Christian contemporary artist Phil Wickham’s enthusiastic and reverent style of writing and singing praise and worship songs has consistently been a draw for me. His prayerful sentiments are consistently filled with his personal adoration of God. And, his adoration and passion show in his music.
Phil improves with each new album he releases (his 2018 project Living Hope was my top worship album of 2018). His latest release, Hymn of Heaven, takes me to another realm of holiness and thirsting for God's presence. This album is completely anointed, spirit-led, and emotionally captivating.
If you've always enjoyed Phil’s corporate worship anthems, such as “At Your Name (Yahweh, Yahweh),”and “This is Amazing Grace,” you're in for a treat with his new songs, “Battle Belongs” and “House of the Lord.” They’re both great upbeat anthems for the church. I had the chance to speak with Phil about “House of the Lord.”
Please tell me the personal story behind this song.
I wrote the song “House of the Lord” in the middle part of 2020—the most frustrating part of the year. A year, because of the pandemic, where we weren’t allowed to meet in the literal house of the Lord. But, what I realized at this time was that the house of the Lord is not something that’s made by hands or by man. It’s you and it’s me who call ourselves believers in Jesus.
The first verse of the song is about who God is, the second verse is about what God has done for me, and the bridge is who I am because of it. I decided to write a song about who God is, what He’s done, and who I am because of Him. That way, even if I’m not happy all the time, I can still have joy. Jesus said, “take heart, I have overcome the world.”
Joy isn’t based on circumstance. If it was, it would come and go. Our joy is found in the person of Jesus, and He is never failing. He conquered sin and death, and He never changes. He says we are forgiven, we are redeemed, and we are set free.
Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?
Psalm 122:1(ESV): Let us go to the House of the Lord. A Song of Ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
Psalm 33:3(VOICE): "Sing to Him a new song; play each the best way you can, and don't be afraid to be bold with your joyful feelings."
Psalm 66:1-3(NKJV): “Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. Say to God, ‘How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power, Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.’”
Hebrews 10:25(NLT): “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.”
Hebrews 13:8(NKJV): “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Ephesians 2:13-16(NKJV): "But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity."
Deuteronomy 4:39(NIV): "Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other."
Romans 8:38-39 (VOICE): "For I have every confidence that nothing—not death, life, heavenly messengers, dark spirits, the present, the future, spiritual powers, height, depth, nor any created thing—can come between us and the love of God revealed in the Anointed, Jesus our Lord."
What is the takeaway message?
People ask, “How do you worship when you don’t feel like it?” or “How does it always seem real when you lead worship?”. My answer is that it comes from a heart of worship which is a heart of gratitude.
Anytime I feel frustrated or depressed—and just want to go home even though I have another three nights of events—I thank the Lord. Instead of asking for things, I go down a list of ways that I’m thankful for who He is and what He has done. Just the fact that I’m alive; starts right there.
Five minutes later, I’m lifting my hands, reminded of God’s goodness in my life and why I sing to Him. My frustration, anxiety, or worry gets replaced by a deeper sense of joy that I have a father in heaven who loves me. One who will never separate me from His love.
My spirit of gratitude was lost for weeks during the pandemic. I was home watching the news, without any outlet to do what I love to do. I saw the frustration in my kids and friends. I was missing birthday parties and other important events. I found myself asking a lot of questions. I knew I needed to practice what I preached: being thankful, no matter the circumstances.
“House of the Lord” is about how we are the church. A brick-and-mortar building isn’t the church. The church is what’s inside you and everything you need to totally impact and change the world around you for the kingdom of God.
