If you like gospel music, I believe you’ll love these top 8 gospel songs about heaven.
His Eye is on the Sparrow by Whitney Houston
The song, His Eye is on the Sparrow, by Whitney Houston, has been sung by several gospel music singers over the years, but none perhaps sung finer than the late Whitney Houston. This song almost sounds biographical for her as she sings about discouragement, and the “shadows” that come, and the heart that is lonely, so what keeps her moving on? It’s her longing “for heaven, heaven and home…when Jesus is my portion.” The point about God’s eye being on the sparrow clearly comes from Scripture where God even cares for the smallest of creatures. The psalmist wrote, “Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God” (Psalm 84:3), and so we know for sure that He watches “over me” and you!
Goin’ Up Yonder by Walter Hawkins
This uplifting song, Goin’ Up Yonder, makes you think about your eternal home in heaven as Walter Hawkins and the choir sings, “If anybody ask you. Where I'm going. Where I'm going soon,” he answers them, “I’m goin' up yonder. To be with my Lord.” With this eternal perspective, Hawkins can “take the pain” and “The heartaches they bring,” but the very best thing about this song is that’s he’s “goin’ up yonder,” and so he’ll “run this race” until he sees the “Savior. Face to face.” That is just what Gospel music should do…give us hope, fill us with joy, look toward eternity, and help us look past the pain of today. That’s just exactly what Goin’ up Yonder does.
Take My Hand Precious Lord by Elvis Presley
The late Elvis Presley is among the top gospel singers of all time, and even though he was known more for his hit singles, Elvis Presley left a huge imprint on the gospel music industry, particularly with this colossal hit, Take My Hand Precious Lord. Look at some of the lyrics and see if you can put yourself in his place, as Presley sings, “I’m tired, I’m weak, I’m lone[ly]…so help me…Through the storm” and “through the night,” and “Lead me on to the light.” Elvis Presley sang with confidence that after his days on earth were done, he knew, “At the river I stand. Guide my feet, hold my hand,” as he enters the Promised Land. Many believe he is already there.
Oh Happy Day by Edwin Hawkins
The gospel song, Oh Happy Day, by Edwin Hawkins, has been around since the early 1960s, and was in fact a hit single in 1967. I can remember hearing it in an African-American church and wishing it would go on forever. What a fantastic worship song, and even though it’s not exactly a song about how to get to heaven, or about the place of heaven, it’s about the Man from Heaven, Jesus Christ. This joyous song is so infectious that you can’t help but join in and praise the Man from Heaven. This song is all about the day “when Jesus Christ” and “Jesus washed,” and what a “happy day” that must have been for the people, and later, for us! By the way, Edwin Hawkins is the brother of Walter Hawkins who sang Goin’ Up Yonder, as well as dozens of other gospel classics.
Soon and Very Soon by Andraé Crouch
The focus of this gospel song, Soon and Very Soon, by Andraé Crouch, is all about heaven. The title emphasizes that the King could come, “soon and very soon,” as he is certain that “We are going to see the King,” and that’s worth a “Hallelujah,” or two, isn’t it? Some of the lyrics are based almost directly taken from Revelation 21:4 where the Apostle John wrote, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” This is the very reason Crouch sings, when we “see the King,” there’ll be “No more cryin’ there.” The lyrics also refer to a time where the Bible says all nations will come to worship God, as Crouch sings, “We have come from every nation, God has already signed our name. Jesus took his blood and he washed my sins. He washed them all away.” One of the reasons why this song is one of the top 8 gospel songs about heaven is that it sounds like it came straight out of the Bible.
Peace in the Valley by Elvis Presley
I hope you’re not surprised by seeing another Elvis Presley song on the list of the tope 8 gospel songs about heaven, because as I wrote earlier, this legend made a great impact in gospel music, and this song, Peace in the Valley, is very clearly one about the peace that is to be brought by the King of Peace, Jesus Christ, as Presley sings, “There will be peace in the valley for me, some day.” I believe we can all sing with them, that “There’ll be no sadness, no sorrow, no trouble I see.” This song clearly refers to Isaiah 11:6 where the prophet wrote about a time when, “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6). Isaiah 11:6 and part of the lyrics are very similar to one another, where Presley sings about a time when, “the lion shall lay down by the lamb, oh yes. And the beasts from the wild,” and “Shall be lit by a child.”
A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke’s, A Change is Gonna Come, seems to clearly refer to Christ’s appearance where the Apostle Paul wrote that it would be “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor 15:52). Sam Cooke sings, “It’s been too hard living but I’m afraid to die ‘Cause I don’t know what’s up there beyond the sky,” but he does seem to know that “A change gon’ come, oh yes, it will,” and Cooke’s confidant about that coming change. That’s the only reason he can sing, “I’m able to carry on.”
When the Role is Called up Yonder by James M. Black
James Black’s song, When the Role is Called up Yonder, is a direct reference to the day of Jesus Christ’s second coming. A time “When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more, And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair; When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore, And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.” This reference to the trumpet of the Lord appears to come from the Apostle Paul who wrote about a time when, “the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor 15:52). For believer’s, we know for a fact that “when the dead in Christ shall rise,” will be a time “When His chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies,” but only after “the roll is called up yonder.”
Conclusion
Gospel music has been technically defined as a form of impassioned and spiritually rhythmic songs with its origins in the American South. It was developed out of a combination of rhythm, blues, and soul, but today gospel music is widely varied, and it depends on where you live because gospel music is unique to the local area’s culture and musical styles. The gospel music you listen to and what may be popular in your area, may be different than in the area that I live in, but these songs all have one thing in common; we’re all heaven bound, and we all await that sound, when “the trumpet of the Lord shall sound” and “time shall be no more.” That’s because in eternity, time is irrelevant.
Article by Jack Wellman
