Here I Am To Worship

We sang this worship song at a mass a week ago and now it plays in the back of my mind almost

by Ann Chapin

continually.

The words and melody are not in my everyday conscious mind but when I stop talking, reading, writing or even as soon as I wake-up, there it is playing within me. It as if my subconscious, my inner spirit is singing these words to God.

This is the sort of hymn that I love. I really don’t want to sing about God or about what we are going to do for him. No, I need to sing TO God, heart to heart, spirit to spirit.

Perhaps God is giving me a small taste of what Jesus promised us when he said in John 4: 23,24:

23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

St. Augustine of Hippo (+430) is often quoted as having said “He who sings, prays twice.”

“Here I Am To Worship” was written by Smith, Michael W. / Smith, Debbie / Baloche, Paul.

Light of the world
You stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes and let me see
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with You

Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You’re my God
Altogether lovely, altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me

King of all days, oh so highly exalted
You’re glorious in heaven above, yes You are
Humbly You came to this Earth You created
All for love’s sake became poor

Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You’re my God
Altogether lovely, altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me

I’ll never know how much it cost
To see my sin up on that cross
I’ll never know how much it cost
To see my sin up on that cross

Here I am, here I am to worship You
Here I am to worship You
Help me sing

Here I am to worship You
Here I am to worship You
Here I am, here I am

Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You’re my God

John Melhuish Strudwick - Saint Cecilia (1896) — John Melhuish Strudwick – Saint Cecilia (1896)

Altogether lovely, altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me

Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You’re my God
Altogether lovely, altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me

Wonderful to me, You’re wonderful to me
You’re lovely and You are worthy
Say, say wonderful, wonderful

Here I am to worship
Here I am to worship
Here I am to worship
Here I am to worship

Hillsong – Here I Am To Worship Lyrics | MetroLyrics

6 thoughts on “Here I Am To Worship”

I was just reflecting this past Christmas how few of our regular hymns actually praise God. Too many of them are about us! I am not a liturgical expert (my areas are moral and spiritual theology), so I don’t know if this kind of praise & worship music is appropriate for Mass. But it can certainly find a happy place in prayer and devotion. I love this one by Michael W. Smith. I find myself singing it a lot and it never fails to call me to prayer, even if just for a few seconds.

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melanie jean juneau says:

June 3, 2014 at 1:13 am

actually we sang it before the actual mass started, while we waited, so it was really part of prayer and devotion

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Reply

What a perfect “earworm” to have. By the way, a holy monsignor once informed me that what St. Augustine really said was, “Singing well is praying twice.”

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