IN FOCUS: Hosanna | Hillsong United Hosanna by Hillsong United is a really nice song both musically and lyrically. The theme of the song is essentially found in the one word: “hosanna.” Hosanna literally means “God save us.” It is an exclamation of praise to God acknowledging that God is our Savior. The word “hosanna” can be found in Mark. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” 10“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!” (Mark 11:8-10) I really feel that the climax of the song is the bridge and the chorus after the bridge. Sometimes it’s hard to really understand the song and really sing out “hosanna” until the bridge and I believe an analysis of the lyrics will tell us why. The bridge is amazing, lyrically. I’m going to do a line-by-line commentary and then summarize the gist of the bridge: *Heal my heart and make it clean- When you sing this out, you must realize that only one can do that and his name is Jesus Christ. Only Jesus Christ can heal your heart and make it pure. Why? Because he is pure, holy, and perfect. Make sure you acknowledge that. *Open up my eyes to the things unseen- What are the things unseen? It’s actually pretty hard for me to find the answer to this one, however, I think the things unseen are not the glories of God (since verse1) nor His love or mercy (verse2) but rather His work in people on Earth. I believe a huge part of Christian fellowship is identifying evidences of grace in other people’s lives which are in some ways hidden. Asking God to reveal to us what He has done to other people will enable us to love others in a more Godly way, which is what the next line is saying. This is because, God’s ultimate grace was sending His Son to take upon His wrath, which was the greatest love that we will ever know (yet never be able to fully comprehend or fully appreciate). *Show me how to love like you have loved me- WOW! Do we really mean this when we sing it out? We are asking God to give us the strength to “love the LORD your [our] God with all your [our] heart and with all your [our] soul and with all your [our] strength” (Deut. 6:5 NIV) and the strength to “love your [our] neighbor as yourself [ourselves].” (Mark 12:31 NIV) *Break my heart from what breaks yours- This was the line that really convicted me. I remember listening to Paul Washer preach and he said “do you realize that you laugh at the very things that God hates?” I was like…. man. It’s true. We all know that there is bad humor out there, on tv, internet, and with friends. We DO laugh at things that God hates. When we sing this line out, it is acknowledging that we are grave, grave sinners and we are enemies of God. Because of this, we ask for God to help us love what he loves and hate what he hates. How can we love God if we take pleasure in what God hates? To be a Christian, we MUST hate the things that God hates and love the things that God loves. That is the meaning of this line, for God to break our heart for what breaks His. *Everything I am for your kingdoms cause- God created us. We are His. He purchased us and thus He deserves our everything. Our energy, time, mind, and our heart. We are to give God everything for His kingdom. Are you giving God everything? Your time, your money, your mind (thoughts), and your heart? *As I walk from earth into Eternity- This line gives us hope that one day we will enter Heaven and inherit eternal life with God. Earth is not our home. We are not suppose to be of the world but only part of it. As I like to say, we are “born on earth, but destined for Heaven.” So to summarize the bridge as a prayer: Dear Jesus Christ my Lord, Make me pure and open my eyes that I may love others the way you loved me. Help me to hate the things You hate and love the things You love and use me for your Kingdom’s cause for my days here on Earth are limited and I know one day, I will be able to worship you in your full Glory, in Heaven. After the bridge, the chorus usually gets repeated again for couple times. Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna in the highest Try to imagine the scene. Jesus is on a colt and riding it down a street and people are laying their cloaks on the road, while others are spreading branches from their own field that they had cut. And all of them are shouting “Hosanna!” This is a really awesome picture in which people are simply in awe and reverence towards God. After singing the bridge, how can we not praise God? He is the one who will make us pure and holy, He is the one who will open our eyes, He is the one who will help us love the things He loves, and He is the one who has given us the grace of eternal life with Him. Praise God! This is why the whole meaning of “hosanna” which is “God save us” has so much more meaning after praying the prayer in the bridge. We realize that only One could meet all our needs and satisfaction and He is the One who is deserving of the praise, Hosanna. So I hope next time you sing Hosanna you will realize the very sorry state we are in and the need for a Savior and the only response from you will be “Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest.” (Source: reflectontheword.wordpress/2009/03/16/hosanna-hillsong-united/)
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 05:25:58 +0000
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