God, wake the longing of my heart with Your touch
Steal my affection from these fleeting joys i crave too much
Stir these passions to life in me with Your hand
And lift my attention from this flesh, a filth I cannot stand
There's no greater treasure
Or more profitable gain
There's no greater treasure
There's no better name
God break the grip of this world, it's hold is fast
But it's cold, gross, its garlands fade and nothing lasts
O be to me the all consuming flame, the burning fire
Be all that satisfies my soul, be all that I desire
There's no greater treasure
Or more profitable gain
There's no greater treasure
There's no better name
There's no greater treasure
Or more profitable gain
There's no greater treasure
There's no better name
Jesus
There's no better name
You're my delight, You're my desire
You're my delight, You're my desire
You're my delight, You're my desire
You're my delight, You're my desire
There's No Greater Treasure
There's No Greater Treasure Song Meaning, Biblical Reference and Inspiration
"There's No Greater Treasure" by Ascend The Hill is a powerful declaration of faith and a heartfelt prayer for spiritual redirection. Released on March 13, 2020, the song centers on the theme of finding ultimate value and satisfaction not in worldly pursuits but in God alone. The lyrics express a deep longing for a heart fully devoted to the divine, acknowledging the constant pull of temporary pleasures and the inherent emptiness of anything apart from God. It opens with a plea for divine intervention to reawaken spiritual passion and detach affections from fleeting worldly joys.
The first verse sets the stage for this spiritual reorientation, asking God to intervene and stir the heart's desires towards Him. The reference to "fleeting joys I crave too much" highlights the human struggle with coveting transient things, while the line "lift my attention from this flesh, a filth I cannot stand" speaks to a profound desire for purification and freedom from base desires or worldly entanglement. This sets up the core message of the recurring chorus: "There's no greater treasure / Or more profitable gain / There's no greater treasure / There's no better name." This central refrain establishes God's supreme worth, presenting Him as the ultimate reward and the most valuable pursuit imaginable, surpassing all earthly riches and accomplishments.
The second verse reinforces this contrast between the temporal and the eternal. It describes the world's grip as "fast" but ultimately "cold, gross," noting that "its garlands fade and nothing lasts." This stark imagery paints a picture of the world's deceptive allure and inevitable decay. In juxtaposition, the prayer shifts to asking God to be the "all consuming flame, the burning fire," and the sole source of soul satisfaction. This passionate language conveys a desire for an overwhelming, transformative presence of God that extinguishes the appeal of worldly things and fulfills every spiritual need.
The repetition of the chorus solidifies the song's central affirmation, driving home the truth that there is nothing in creation or human experience that can compare to the treasure of knowing God. The subsequent addition of "Jesus / There's no better name" explicitly identifies Jesus as the embodiment of this divine treasure and the focal point of worship. The concluding lines, "You're my delight, You're my desire," repeated multiple times, serve as a deep, personal declaration of affection and longing, confirming that the heart's ultimate satisfaction and greatest pleasure are found in Him.
The themes explored in the song resonate deeply with various biblical passages. The idea of God as the ultimate treasure echoes Jesus' teaching in Matthew 6:19-21, which encourages storing up treasures in heaven rather than on earth, because "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." The recognition of worldly pursuits as fleeting and unsatisfactory aligns with the wisdom found in Ecclesiastes, which describes earthly endeavors as "vanity of vanities." Furthermore, the declaration that there is "no better name" than Jesus directly reflects scripture like Acts 4:12, which states, "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Philippians 3:7-8 also captures the sentiment of counting all things loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, aligning with the concept of profitable gain found in the lyrics. The prayer for God to be the soul's desire is reminiscent of Psalm 73:25, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you." The song, therefore, functions as both a confession of the heart's struggle and a declaration of allegiance to the truth that God's presence and relationship are the only true and lasting treasure.