“Good Grace” is the first single out from Hillsong UNITED’s new record. The song, written by Joel Houston, has a beautiful, folk-like sound. The melody and lyrics come together and sound like a true celebration of God’s grace.
And when you hear that bridge, you will get goosebumps! The full, powerful sound of those voices singing out and praising His name is just beautiful.
“Swing wide all You heavens
Let the praise go up
As the walls come down
All creation
Everything with breath
Repeat the sound
All His children
Clean hands, pure hearts
Good grace, good God
His name is Jesus”
Joel explains that the bridge came as a melody first and was hard for him to put lyrics to it. He spent 2-3 years trying to find a place in different songs for the bridge, but it never felt right. It wasn’t until he started writing “Good Grace” that it all came together.
“This is not really a personal song for me,” explains Joel. “It feels more like a song that’s meant to be a gift.”
He talks about how, when writing “Good Grace”, he imagined a song that could be like a hug for people. The band affectionally calls it “The Hug Song”. Joel says “it helps when you’re writing a song to picture what you want it to be.”
“That’s the picture of Jesus for me,” says Joel. “The cross is this horrific hug, that is just full of beauty, grace, and everything good. I love that the image of God that we have is this sacrificial embrace. I feel like that’s what church should feel like. We should be a church that just wants to embrace people.”
These beautiful songs that Hillsong UNITED creates are such a wonderful tool that help people everywhere connect with God. And after three years away, the group will be returning this year to the Unites States for their highly anticipated tour.