This song was made popular by Michael W. Smith but was written by Paul Baloche and Lenny LeBlanc. I remember hearing Michael W. Smith sing it for the first time at the Billy Graham Crusade in Louisville. Anyway, this is a very popular song with a nice message. However, the Excogitating Engineer’s wife pointed out a line in it that that is not biblically tenable. The line is [God] “thought of me above all.” Did the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ take place because he thought of us above all? Or did he do this for his own glory and because he was he thought of his Father above all? Here is what Bob Kauflin of Sovereign Grace says about this song:
There are a number of things about this song I really like. The melody is enjoyable to sing and easy to remember. It does a great job emphasizing God’s sovereign rule over all, and focusing on the sacrifice of Christ. The poetic images are engaging and the harmonic progression is creative. But two parts bother me, both near the end of the song. The first is the line “you took the fall.” It seems like an understated way of describing what Jesus did. Not wrong, but not the best. The other problem is the line, “and thought of me above all.” I have no question that Jesus loved me and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20). But he didn’t think of me “above all.” Jesus went to the cross to satisfy God’s righteous judgment against a sinful humanity. He thought of his Father’s holiness, justice, and glory above all. It may seem like a theological nuance, but it’s the difference between our faith being man-centered and God-centered. I don’t think that’s what the writers intended, but I think it could cause some confusion in people’s minds. Besides, I think we have other songs that better articulate Jesus died for because he loved us and for his Father’s glory. But, thanks for suggesting it, and please let me know if you have any other thoughts!
I know this is a popular song so I am not expecting a favorable response. Let me know what you think. The lyrics are below.
Above All
Above all powers above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man
You were here before the world began
Above all kingdoms above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There’s no way to measure what You’re worth
Crucified laid behind the stone
You lived to die rejected and alone
Like a Rose trampled on the ground
You took the fall and thought of me
Above all
Above all powers above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man
You were here before the world began
Above all kingdoms above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There’s no way to measure what You’re worth
Crucified laid behind the stone
You lived to die rejected and alone
Like a Rose trampled on the ground
You took the fall and thought of me
Above all
Crucified laid behind the stone
You lived to die rejected and alone
Like a Rose trampled on the ground
You took the fall and thought of me
Above all
Like a Rose trampled on the ground
You took the fall and thought of me
Above all
So all the heat has you bringing in other sources now? Scholarly.
The song is okay, even though I don’ care for that line (“You thought of me above all”). Honestly, though, even if not for that line, it is just not a personal favorite. “Like a Rose, trampled on the ground” sounds so…well, trite, maybe? I just don’t personally think the writing is very good in the chorus–not wrong, just not my favorite.
Oh my!!!! I totally disagree even though I have to agree with the comments about some of the lyrics–a few spots are questionable, but the music and the words together.
“Crucified, laid behind a stone…Lived to die, rejected and alone…”
–absolutely shreds me to pieces every time I hear it and sing it. Those lines alone make the song worthwhile in my opinion…
hardgrave changed that last line a few years ago to something like “and honored God above all”. it was funny watching everyone stumble over the words.
Unbelievable! What’s next? … “Amazing Grace”?
Amazing Grace? No. Arminian Grace. Maybe. See the lyrics below.
Arminian Grace
(To the tune of Amazing Grace)
Arminian “grace!”
How strange the sound,
Salvation hinged on me.
I once was lost
then turned around,
Was blind then chose to see.
What “grace” is it
that calls for choice,
Made from some good within?
That part that wills
to heed God’s voice,
Proved stronger than my sin.
Thru many ardent gospel pleas,
I sat with heart of stone.
But then some hidden good in me,
Propelled me toward my home.
My poor, dead neighbor,
Such a fool!
Didn’t choose from sin to flee
I had the sense
to change my heart
But he’s not smart — like me!
When we’ve been there
ten thousand years,
Because of what we’ve done,
We’ve no less days
to sing our praise,
Than when we first begun.
I agree with you. At our church in Fort Worth (where I went to Seminary) we changed the lyrics to “and rose again, above all.”
[...] lyrics can be found at excogitatingengineer. Great [...]
Where did you find that Arminian Grace song?
