Photo by Etienne Girardet
American songwriter and artist Matthew West began his career in 1997. He released thirteen albums and one EP, including:
- September Sun (1997)
- Every Step of the Way (1998)
- Happy (2003)
- History (2005)
- Sellout (2006)
- Something to Say (2008)
- The Story of Your Life (2010)
- The Heart of Christmas (2011)
- Into the Light (2012)
- Live Forever (2015)
- All In (2017)
- Brand New (2020)
- Walking Miracles (EP, 2020)
- My Story Your Glory (2023)
West won three GMA Dove awards, including Recorded Music Packaging of the Year (Happy, 2005) Special Event Album of the Year (Music Inspired by The Story, 2012 [as a contributor]), and Songwriter of the Year (2018).
Also, check out my reviews of The God Who Stays, Truth Be Told, Hello, My Name Is, and Day One.
Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Matthew-west-my-story-your-glory-lyrics.
Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site! Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.
1. What message does the song communicate?
“You” is someone who helped West out of their shame. Whatever “You” did (this isn’t described), West has gone head over heels for “You”, yielding their life to serve “You”.
Who is “You”? Verse 2 identifies this person as the Lord, who bestows grace upon others and takes West home, presumedly, after he dies. This offers just enough of a hint to make it less probable that Christians will interpret this as a human lover. It would be nice if West spoke about Christ crucified or something specific that shows what “You” did for him. However, Christians will likely fill in the gaps as I’ve done in section 2.
Score: 9/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
The entire song aligns with Scripture.
[Verse 1]
Lines 1-8: Describes in detail West’s transformation from deadness in his sin to alive in the Lord (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).
[Chorus]
Lines 1-3: Summarized in 1 Corinthians 10:31.
Line 4: Probably a reference to Romans 8:28.
Lines 5-7: West surrenders to God (Psalm 43:5, Isaiah 64:8, Matthew 10:38, Matthew 11:28-30, Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34-38, Mark 10:28, Luke 9:23, Luke 14:27, John 15:1-11, Romans 6:13, Romans 12:1-2, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 2:5-8, Hebrews 11:6, James 4:7-10, and 1 Peter 5:6).
Line 8: Repeats line 1.
[Verse 2]
Lines 1-6: Aside from offering the words “Lord” and “grace”, West hasn’t made any new points here that weren’t covered in Verse 1 and Chorus.
Line 7: That is, New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2).
Line 8: West desires a personal relationship with Him (John 15:1-11, Acts 17:27, Romans 8:15, Romans 11:16-24, and Philippians 3:8-10) and to tell others about Him (Matthew 28:18-20).
[Bridge]
Lines 1-4: Once again, no new points here.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
Much like in section 1, unbelievers will see the words “Lord” and “grace” to conclude Christianity. West’s rationale could use some work, but they will likely think West praises the Lord because He is good to him.
Score: 9/10
4. What does this song glorify?
It glorifies the Lord as the One who rescued West from his eternal fate of destruction, alongside West’s surrender to His ways.
Score: 10/10
Closing Comments
Matthew West’s My Story Your Glory is passable. While its positive message of God transforming West is admirable, it would be beneficial if West could tell us why God is great, even if Christians already know what it is. This is especially true of unbelievers who know little about our faith. Still, it gets high marks for its positive message and accuracy to Scripture, which serves to glorify Him.
Despite this song’s high rating, it is difficult to recommend this for corporate worship given its dullness. It could technically work, but why settle for this one when you can look elsewhere?
Final Score: 9.5/10
Artist Info
Track: My Story Your Glory (listen to the song)
Artist: Matthew West
Album: My Story Your Glory
Genre: Pop
Release Year: 2023
Duration: 3:09
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
Comments
Jolee
I mean, this song talks about Matthew West’s own testimony. some people might have somewhat a different kind of testimony, I guess? I dont think this song would be appropriate for your own worship set.