Hymn Notes: HERE I AM TO WORSHIP

An ad hoc group of our own singers calls us to worship today, singing HERE I AM TO WORSHIP. The praise song was written in 1999 by British composer and worship leader Tim Hughes and has been well received by evangelical churches worldwide; it is published in the Baptist Hymnal (2008) and other major hymnals. It is reported that the song came from Hughes’ personal reflection on Phil 2 which details Jesus’ willingness to become a man and to die a humiliating death, and his subsequent exaltation whereby all creation will one day bow and confess that Jesus is Lord.

The song has a contemplative or meditative feel to it, one that is not to be rushed or sung mechanically or lightheartedly. The chorus emphasizes simply that, in light of Jesus’s deep love and sacrifice, the singer has now come to worship Christ in humble adoration. The song has a short bridge section in which the phrase “I will never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross” is thrice repeated, to emphasize how our worship and thankfulness should be complete and genuine.