Exegeting the Hymns #67 - King of My Heart

King of My Heart
w/m - John Mark McMillan, Sarah McMillan

Let the king of my heart
Be the mountain where I run
The fountain I drink from
Oh, He is my song
Let the king of my heart
Be the shadow where I hide
The ransom for my life
Oh, He is my song

You are good, good, oh
You are good, good, oh
You are good, good, oh
You are good, good, oh

Let the king of my heart
Be the wind inside my sails
The anchor in the waves
Oh, He is my song
Let the king of my heart
Be the fire inside my veins
The echo of my days
Oh, He is my song

You're never gonna let
Never gonna let me down
You're never gonna let
Never gonna let me down
You're never gonna let
Never gonna let me down
You're never gonna let
Never gonna let me down

I first heard this song on Kutless’ album. It is slower than we sing it, but was a good, enjoyable worship song the band likes playing and the people like singing. It, like many modern worship songs tends to lean repetitive, but it works if you don’t drag the song on and on with too many bridges and choruses. We sing to the Lord, and I assume He hears us the first time.

Let the king of my heart be the mountain where I run, the fountain I drink from. Oh, He is my song. The basic idea of this song is a simple call to let Jesus, the King of kings, be our everything. Jesus said in John 4:14,”Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Let the king of my heart be the shadow where I hide, the ransom for my life. Oh, He is my song. All through the Psalms, God is described as our Hiding Place. “You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance.” (Psalm 32:7)

You are good. This is basically the chorus. 1 John 5 tells us that “God is good and in Him there is no darkness at all.” The pit that many believers fall into is assuming God is good because of the way He treats us. God is good because He is Holy, Righteous, and without blemish. His ways are right because He is God. God is not just good when things go well for us or when we appreciate His sovereign plan. God is good even when it seems life is unfair. That does not change God’s Holiness.

Let the king of my heart be the wind inside my sails, the anchor in the waves. Oh, He is my song. This line reminds me of the sappy 80’s ballad, “Wind beneath my wings”. But it is true that we can accomplish what God has called us to do by His power. When the storms of life rage around us, we have an anchor that keeps us rooted and safe.

Let the king of my heart be the fire inside my veins, the echo of my days. Oh, He is my song. Our passion must be for God first, above all other things. He should be what people see when they look at us. That is our calling. That is our mission.

You're never gonna let, never gonna let me down. He will never let us down, because He will never let Himself down. We are not the standard that God has to live up to. God is faithful to us, not because of us, but because He is God. And God is good. While this song does not have the deep theology to exegete that many recent ones we’ve looked at, the truths are there, and God is good.

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