Lately, worship music has become a more recognized genre within
\nthe contemporary Christian music market. Everyone is releasing
\nmusic and putting the “worship” label on it. Some of it is truly
\nworship music and some isn’t.<\/p>\n
Essential Records will soon release (Aug. 22)
\nCity On A Hill<\/i>. Of all of the worship music produced so far
\nthis year, this project is the finest. From the opening song “God
\nOf Wonders” through the closing “This Road” there is one cohesive,
\nunifying theme: worshipping God.<\/p>\n
One indispensable element of corporate worship is the idea of
\nthe community coming together in adoration of God. All voices and
\nall hearts striving together to reach that place where singing
\nsongs of praise transcends the human and becomes infused with the
\nDivine. When that happens, the Spirit of God descends and inhabits
\nthe praise of His people.<\/p>\n
This is rarely captured on recordings. But God’s Spirit is ever
\npresent on
\nCity On A Hill<\/i>. He is the underpinning upon which it is
\nbuilt and the canopy under which it is performed. He is the East
\nand West of this project and the Center of it.<\/p>\n
The concept of community is expressed throughout as the various
\nartists and bands combine and recombine, intermingling their
\ntalents and expressions of worship. Some write. Some sing. Some
\npray. Some play. Some produce. Some encourage. This one sings on
\nthat one’s song and the other one wrote the song that this one
\nsings. The logistical details of the project must have been
\nenormous.<\/p>\n
However, the involvement in “community” was integral to the
\nproject. As the producer put it: “It was truly a community
\nendeavor, reflecting our common desire to live in holy communion
\nwith our heavenly Father and with one another — by the unifying
\nmiracle of God’s Spirit in our midst.”<\/p>\n
Opening with the modern psalm “God Of Wonders,” the disc
\nunabashedly proclaims the holiness of God. The singers create just
\nthe right mix of awe and adoration for a “God of wonders beyond our
\ngalaxy:.<\/p>\n
The universe declares Your Majesty You are holy, holy Lord of
\nHeaven and Earth Lord of Heaven and Earth Early in the morning I
\nwill celebrate the light When I stumble in the darkness I will call
\nYour name by night<\/p>\n
Worked into the song are the recognizable strains of the
\ntraditional hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty” — and the
\nblending of old and new only gives the song more depth.<\/p>\n
From proclaiming the holiness of God, the project moves into
\nacknowledgement of the centrality of Jesus Christ, in the song “The
\nStone,” built upon the Scriptures which proclaim “the stone that
\nthe builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone (Ps. 118:22;
\nMatt. 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; 1Peter 2:7). From there comes
\nthe admonition that “everything that has breath” ought to be
\npraising the Lord — even when things aren’t going so well (“With
\nEvery Breath”).<\/p>\n
Following comes two songs working together to lead the listener
\nfrom remembering the sacrifice of Christ to remembering God’s
\ntriumph over death — and the salvation that single act brought to
\nall who call upon the name of Christ. Melding the deep sadness and
\nmelancholy of “I Remember You” with the ever increasing joy of
\n“Precious Jesus” takes the listener from the despair of the
\nCrucifixion to the exultation of the Resurrection.<\/p>\n
Despondency gives way to ecstasy as the realization of just what
\nChrist’s triumph over death means for the believer slowly becomes
\napparent. We are moved from remembering the broken body of Christ
\nto remembering our own brokenness and the healing God has brought
\ninto our lives.<\/p>\n
Mighty King of the universe, merciful Lamb For my sin You
\nsuffered and bled Still Father, forgive them, they don’t understand
\nSweet Savior, I heard what you said As we drink from the cup of
\nsalvation, Your blood We remember Your sacrifice We remember the
\nway that You suffered for us<\/p>\n
Subsequent songs deal with the omnipresence of God in our lives
\n(“You’re Here”), speaking to God through prayer (“Where You Are”),
\nexperiencing God’s mercy (“Merciful Rain”), the unity that should,
\nand will one day, be found in the Body of Christ, the church
\n(“Unified”), covenanting with God to be His people (“Covenant
\nSong”), and adoration of God’s luminescence (“Marvelous Light”).
\nThe title song based on Matthew 5:14 (“a city on a hill cannot be
\nhidden”) encourages believers to share the Light of God that is
\nwithin them with those who are still searching for that Light.<\/p>\n
And I know that our salvation isn’t in the things we do But it’s
\nonly given by the grace of God By the sacrifice of Jesus, and if we
\nreally did believe We would want to share this message with
\nsomeone<\/p>\n
Finally, the disc ends with “This Road,” a prayer of benediction
\nasking that God travel with us on the road we’re on, giving us
\npeace and grace and shelter.<\/p>\n
This project was the work of these fine artists (in alphabetical
\norder): Caedmon’s Call, The Choir, Gene Eugene (in his last
\nrecordings before his recent death), FFH, Peter Furler, Christine
\nGlass, Steve Hindalong, Jars Of Clay, Sixpence None The Richer,
\nSONICFLOOd, and Third Day — among many others. They showed, by
\ntheir participation in this project, their own commitment to be
\nthat “city on a hill” — showing the light of God to the world and
\ndrawing all people to Him.<\/p>\n
You are the light of the world A city on a hill cannot be hidden
\nShine your light before all men That they might see your works and
\nthen Praise your Father up in Heaven<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":25511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5827],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-36717","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-various-artists","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36717"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=36717"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=36717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}