Easter Sunday Singables: "Above All" (new lyrics)
During these Sundays of Lent leading up to Easter I'll be featuring a different song focused on the death and resurrection of Christ.
"Above All" by Michael W. Smith, released on Worship (2001), new lyrics by Joshua Huff
The new lyrics I added as a second verse to this song are also found in a modified version on the song I wrote called Justified, available on my album Enriched Affections.
Why I recommend this song for worship-
The reason we celebrate Easter is because of what happened on Good Friday. Without the cross and its incredible spiritual significance, Easter is just another Sunday. This song places a great emphasis on the cross and Christ's exalted place above all things. It mirrors the "emptying" passage in Philippians 2 which speaks of Christ place next to the throne of God and points us there from the cross. The melody supports these truths wonderfully and it is very singable. However, I think the song on its own doesn't go far enough into this area of the cross. So, I made a few changes.
Changes I've Made-
I haven't messed with the music or melody of this one at all. The big changes are in the lyrics. The first adjustment was in the final line of the chorus. I'm not sure what Christ thought about as he was dying; maybe it was me, maybe not. At best this line can be confusing, especially when the song is called "Above All" and the first verse seems to be pointing us to Christ as the One who is above all, not me. So, I adopted a change my dad made at his church into this chorus. Now we sing "He took the fall, and now He reigns above all." This is something most Christians would agree with. The other big change is more of an addition. I added a second verse to give the song a bit more depth and grounding in scripture. All of these changes are in the lead sheet attached below.
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This song is available from Amazon and iTunes.
"Above All" by Michael W. Smith, released on Worship (2001), new lyrics by Joshua Huff
Why I recommend this song for worship-
The reason we celebrate Easter is because of what happened on Good Friday. Without the cross and its incredible spiritual significance, Easter is just another Sunday. This song places a great emphasis on the cross and Christ's exalted place above all things. It mirrors the "emptying" passage in Philippians 2 which speaks of Christ place next to the throne of God and points us there from the cross. The melody supports these truths wonderfully and it is very singable. However, I think the song on its own doesn't go far enough into this area of the cross. So, I made a few changes.
Changes I've Made-
I haven't messed with the music or melody of this one at all. The big changes are in the lyrics. The first adjustment was in the final line of the chorus. I'm not sure what Christ thought about as he was dying; maybe it was me, maybe not. At best this line can be confusing, especially when the song is called "Above All" and the first verse seems to be pointing us to Christ as the One who is above all, not me. So, I adopted a change my dad made at his church into this chorus. Now we sing "He took the fall, and now He reigns above all." This is something most Christians would agree with. The other big change is more of an addition. I added a second verse to give the song a bit more depth and grounding in scripture. All of these changes are in the lead sheet attached below.
(just click & copy/paste this into a document to use)
This song is available from Amazon and iTunes.
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