Lead Me to the Cross — Hillsong UNITED ft. Brooke Ligertwood
Published in 2006 by Hillsong Music Publishing, one of the top leading CCM artists in the world, Lead Me to the Cross remains a heavily used worship songs in many different congregational settings some 16 years later. The timelessness of the message behind the song is very evident in its survival and thriving throughout nearly the last two decades. This song was originally written by Brooke Fraser (now Ligertwood), who serves as the head of Hillsong Worship globally. This song landed in the CCLI top 100 used songs on two separate occasions.
Biblical Basis of the Song:
Lead Me to the Cross is a song that encapsulates a deep understanding of surrender to God in all circumstances. It is a song that helps to place our priorities on God, rather than other problems and things of this world. The song is mainly derived from Philippians 3:8 — “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.” In an age where our attention is constantly grabbed by overstimulation and corruption, this message is especially and extremely relevant today. Singing about the love of Christ and the sacrifice he made for us leads us to a place where we can find saving grace and peace for our souls. It is a song of decision-making and personal sacrifice for the sake of drawing nearer to Jesus, helping to shepherd proper heart posture within believers.
Verse 1:
Savior I come
Quiet my soul, remember
Redemption’s hill
Where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost
The very first verse of the song starts from a place of surrender and recognition. It is essentially preparing a heart posture of the worshiper, which is essential before coming before the throne of God. This heart posture is obtained by recognition and remembrance of the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf, and just by using the story of Christ as lyrics, the first verse presents a strong emotional pull to the heart of the worshiper. 2 Corinthians 5:21 — “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Verse 2:
You were as I
Tempted and trialed
Human
The word became flesh
Bore my sin and death
Now you’re risen
As verse one was focused around a heart posture of surrender, verse two continues expounding upon the reasons that we have to come to the foot of the cross. It gives an aspect of the heart of Christ that helps us understand the extent to which God went in order to relate to us. Thus ushering in a deeper level of connection in worship. Hebrews 4:15 — “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”
Chorus:
Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Oh, lead me, lead me to the cross
The chorus of the song is the action of asking God to bring our hearts to his throne, and fix our gaze upon him. This chorus is quite powerful, as it involves the surrender culminated from the verses put into action here in the chorus. Psalm 43:5 — “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.”
Musicality and Corporate Worship Effectiveness:
Musically, this song is very straightforward. It is a relatively simple song, and although the original version has a lot of acoustic embellishments, it can easily be simplified. The main emphasis of the song is around the message of the lyrics, so not as much stress is put on complicated musical aspects. However, the dynamics of the instrumentation still perfectly compliment the message of the lyrics, making this a very effective corporate worship song. It is also quite timeless musically, as even in today’s musical climate, it does not sound old or outdated in the least. This song is extremely well written.
Another great resource for analysis on this song comes from the Berean Test website:
