Posted by Use This Gospel is a song originally released by Kanye West (Ye) in 2019, as part of his album Jesus is King, of Christian inspiration. In 2022, the song came out again in a new version, produced by Dr. Dre, with the collaboration of DJ Khaled and Eminem, and it now looks like a completely new track. The lyrics are partly inherited from the original song, but Eminem’s rap introduces a new perspective. This article will explore the song’s meaning and will provide the complete lyrics at the end.
You can find the official streaming of the song below.
Use This Gospel: inside the lyrics and their meaning
DJ Khaled’s version of Use This Gospel keeps the original chorus written by Kanye West. In those lines, the rapper praises God and asks Him to provide strength to fight our demons. Kanye mentions the “road to Heaven,” hinting that life is a difficult path that requires our best efforts. We can use our faith, we can use this gospel as protection against evil and a source of power while we keep living as good Christians.
Use this gospel for protection
It’s a hard road to Heaven
We call on Your blessings
In the Father, we put our faith
King of the Kingdom
Our demons are tremblin’
Holy angels defendin’
In the Father, we put our faith
That’s the song’s core meaning, and DJ Khaled wanted it to stay this way. At the same time, he asked Eminem to rap in the main verse, aiming to create a contrast. Eminem itself says it in one of his lines:
Trading any bars with Shady and probably is painfully obvious
To compare Godliness to an atheist
Slim Shady is Eminem’s famous alter ego. In the past, Eminem said that he doesn’t believe in God, even though he considers himself spiritual. However, in this verse, Eminem sings as an honest believer. The contrast with Slim Shady, as a comparison between Godliness and an atheist, could just refer to his alter ego.
Indeed, Eminem has his dose of demons to fight too. Two lines are particularly significant:
When temptation is almost like Satan is making you tryna
Take you away from your daughters
Eminem had a turbulent relationship with his daughter Hallie, which is now resolved. With these lines, Eminem admits that his demons represented a constant obstacle that prevented him from behaving right. That’s directly connected to the addictions he fought in the past:
Danglin’ a bunch of painkillers on ya
Wavin’ ’em in your face and then watch ’em comin’ extra strength
And that’s why they make ’em in rectangular objects
‘Cause that’s the shape of a coffin
Though, it ain’t medication this time
But the devil’s egging me on
That’s the real battle Eminem has been fighting for years: the pills addiction pulled him towards death (the coffin), and he’s now aware that it was the devil trying to win against him. But he wants to resist. And that becomes clear from his first lines:
I’m holding on (Yeah) but I don’t know if I can take it much longer
Today’s the day that I put all of my trust and faith in You, Father
Please let this hate make me stronger
‘Fore they turn on me like a zombie
“This hate” could refer to his own anger against what threatened his well-being over all these years. Now Eminem asks God to convert this anger into the strength he can use against the Devil and his demons. “Before they turn on me like a zombie,” probably referring to the effect addictions have on humans.
Eminem seems a person who sincerely wants to be a true believer, although he’s fully aware of his weaknesses. It’s actually a very Christian concept: as humans, we are weak, yet God loves us as His children, and through His love, we are blessed and motivated to behave according to His word.
I’m armed with Jesus, my weapon is prayer
Soon as I squeeze it, I’m blessed like sneezes
Call me Yeezus, I’m F’d in the head, maybe I’m bonkers
Regardless, never claimed to be flawless
Long as the mistakes I’ve acknowledged
The last part of Eminem’s verse is his attempt to say something positive. Here he asserts that living under the word of God makes his life better. He describes the vision of a stage where he plays and the crowd raving, which represents his primary role in life, and next to this vision, he mentions the Bible at his side and his faith in God.
But I got them audiences raving (Woo) in amidst my squabbles
I got some awesome inspiration to drop ’em, off ’em
Pen and paper, I’m knockin’ ’em off
Woke up on stage at a concert
Whole place looking like a mosh pit
Bible at my side like a rifle with a God-given gift
Every single day I thank God for
That’s why I pay so much homage
Praises to Jesus, I’ll always
Coming to the general meaning behind the lyrics, Use This Gospel is a song about faith, where the rappers use the word of God as a weapon against their demons. Living life the right way is not always easy, and humans need all the strength of God’s love. Praising God helps us to collect the energies to fight temptations and make our life worth living.
Read other popular song lyrics and their meaning on Auralcrave
The complete lyrics
(Kanye West – Ye)
Use this gospel for protection
It’s a hard road to Heaven
We call on Your blessings
In the Father, we put our faith
King of the Kingdom
Our demons are tremblin’
Holy angels defendin’
In the Father, we put our faith
(Eminem)
I’m holding on (Yeah) but I don’t know if I can take it much longer
Today’s the day that I put all of my trust and faith in You, Father
Please let this hate make me stronger
‘Fore they turn on me like a zombie
It’s like I’m being strangled unconscious (Yeah)
When temptation is almost like Satan is making you tryna
Take you away from your daughters
Danglin’ a bunch of painkillers on ya
Wavin’ ’em in your face and then watch ’em comin’ extra strength
And that’s why they make ’em in rectangular objects
‘Cause that’s the shape of a coffin
Though, it ain’t medication this time
But the devil’s egging me on
And I ain’t gonna let ’em break me ’cause I’m a soldier
You can bank on that promise like the Chamber of Commerce
So my savior, I call on
To rescue me from these depths of despair
So these demons better step like a stair
Because He is my shepherd
I’m armed with Jesus, my weapon is prayer
Soon as I squeeze it, I’m blessed like sneezes
Call me Yeezus, I’m F’d in the head, maybe I’m bonkers
Regardless, never claimed to be flawless
Long as the mistakes I’ve acknowledged
Y’all wish I would say something positive
Well, okay, then I’m positive
They’d rather trade weather with Mayweather
‘Cause they would fare way better with them odds
Than they would exchanging some bars
Or trading any bars with Shady and probably is painfully obvious
To compare Godliness to an atheist
But I got them audiences raving (Woo) in amidst my squabbles
I got some awesome inspiration to drop ’em, off ’em
Pen and paper, I’m knockin’ ’em off
Woke up on stage at a concert
Whole place looking like a mosh pit
Bible at my side like a rifle with a God-given gift
Every single day I thank God for
That’s why I pay so much homage
Praises to Jesus, I’ll always
(Kanye West – Ye)
Use this gospel for protection
It’s a hard road to Heaven
We call on Your blessings
In the Father, we put our faith
King of the Kingdom
Our demons are tremblin’
Holy angels defendin’
In the Father, we put our faith
Blessings from the altar got me feeling like I’m walking on water
