But why does the songwriter say this in the first place? I believe it is so because human beings see the heights they want to attain as what they are and associate their low moments with how they feel about them. The opposite of highlands is not ‘heartache’, it is valleys. The first of this is seen in the following lines, “In the highlands and the heartache”. However, the songwriter refers to valleys differently on some occasions. Which is expected because I am almost sure you cannot talk about highlands or mountains and not make a single reference to the valleys. The word ‘valley’ is used a couple of times in the song. The next thing I would like to address is the euphemistic language the writer employs while talking about valleys. In the following paragraphs, I will be dealing with specific themes and imageries that stand out for me in the song. It is only in Christianity that we can see the theme of a ‘reverse pilgrim’ where instead of God setting himself on high and asking us to work our way there, he rather condescends to our level and comes to find us. We all know a pilgrimage is a journey embarked on by a religious person to experience a holy place central to their faith. When it got to this theme, Benjamin said that it was like a ‘reverse pilgrim’ or I would call it a reverse pilgrimage. I watched this video in which Benjamin Hasting and Joel Houston explained the writing process and shed more light on the lyrics of the song. (Please, bear this in mind as you read because I will make several references to it later). Then in the second, and throughout the entire song, we see God rather descending to find us or extending his grace to us from the mountain. In the first stanza, we see man’s effort to find God. Now, this is a major theme throughout the song and it is the opposite of what we see in the first stanza. Such a beautiful sight it is to see Grace literally descending from the mountain. Only to discover that the source of the river, which in this case is Grace, is at the summit of a mountain. I can almost see a person running along the river banks, searching for its source. The songwriter mentions how long he has chased rivers, “from lowly seas to where they rise / against the rush of Grace descending / from the source of its supply”. The second stanza depicts the scenario of a person looking for God from a distance. If we were told God had graced the other side of the mountain with his presence, we would scale the valley to find him. If we were told God had tabernacled on mountain Afadjato, all our Christian life would be characterized by mountain climbing, – of course, to find God. Promises about how we would pursue him and run after him. These lines are filled with promises man makes to God. So my aim for writing this piece is to justify why Hillsong’s Highlands is my song of ascents. These are the 3 possible scenarios in which songs of ascents were sung by ancient Jews. The songs were sung possibly by Hebrew pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem or while ascending mount Zion or by the Levite singers while ascending the 15 steps of the temple in Jerusalem to minister. I checked what songs of ascents were on Wikipedia and learnt that they are 15 chapters in the book of Psalms, from Psalms 120 – 134. I read Psalms 127 a few weeks ago and the sub-heading of the chapter in the ESV Bible was ‘a song of ascents of Solomon’. I wondered what it meant but I never bothered to research to find out until I chanced on it recently. I have always wondered what the second part of the title of the song meant, ‘song of ascent’. Benjamin Hasting who co-wrote the song is known to always put words together to communicate sound theology in worship songs in the most beautiful way. Because what the song says is comfortingly true and painfully true at the same time. No song has made me shed tears in worship than this one. It is my song because I have needed the ‘encouragement’ in the lyrics, especially this year. From the very first time I heard it, I knew it was going to be stuck on replay for a very long time. Highlands is a deeply personal song to me.
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