It was months before the 2006 Hillsong Conference in Sydney, Australia (see a picture of the Hillsong church’s convention center here), and Reuben Morgan and Darlene Zschech were deeply engaged in music-making for the upcoming live album that would commemorate that time. It’s not hard to guess what they were thinking, as the various titles of some of the songs and especially the title song of the album provide a window into that time. “At the Cross” was their joint idea, part of the album’s “Mighty to Save” message that Reuben and Darlene wanted to convey to Christian celebrants that year. His saving act is an historically pivotal moment for all of earth’s inhabitants – in the past, the present, and the future – so it’s impossible to exaggerate its significance, as well as God’s authority as Creator and Savior. He’s the holy and sovereign ruler of all, and yet Reuben and Darlene were also acknowledging Him in a very personal way, too. He died His death for me. That’s what these two songwriters wanted to say.
Perhaps it was the idea of Easter that first captured the imaginations of Reuben and Darlene, and how meaningful that was to each of them. In fact, the two have not shared what precisely motivated their lyrics and notes, but perhaps they’ve already said enough through the song. They wanted what He has done for the believer to be very personal, as one can see in their abundant use of the pronouns ‘I’, ‘me’, and ‘my’ – some 38 times throughout the verses and chorus. I can know Him, and He certainly knows all about me – He's ‘searched me’ (v.1), is ‘surrounding me’ (v.2), and as Darlene and Reuben say repeatedly, He ‘love(s) me’. He ‘go(es) before me’, ‘shield(s) me, and ‘uphold(s) me’ (v.3), and this songwriting duo makes it clear how He accomplishes this. ‘At the cross’, ‘blood…shed’, and ‘overcom(ing) the grave’ in the song’s chorus make the Easter connection unmistakable, but to underscore their message even further, they capture the image of Christ’s sacrificial act initiating the ‘tor(n) veil’ that opened ‘the way’ for us who are not Jewish priests to enter the Most Holy Place. It was His day when He died, but He didn’t forget us when He ripped apart that temple curtain separating us from our heavenly father. To say that event was radical is a theological mouthful, for this idea that man could not approach or even look upon God had been His regulation since at least the days of Jacob, when he spent the night wrestling with Him (see Genesis 32:30) and yet ‘was spared’ at Peniel – almost 2,000 years before Jesus’ crucifixion. He still has a ‘holy presence’ (v.2) that should awe me, but He will also ‘stand before me’ (v.4) in eternity, as Reuben and Darlene remind me. I can regard Him with astonishment and love, all at the same time.
It's also clear that Reuben and Darlene expected the picture of the sacrificing God at the cross would be transformative. How could anyone look upon someone dying in such a way and not be affected? Some of us may still feel that God is distant and far-removed from what goes on in daily life here on planet Earth, but these songwriters ask you and me to not forget the bit of history that Jesus was remaking on that day. He ‘tore the veil’, and ‘made a way’ that wasn’t there before. The veil and the separation it created had been the norm for thousands of years. Imagine something so true, seemingly forever, and then it is eliminated. It’s a comparatively weak analogy, but remember when the Berlin Wall was breached (1989), and the utter jubilation that residents there felt that day? Remember the goosebumps, as you saw it on the TV screens? (Check out the video link below.) Watch, and multiply that – how many X times? – to get what Jesus did.
Information about one of the composer-authors: Darlene Zschech - Wikipedia
Information about one of the composer-authors: Reuben Morgan - Wikipedia
A link to the information about the album on which the song first appeared: Mighty to Save (Hillsong album) - Wikipedia
See a stirring video of the day the Berlin Wall fell here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmRPP2WXX0U
See Hillsong Convention Centre image information here: File:Hillsong Convention Centre.jpg - Wikimedia Commons. This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Tatie2189. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: Tatie2189 grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.
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