Hymns: Build My Life

In this series, I take a brief look at some of the very modern worship songs. I regret that the older hymns aren’t sung much anymore in modern evangelical churches. Yet, we do have access to them all on YouTube and Spotify. And maybe they’ll come back again at some stage. But I like to be positive about all Christian music. The point is often made that the old hymns might well have felt “contemporary” when they first appeared.

Today’s hymn is “Build My Life”.

The phrase “Build My Life” isn’t very prominent in the hymn. The hymn is more a hymn of general worship, delighting in God’s holiness. What exactly is holiness? God is utterly unique, perfectly pure, and completely set apart from sin and imperfection. But it’s even more than that. Perhaps it’s indescribable. For example, you could say that Adam and Eve were perfect before they sinned, but I can’t imagine myself wanting to fall down and worship them. Same with the angels. When John fell down before an angel in the book of Revelation, here’s what the angel said:

Revelation 22:8–9
“I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, ‘Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!’”

Perhaps John was so in awe of all the visions that he felt that bowing before the angel was natural. You even get people nowadays who do that sort of thing with saints and statues etc. But God alone is worthy of worship.

The song was originally recorded by the worship collective Housefires on their album Housefires III in 2016. A very puzzling name for a worship group, but I’m sure that it has a good explanation 😀. Pat Barret, a member of Housefires also released a solo version. It’s still very widely sung in 2025. You can read the lyrics on the video or at WorshipTogether.com

The expression “build my life” appears near the end. He’s basically saying that he wants to build his life upon God and his Word. We build on a firm foundation. I think of the parable of the wise and foolish builders, and the statement of at the close of it:

Matthew 7:24-25
²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

And Paul makes the point that Christ himself is the foundation:

1 Corinthians 3:11
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Four older hymns speak of Christ as our foundation: