Lyric Analysis: So Will I (100 Billion X) by Hillsong United — Part 1

Hillsong Church is one of the most famous churches in the world. It attracts people from all walks of life including celebrities like Justin Bieber, Kylie Jenner, Nick Jonas and Kevin Durant. With over 100,000 people attending weekly services around the world and millions more praising God with Hillsong’s original lyrics, the church is more than a megachurch — it’s a global church.

So, what makes it so popular and attractive? I think most would agree that their fame almost entirely rests on Hillsong music. The church has created three separate musical entities called Hillsong Worship, Hillsong United and Hillsong Young & Free. Each has a significantly large following, but Hillsong United stands alone at the top. Their unique and beautiful instrumental arrangements paired with profound lyrics tug on the hearts of listeners to sing out their words. As written in the mission statement by the group, Hillsong United strives “to write songs that awaken churches and individuals to the fact that we are redeemed and called into the story of God.”

I want to take a closer look into one of their more recent songs to underscore the truth of scripture that exists in much of their writing.

When Hillsong United released their album Wonder in June 2017, the fourth track on the album soon hit the top charts in Christian music. The song, “So Will I (100 Billion X),” gained an increasing amount of popularity as churches around the world added the song to their worship setlist. Now the song has reached nearly ninety-nine million plays on Spotify alone. I have heard countless times from people that have worshipped with this song at their church that they are brought to tears by it. I can relate. There is something about the song that humbles you and yet, instills in you an overwhelming sense of hope and joy in the Creator we worship. I want to explore what that thing is.

Hillsong United says that this song is about God as an artisan. That through the lyrics of this song we think and sing about the story of creation all the way through salvation. From the beginning of all things created to the final defeat of sin on the cross. It is all an illustration of the Artisan’s unfathomable, unrelenting, unstoppable and overwhelming love.

It seems that almost each line of every verse is worth some analysis. So, let me begin with the first line.

God of creation

This statement prepares us for the rest of the song. Immediately, we acknowledge that where we are, what we see, what we can touch and feel, even the very essence of who we are has been created by God. It is true, from smartphones to 100+ story skyscrapers to nanotechnology to 250-ton aircrafts and other incredible technology, we have the capacity to design and build amazing things. But it is He who created the resources to build what we use and He who created us in His image, designing our creative minds to reflect His. He is the master architect. He rules it all. Without Him, nothing would exist.

“For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things have been created through Him and for Him.” — Colossians 1:16

There at the start
Before the beginning of time

We then recognize that God was there long before any of us or anyone else before us. He, Himself, was the one that thought of the very idea of time. He thought of the idea of a start, a beginning. Without His work there was no beginning. Only Him. This acknowledgement humbles us. It reminds us of our narrow, limited perspective. It gives us a reason to trust His ways and trust Him.

“For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world.” — 1 Peter 1:20
“He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together.” — Colossians 1:17
“Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.” — Psalm 90:2

With no point of reference
You spoke to the dark
And fleshed out the wonder of light

Now we sing of the beginning. Imagine a place (if you can call it a place) before anything existed — before physical matter, before light, before time, before energy, before space. Now, imagine (if you can) that you’ve never seen anything physical, you’ve never seen light, or space, or been confined by the bounds of time. That place is where God was. There was “no point of reference” for Him. Nothing to give Him an idea. The idea of light and everything else came forth from Himself and only Himself.

“…darkness was over the surface of the deep…And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” — Genesis 1:2–3

And as You speak
A hundred billion galaxies are born
In the vapor of Your breath the planets form

The creation account given to us in Genesis describes God simply speaking, and by His word, the universe formed. Almost as if it took no effort on His part. And yet, through much study, we have begun to see just how complex the universe really is. The more we learn about it, the more we realize its intricacy and precision. Were it not for the earth’s exact weight, dimensions, physical makeup and position relative to the sun and moon, among thousands of other factors, life on earth could not exist.

In this verse we sing that God spoke, and a hundred billion galaxies came into existence. The number ‘hundred billion’ is used repeatedly in this song to emphasize the sheer magnitude of God. Though God cannot be measured by any physical means, we know that all He is, is infinitely beyond anything we could ever begin to comprehend. God is described as creating a hundred billion galaxies in this verse, but the hundred billion galaxies number significantly misses the mark. According to recent estimates, there are actually between 2 and 10 trillion galaxies, and quite possibly even more than that. And the Milky Way galaxy, our home galaxy, contains at least 100 billion planets alone.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth.” — Genesis 1:1
“O, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You.” — Jeremiah 32:17
“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all host of them by the breath of His mouth.” — Psalm 33:6

If the stars were made to worship so will I

The stars and everything else that is flying through space, just by their very existence, shout the praises of God. To put in perspective just how many stars there are, researchers estimate there are between 100 million and 100 thousand million stars — per galaxy! Multiply that by the number of galaxies in the universe and we’re left with a lot of stars. More precisely, that number exceeds 200,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, or a “2” with 23 zeros after it (200 sextillion) — and that’s on the low end of estimates. In other words, there is an enormous amount of worship going on above our heads, and it’s all for the great Artisan.

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” — Psalm 19:1

I can see Your heart in everything You’ve made

Have you ever looked out from the top of a mountain, or gazed over the glimmering ocean, or watched the wind rustle through the trees, or even just looked into your dog’s eyes and a sense of wonder runs through you? That’s God. The beauty, the love, the gentleness, the ferocity — all of these attributes of God are seen in what He’s made. How often do we stop to admire? How often do we look upon His creation, examine it, study it and treasure it to know Him better? This statement is one of thanksgiving, but it is also a reminder to us that we can know God simply by admiring His creation — just as you can learn about an artist through his paintings.

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” — Romans 1:20

Every burning star
A signal fire of grace

There are trillions upon trillions of stars and each one declares God’s glory. But each one also burns to bring us hope. This is an allusion to the Light of grace. God’s grace is offered as a free gift to each of us. And though our sins are many, God’s grace covers every last one. Jesus, the one that paid for this gift, said that He is the Light of the world and to follow Him is to have life. The shining glimmers of the distant stars remind us of that Light. Just as the stars far outnumber all those that have lived, the grace of God covers all our sins. And He has displayed the burning stars in the sky to remind us of that gift.

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” — John 8:12
“But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” — Ephesians 4:7
“But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” — Romans 5:20

If creation sings Your praises so will I

The conclusion of verse two is a summation of what we’ve been declaring from the start of the song. Creation proclaims God’s glory, and all of it was made by Him and for Him. So, we too will sing His praises. It’s important to understand, however, why this is our response. The lyrics in this song are meant to provide us with words that can be hard to find when expressing our adoration and awe of the God who made us. It is a declaration that we are just as much a part of God’s creation as the planets, the stars, the mountains, the oceans,…any of it. Not only that, but we are an extremely small portion of it. A glance into the night sky reminds us just how small we truly are. And yet, God created us to rule over and care for His creation. Therefore, our response is intended to glorify God, but also it is meant to remind us how foolish it is to not glorify Him.

“When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers — the moon and the stars you set in place — what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.” — Psalm 8:3–5

An analysis for the rest of the verses will be published in the proceeding weeks.