Sovereign Grace Music – He Is Worthy

Sovereign Grace Music is a church-based music group, functioning the same way as Hillsong, Bethel, and Elevation Worship. Beginning in 1984, They released more than 50 albums!

Also, check out my reviews of Lord, Have Mercy, Let Your Kingdom Come, and Turn Your Eyes.

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?

It lists several attributes of Jesus, including:

• Holy
• Glory so great that man cannot survive it
• Gorgeous
• Worthy of praise
• The Word who became mortal
• King
• Savior who liberates sinners
• Contains no rivals
• Lamb of God
• Rose again
• Unique

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

This song aligns with Scripture.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Verse 1]

Holy, holy is the Son of God

Jesus is holy (Mark 1:24, Luke 4:34, Acts 3:14, Acts 4:27-30, 1 John 2:20, Hebrews 7:26, and Revelation 4:8).

None can stand before His majesty

This borrowed from Exodus 33:20, that mortal man cannot experience the full brunt of God’s glory and survive it.  It would overwhelm and destroy us.

Beautiful beyond our highest thought

God is more beautiful than words can describe (1 Chronicles 16:29, Psalm 27:4, Psalm 29:2, and Isaiah 28:5-6).

Worthy! He is worthy!

That is, He is worthy of praise (1 Chronicles 16:25, 2 Samuel 22:4, Psalm 96:4-5, Psalm 145:3, and Revelation 4:11).

[Verse 2]

Holy, holy is the Word made flesh

Jesus is also known as the Word, who became a man (John 1:1 and John 1:14).  See commentary on Verse 1, line 1, which contains Scripture that shows He is holy.

King who bore our pain and poverty
Come to claim the rebel and the wretch

Christ is a ruler (Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah 11:10, Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1-6, John 12:15, John 18:37, 1 Timothy 6:13-16, Revelation 17:14, and Revelation 19:11-16) who bore the lawbreaking of unworthy sinners (Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, John 19:30, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:6-10, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 1:3-4, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:15, Hebrews 9:22, Hebrews 9:26, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:1-2, and Revelation 5:9).

Worthy! He is worthy!

Repeats Verse 1, line 4.

[Chorus]

All glory and honor, all power and praise
Be to Your Name, be to Your Name

A rewording of Revelation 7:12, contextualized in Revelation 7:10 as Jesus.

For no one could rival Your glory and fame

There is none greater than God (Deuteronomy 10:17, Psalm 8:3-4, Psalm 147:5, Job 26:14, Isaiah 40:28, and Isaiah 55:8-9).

We lift high the Name of Jesus

In response, we praise and worship Christ (Matthew 2:11, Matthew 14:33, Matthew 21:9, Matthew 28:8-9, Matthew 28:16-17, and Luke 24:50-53, John 12:13, and John 20:28).

[Verse 3]

Holy, holy is the Lamb who died

This is another reference to Jesus! He is the Lamb of God who would take away our sins (Isaiah 53:7, John 1:29, John 1:36, 1 Peter 1:19, Revelation 5:12, and Revelation 13:8).  See commentary on Verse 1, line 1, which contains Scripture that shows He is holy.

Canceling our debt at Calvary

This references Colossians 2:14, which talks about a certificate of debt that contains all the wrongs we committed.  It was nailed to the cross where Jesus died.

Rising from the grave to reign on high

That is, Jesus resurrected (Matthew 28:1-20, Mark 16:1-20, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29, Acts 1:3, Acts 3:15, Acts 4:33, and 1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

Worthy! He is worthy!

Repeats Verse 1, line 4.

[Bridge]

Holy, holy, Lord Almighty

Yet another Christ reference.  He is the Lord God Almighty (Revelation 4:8).

Worthy is Your Name

See Verse 1, line 4.

Holy, holy, none beside You

There is no one like our God (Exodus 8:10, Exodus 9:14, Deuteronomy 3:24, Deuteronomy 33:26, Jeremiah 10:6, 1 Samuel 2:2, 2 Samuel 7:22, 1 Kings 8:23, 1 Chronicles 17:20, Psalm 86:8, Psalm 89:6, Psalm 113:5-6, Jeremiah 10:7, Isaiah 40:18, and Isaiah 46:9).

Greatly to be praised

See Verse 1, line 4.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

This song explicitly references Jesus as the One praised by His followers.  This makes it easy for non-Christians to interpret this song as Christians worshipping Christ as God.  Especially since it’s thick with Christianese language.  Though descriptors such as Word and Lamb may be unfamiliar to unbelievers, the song’s structure and context show that Jesus possesses these titles.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies Jesus as the unique Lamb of God, worthy of praise because He takes away our sins.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Sovereign Grace Music’s He Is Worthy is a worthy song.  It describes that He is the Word, the Lamb of God, and Lord Almighty whose name is holy, has no equal, and pays for our sins, bringing glory to God.  In response, we praise and worship Him.  Unbelievers should not have any problems interpreting this song.

I highly recommend this song for corporate worship.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: He Is Worthy (listen to the song)

Artist: Sovereign Grace Music

Album: The Glorious Christ (Live)

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2019

Duration: 4:52

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*Copyright © 2019 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP) Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.