What "Think About These Things" means
Paul's letter to the Philippians is written from prison, and that location matters for understanding what this song is doing. When Paul tells the Philippians to think about whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, he is not offering a productivity tip to people whose biggest problem is distraction. He is offering a survival strategy to people whose biggest problem is despair. The command to redirect thought toward beauty and virtue is not a denial of what is difficult. It is a refusal to let what is difficult become the entire landscape of the mind. "Think About These Things" as a worship song takes Paul's list of objects for meditation and turns them into a corporate liturgy of reorientation. Every time the congregation sings the list, they are not reciting values. They are practicing the habit of mind that Paul learned in prison and found capable of producing peace that passes understanding. The word think in the original Greek is logizomai, an accounting term meaning to reckon something, to hold it firmly in the account as real and true.
What this song does in a room
At 80 BPM in 4/4, "Think About These Things" carries a gentle but deliberate momentum, appropriate for a congregation that is not performing certainty but learning to return to it. What the song does in a room depends significantly on what the room is carrying. In a congregation where anxiety and mental health struggles are present, this song functions as a corporate practice of the very discipline Paul describes. The singing of it is the doing of it. By the time the congregation has sung through the list, they have physically rehearsed the act of turning their attention toward what is true, honorable, pure, lovely, and commendable. That rehearsal is not trivial. The brain forms patterns through repetition, and worship music is one of the oldest technologies for patterning the mind toward truth. In rooms where people feel the weight of cultural noise or the relentless scroll of bad news, this song offers a named alternative. Not an escape, but a redirect. It says: this is where your attention can go. These are the things worth holding. The corporate nature of singing this together is part of the point. Anxiety is often a private, isolating experience. Singing the antidote together dissolves some of that isolation in a way that purely private practice rarely can.
What this song is saying about God
"Think About These Things" says something subtle but important about God: the world he made and redeemed is full of things that are worth attending to. The things Paul lists are not substitutes for God. They are traces of his character in the created and redeemed order. To think about them is to think about him, refracted through the particulars of a world that still carries his image despite everything that has broken. The song also says that God takes the quality of human thought seriously. He does not regard the mind as a neutral container that will sort itself out eventually. He addresses it directly, gives it instructions, and promises that attending to those instructions produces a specific result: the peace of God. The God this song describes is not distant from the anxiety and mental turbulence of his people. He addresses it with practical pastoral care, offering a path through rather than a promise that it will simply disappear. There is dignity in that. God treats the human mind as something worth careful instruction, and this song is the singing of that instruction back to him as an act of faith. The congregation is not merely listening to wisdom. They are practicing it in real time together.
Scriptural backbone
The entire song draws from Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." But the surrounding context sharpens the song's purpose. Philippians 4:6-7 immediately precedes it: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." The song is the practice Paul describes in verses 6-7 made musical. Verse 9 closes the passage: "What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." The word practice is the key. This is not a one-time cognitive event. It is a discipline, and the repetition built into singing the song is itself a form of practice. Romans 12:2 also resonates: "Be transformed by the renewal of your mind." The mind is renewable. It can be redirected. This song is one mechanism for that renewal, repeated until the habit holds.
How to use it in a service
"Think About These Things" belongs in services explicitly engaging mental health, anxiety, or the discipline of the renewed mind. It also works powerfully in services on prayer or the practices of the Christian life. Place it after Scripture has been read, particularly Philippians 4:4-9, so the congregation has the full context before they sing the words back. If your pastor is preaching on Philippians 4 or on anxiety, this song in the response position, after the sermon, gives the congregation an immediate physical practice of what they just heard taught. For a prayer service or midweek gathering, the song can anchor a longer time of reflection where the congregation is invited to sit with each item on Paul's list personally. Give them that prompt before the song begins and then let the singing be the answer. What is true in your life right now? What is lovely? What is worthy of praise? The singing becomes the frame for that inventory, not a substitute for it. Avoid placing this song at the opening of a service before the congregation has had time to settle. Its power is in the depths of a service, not the surface, where it functions as practice rather than introduction.
Things to watch for as the worship leader
The risk on a song this close to Scripture is that it becomes recitation without engagement. Watch the congregation for signs that they are singing words rather than meaning them. If that is happening, a brief pause mid-song to invite genuine reflection on one or two of Paul's categories can reset the engagement. Or model the sincerity yourself: slow down slightly, make eye contact, let your face communicate that you are doing the thinking the song describes, not just performing the singing of it. The other risk is treating this as a simple or light song because of its lyrical accessibility. The lyrical simplicity is a feature, not a sign of superficiality. Scripture songs are often deceptively simple because the weight is in the words themselves, not in surrounding poetry. Lead this song with the same gravity you would bring to a doctrinally complex anthem, because the doctrine embedded here, the direct address of God to the anxious human mind, is as serious as anything in your repertoire. Do not let the congregational familiarity of Philippians 4:8 cause you to underestimate how much power is available in this song when it is led with care and conviction.
A note for the team behind you (techs, vocalists, band)
Every instrument behind this song is in service of the clarity of the text. Anything that muddies the lyric reduces the effectiveness of the song. Band: resist the urge to build to a dramatic musical climax on a song whose emotional arc is meditative rather than celebratory. A consistent, gentle dynamic throughout is more appropriate than a loud final chorus. The feeling should be steady and grounded, not escalating toward a moment. If you do build dynamically, build slowly and let the energy express confidence rather than excitement. Vocalists: the lyric must be perfectly intelligible at every moment. If a harmony line competes with the lead vocal's diction, it needs to come down or come out. Background vocals should support the melody without interpreting it. Techs: the vocal balance in the house mix is more important than any other mixing decision on this song. Run a sound check that specifically verifies the intelligibility of Paul's list at the volume levels you plan to use. Screens: make sure the text is large, clean, and easy to read. A Scripture song depends on the congregation's ability to sing the words, and if font size or contrast is working against them, congregational participation suffers across the entire service.