Theology of “How He Loves” Pt. 1

Well I have been thinking for a few months now of writing a blog post that described the theology (study of God) found in the song “How He Loves” written by John Mark McMillan. I have heard it so many other times from a variety of music artists and I have to say that the one that grabs me the most is the version done by David Crowder Band.

As I listen to this song over and over and over, I can’t but help fall to my knees and acknowledge God as my Lord and Savior. It hits me every time! I find myself being convicted each and every time I listen to it, which then it turn tells me that this song has power and the lyrics written for this song go far beyond just hearing another melodious track on an album, but rather, it is a way for us to reflect on the nature of God; who He is and who we are.

Let’s just take a look for a second at the lyrics themselves:

(Verse 1)
He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy
When all of a sudden
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realise just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me

(Pre-Chorus)
And O how He loves us
Oh, O how He loves us
How He loves us all

(Chorus)
Yeah He loves us
O how He loves us
O how He loves us
O how He loves

(Verse 2)
We are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way

When dissecting this song, you cannot help but to put yourself in the midst of this song as if you are thinking and feeling the exact way that this song is written.

Part of the 1st verse says, “He is jealous for me,” Yes! He is very jealous for us! In Exodus 20:4-5 says, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God,”. God is jealous. And rightfully so! He is the creator of the world, of everything set before us, and He wants attention, He deserves it! Why? Because He is sovereign, ominpotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing) and omnipresent (everywhere all the time). He ought to be jealous for He created us! Would not an artist be upset if his painting drew attention to some other artist than himself? Of course! It would defeat the purpose of even making the painting.

Same with God, He has created us, He wants the attention, He wants to be acknowledged as the God of the world but also the God of your life, yet we put so much emphasis on the material gods we have placed in our life. Make God your 1st priority in life.

The next part of that verse says, “Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy”

Yes. He does love like a hurricane! His love cannot compare to any other love in all of the world in all of history or time! His love has far surpassed any and every idea of love! His love was demonstrated upon a cross, and was put on display for all to see. John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friend,” and Christ did just that! He laid down His life, shedding His perfect and innocent blood upon a sinner’s cross, a cross He was not deserving of, yet He paid the penalty for our sins, conquering sin and conquering death.

I and we are indeed trees bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy. We are all subject to His will and to the works in which He accomplishes in us and through us. He accomplishes His will in us and makes us, as believers to be under the will in which He has for every single one of us.

The weight of His wind is the direction in which He sends us. Proverbs 16:9 says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” We may plan the things that we do in our life, but ultimately God directs whether or not those plans actually fall in place.

And we are bent underneath the weight of His mercy too. Has He not even been very merciful to us too?! What great mercy He has shown to us through His Son, Jesus, on the cross. Mercy is not getting what we deserve. What do we deserve? We deserve hell. We deserve to go to hell because of our sins and because of our enmity to God, but, as Romans 5:8 says, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Through giving mercy, He also gave a way for us to be with Him in eternity. And we are underneath this mercy, we are the subject of His mercy.

Well there is just so much to detail within this one song that this is going to take a series of blog posts so stay tuned with the next ones in line.

In Christ, Brad Jr.

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