Lyrics
We worship the God who was We worship the God who is We worship the God who Evermore will be He opened the prison doors He parted the raging sea My God, He holds the victory
There’s joy in the House of the Lord There’s joy in the House of the Lord today And we won’t be quiet We shout out Your praise There’s joy in The house of the Lord Our God is surely in this place And we won’t be quiet We shout out Your praise We shout out Your praise
We sing to the God who heals We sing to the God who saves We sing to the God who Always makes a way 'Cause He hung upon that cross Then He rose up from that grave My God’s still rolling stones away
There’s joy in the House of the Lord There’s joy in the House of the Lord today And we won’t be quiet We shout out Your praise There’s joy in the House of the Lord Our God is surely in this place And we won’t be quiet We shout out Your praise
We were the beggars Now we’re royalty We were the prisoners Now we’re running free We are forgiven, accepted Redeemed by His grace Let the house of the Lord Sing praise
Cause we were the beggars Now we’re royalty We were the prisoners Now we’re running free We are forgiven, accepted Redeemed by His grace Let the house of the Lord Sing praise
There’s joy in the House of the Lord There’s joy in the House of the Lord today And we won’t be quiet We shout out Your praise There’s joy in the House of the Lord Our God is surely in this place And we won’t be quiet We shout out Your praise
There’s joy in the House of the Lord There’s joy in the House of the Lord today And we won’t be quiet We shout out Your praise There’s joy in the House of the Lord Our God is surely in this place And we won’t be quiet We shout out Your praise
We shout out Your praise We shout out Your praise We shout out Your praise
Closing Thoughts
Leading corporate worship nationwide, Phil Wickham describes the truths he is learning with a powerful and poignant voice through enthusiastic and passionate cries of worship.
His latest album, Hymn of Heaven, is full of songs about proclaiming the majesty of God and crying out for His presence throughout this incredible worship experience. The truly unstoppable love of Jesus is beautifully expressed in these compelling songs.
The Lord calls us to have joy in Him regardless of our circumstances, which these songs celebrate. Our true joy comes from our relationship with Jesus. One of the lessons I've seen about life is that we shouldn't wait to fix ourselves before we step out in faith. We need to fully trust God.
We can't earn grace. And, we can't do anything to gain life other than accepting Jesus. Jesus loves us so much that He came down and took our punishment so that we can be with Him forever. This tune is a call to worship that really gets me excited to sing along and celebrate. The song's energy is a great way to infuse enthusiasm into your worship set.
When you sing the words of "House of the Lord,” don't just sing it, but know it and live it out. Make Jesus the Lord of your life. Make every activity and thought point to Him.
When you sing, do you do so in complete submission or just sing the words? The song's sentiment represents something that the global church can cling to and proclaim loudly. In surrender, we raise our hands to celebrate His goodness.
We can lift our hands in confidence to God and know that His mercy is unfailing. His love is never-ending. He is our refuge and our strength. God's ultimate will isn’t to bring affliction but to restore us so that we may experience His unfailing love. I love the singing this song back to Jesus and telling Him plainly that I need no other than Him.
Phil Wickham’s ministry has been a way to put scripture into the minds, hearts, and mouths of believers everywhere, in a fresh and creative way. That allows listeners to be edified and to be drawn to the presence of the Lord, and to call out and desire to be in His presence.
This song helps set my mind on Christ, to let the distractions of the day melt away and instead focus on worshiping the King of kings and Lord of lords.
“House of the Lord” gives me a lot of joy, and my heartbeat is to please the Lord. I love songs that allow me to have fun and praise God at the same time, and this song certainly does that. I really enjoy how my love of fun, uplifting music, and biblical truth is perfectly married in this song. The song is also a great reminder that our circumstances don't define our joy.
Our position in Christ and His unending faithfulness is worthy of all our gratitude and adoration. A sincere desire to experience the presence of God can be heard in this instant classic song.
You’ll want to exclaim: “We were the beggars/Now we’re royalty/We were the prisoners/Now we’re running free/We are forgiven, accepted/Redeemed by His grace/Let the house of the Lord sing praise." Amen to that.
NRT lead contributor Kevin Davis is a longtime fan of Christian music, an avid music collector, and credits the message of Christian music for leading him to Christ. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and three daughters.
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