Unpacking The Hymn “Worthy Of Worship”
Today’s Friday Post is written by elementary music teacher Cassandra Portee, who unpacks the hymn Worthy Of Worship. If you missed it, catch her recent unpacking of the hymn ‘It Is Well With My Soul’.
“Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The hymn “Worthy of Worship” written by Terry W. York, and set to music by Mark Blankenship in 1988 became one of my favorite hymns as an adult while singing in the church choir. The lyrics caught my attention and outlined why God is worthy of all of our praises.
We can say we know God is worthy of our praise, but can we explain why He is worthy of our praise? Knowing why He is worthy of praise takes us into a deeper intimate relationship with God. When we come to understand this, we will have the faith and strength to overcome any darts the devil throws at us. It is not just enough to say He is worthy of our praise, we are to praise Him each and every day no matter what our circumstances may be.
Verse 1 gives us different reasons for praising God in our worship--we give Him glory, honor, and bringing our offerings. God remains faithful to us all the time.
Verse 2 expresses that every knee shall bow at the name of Jesus, and respect who He is, and the devotion He gives us daily.
Verse 3 describes the characteristics of Jesus. He is a Wonderful Counselor, a Comforting Friend, King of all earthly kings, Redeemer, Savior, and Provider.
In the Refrain it is stated three times at the beginning of each line that Jesus is worthy. He is our Creator, Sustainer, Father, Savior. No matter what we are going through He is right by our side. He is with us through the good times, and He is with us through our challenges.
We must always remember, He does not want us to only remember Him during the trials we experience. He wants us to remember Him during the good times as well. As my mother used to say: “do not depend on Him some of the time, depend on Him all of the time.” When we wake up in the morning, He is worthy of praise. When we have food to eat, clothes to wear, a car to drive, pay our bills, dress yourself He is worthy. As a child I remember the older adults saying when you can wake up with the blood still running warm through your veins, and you are clothed in your right mind, HE IS WORTHY OF OUR WORSHIP and PRAISE.
Happy Friday and with love! God bless you and go bless someone else this weekend!
Song Lyrics
Worthy of worship, worthy of praise,
worthy of honour and glory;
worthy of all the glad songs we can sing,
worthy of all the off'rings we bring.
Refrain:
You are worthy, Father, Creator.
You are worthy, Saviour, Sustainer
You are worthy, worthy and wonderful;
worthy of worship and praise.
2
Worthy of rev'rence, worthy of fear,
worthy of love and devotion;
worthy of bowing and bending of knees,
worthy of all this and added to these . . .
Refrain:
3
Almighty Father, Master and Lord,
King of all kings and Redeemer,
Wonderful Counselor, Comforter, Friend,
Saviour and source of our life without end;
Cassandra Portee is an elementary music schoolteacher by day and has been for over 30 years. Her passion is music history and teaching about the lives of the classical composers. She’s also Seele’s copywriter. In her spare time she teaches piano lessons, works in the after school program at her school, volunteers on political campaigns, she’s involved in her church, she mentors young women, and she contributes to her community in planning events. Most weekends you can find her nestled in a bookstore, reading books with the latest seasonal latte.