Matt Redman, singer-songwriter and longtime worship leader, says the church will never stop singing about one theme—and it’s the one we celebrate today.
Whether in old hymns such as “There Is a Fountain” or fresh anthems like his own “Upon a Hill,” Redman says, “This is a theme that will never grow old. And we’re finding new ways to sing about the cross and the glories of the cross.”
Redman says when the Lord led him to write “Upon Him,” he realized he could tell “so much of the story of Calvary” with that one simple expression: “Upon a hill, a perfect Savior/ Upon that day, the greatest love/ The punishment that should have fallen on us/ Upon Him, upon Him.”
Redman adds, “It goes on to say. ‘Upon His head/ A crown of thorns/ Upon His heart/ a broken world/ The wages of sin, the weight of our transgressions/ Upon Him, upon Him.'”
“I love something Oswald Chambers said: ‘At the cross, this collision takes place,'” Redman says. “‘And it’s the collision between the righteousness and perfection of God, and then the fallenness and brokenness of us.’
“And then he says, ‘But the amazing thing is, all of the costs and all of the pain and all of the shock of that collision, that crash, were absorbed by the heart of Almighty God,'” Redman says. “And that’s why salvation is so easy for us to obtain. And that’s a beautiful thing. You can never stop singing about this theme; we’ll be singing about it for all eternity.”
For much more from Matt Redman about his music and how God has used him to lead worship across the globe, listen to the entire episode of the Strang Report podcast here. Be sure to subscribe to the Strang Report on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform. As we celebrate the promise of Easter, enjoy Redman’s acoustic rendering of “Upon Him” here. {eoa}
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