings about it.  In looking closely at the text, its lovely music aside, this song has a “yes, but” kind of feel to it.  What do I mean?

Yes, it brings to mind the salvific work of Christ.  The song speaks of Christ’s incarnation, coming into this world because of God’s love.  In response to God’s act, our response is to bow down and worship God. 

But, what was Hughes thinking when he wrote the phrase “I’ll never know how much it cost, to see my sin upon that cross?”  If I may be blunt, do we as Christians or even sympathetic not yet Christians not know how much our transgressions cost?  Does he seriously think that people do not know the basic message of the Gospel?  Christianity is the faith tradition that openly proclaims the death of the Son of God for the sake of humanity’s folly.  As far as I know, no other faith traditions have their deity die for the sake of their creation. As such, the words of this musical bridge really seem trite. 

What might be some alternatives?  Having written this song even before he was 29, Hughes could have given himself a little more time and be a little more patient and explore the possibility of crafting the bridge with better lyrics.  If he had taken up some theological study, he could have easily offered reasons as to why we need to respond to God’s love.  Alternatively, he could have elaborated on the cost of sin in this bridge section.  In my opinion, having the congregation singing repeatedly “I’ll never know how much it cost” is not an efficacious use of words in worship and really does a great disservice with respect to the spiritual maturity of our congregation. We do know how much it cost.  If we do not, then pardon the Singlish expression, we really need to “wake up our idea and better know!”

Therefore, the more pressing concern that comes from reflecting about this song is how can we actualize this knowledge of truth and have it motivate us to love God and neighbour more deeply.  Knowing that Jesus came into our midst, how might this reality change the way we live our lives?  Surely, when we sing “for love's sake [God] became poor” we ought to be challenged to utter our Singlish worshipful response -“so how?”

Many people think Advent is a time of happy preparation for the coming of Christ’s birth and almost comparable to the world reminding us that there are only four weeks of shopping left before Christmas.  Yet if we make the effort to learn about Advent, we will discover that Advent has the same theological tenor as that of Lent.  It is a season of introspective reflection and evaluation in expectancy of Christ’s second coming.  It is far from a period of hectic merry making and shopping for gifts. 

In view of this liturgical truth, this song has excellent verses that are very appropriate for this season of Advent and can be use as such.  However, I would also encourage worship leaders and clergy who use this song to consider skipping the bridge so as not to waste the congregation’s time in singing meaningless text.  If the congregation likes the musical bridge, then I would suggest the use of local creativity to craft alternative words that better explicate the implication of the incarnation, or else, write and petition Tim Hughes to revise it.

One final comment, it is my hope that those of us who design and lead worship will not underestimate the theological depth of our people.  For if we desire to encounter God in our worship events, we need to ensure that our people can experience God fully.  We need not be afraid that our congregation seeking the truth, “cannot handle the truth.”  On the contrary, they may be far more ready than we think. Perhaps the reason why people wander from church to church is because they desire sanctuary; where they can find unconditional refuge, where their mistakes are gently pointed out in appropriate time and thereafter received tangible unconditional healing and forgiveness.  If our worship services are designed as such and have acts of prayers and songs that declare this as the will of God, I firmly believe our people will be willing to confront their greatest fears and our church will never be the same.  Have a blessed Advent as we await the coming of Christ.