H/T: http://dirtycalvinist.blogspot.com/2006/02/arminian-graceto-tune-of-amazing-grace.html
Thanks
Totally agree! This song has so much potential and falls so short with that phrase. It breaks ground that should be broken more often with it’s emphasis on Jesus’ superiority over earthly kingdoms, but when he becomes a trampled rose and my ego is stroked with him thinking of me above you it fails miserably. One of my Bible professors once told me “We sing more heresy than was banned in all the councils.” This is so true…
The only response I have to the “He did it for His own glory” comment is:
God so LOVED THE WORLD that He gave His only (unique) begotten Son…
In other words, John 3:16 refutes the “He did it for His own glory” position rather neatly.
Except that, while he did to it for the glory of the Father, it was also because he loved us so much. If He didn’t do it for me, then why do it at all? God could have just wiped us all out. Jesus is God too, thats the point of the Trinity and he came because He loved us: “For God so loved the world, he gave his only son so all who believed on him should not perish, but have eternal life” Jn 3:16. I think the song is about how much of worth God is, yet he took the time to humble himself and become one of us, and then took our punishment upon himself, because he loved us so much. Like a rose trampled on the ground, or something thats of worth just thrown aside and ignored, he gave his life, thinking of humanity, thinking of me. That makes me want to love Him and thank Him and become a new person – one of His loved people.
Kay,
What you say is true. However, to say that Christ died for us ABOVE ALL implies that he placed greatest priority on humanity, even about God’s own glory. Christ did die because he loved us but he also died for his Father’s glory and there is a priority between those two and the priority is God’s glory. I refer you to Romans 15:8-9 and John 12:27-28
Romans 15:8-9
For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentile might GLORIFY GOD for his mercy.
John 12:27-28
“Now my soul is troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, GLORIFY YOUR NAME.”
This whole discussion is ridiculous. Does Mr. Kauflin lose sleep over this? I certainly do not. When this song comes up in our service I stand up, raise my hands to the Lord and sign with all my might. I worship the Lord. By breaking this song down like this is only trumpeting your own horn. If you dont like it, sit yourself down and DO NOT sing. Otherwise, take the song for what it is meant for and that is WORSHIP!!!
Andy Garza
(Eph 5:19-20 NASB) speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.
SING YOUR HEAD OFF TO THE LORD!
Well, talk about ‘picky picky’ –
“Who, for the joy set before Him humbled himself to death, even death on a cross….”
He absolutely did it for humanity. You are the joy set before Him. (Amazingly! I mean, for me too… its amazing). As in, “Amazing Love, Oh what sacrifice. The Son of God, given for me….” (Or do you have another page about that one…?)
You could take that phrase ‘above all’ to simply mean, in spite of the crowd mocking and the agony…. Or, in His grace, thought of others instead of himself….
By the way, imho changing the lyrics to someone else’s song is really rude! If you can’t sing it as written sing something else!
In your one quote above its talking about the Gentiles glorifying God, which we now do. Jesus was Jewish, as I recall…. The prayer in the garden could have been calling for the same outcome.
Also, if he took on the nature of a servant, and made himself the least you’re going to have to swallow your pride and admit that at some time he made himself less than you.
Blessings to all.
Singing your head off to the Lord is fine, but we are also told we must worship Him “in Spirit and in Truth.” Is it true worship when we sing “worship” songs that include unbiblical wording? No matter how loud we sing, or how fervent our expression, if we are shouting lies about God, is that true worship? And if we so carelessly sing songs that are unbiblical, what does that say about our desire to live the rest of our life according to the truths of scripture? Questioning the appropriateness of this song is not being overly particular, nor is it, “trumpeting your own horn.” God is a God of Truth. Scripture warns of false teachings. We should at least hold “worship” songs up to scripture and make sure what we sing is a true representation of who God is. If we do not do this, we simply sing for our own benefit and not as an offering to God.
Wow….So much to reply to. 1st I’ll echo Marcella! Precisely my thoughts. I agree in part with John. I personally am against rewording songs as well. Is rewording rude? I don’t know, but if a song has unbiblical lyrics, why sing it? On the other hand, I wonder if you’re aware that many songs in our Hymnals have the words changed and rearranged from the original text as well.
My thoughts on the song at hand are that it is based, to me, in man-centered emotionalism. I agree with the above comment that ‘above all’ is really seeking to stir up emotions that, at their logical end, suggest that ‘I’ am the center of the universe. Emily is right when she said the beginning of the chorus rips her to shreds, that’s what choruses these days are designed to do. Let me pose the statement in a question: Why does it rip you up to sing the chorus and not the words of the verse that speak about the sovereignty, majesty, omnipotence, and holiness of our great GOD? It is the music. Clearly it is the music combined with the words. And I have no problem with the words until the last two lines of the chorus, but as my buddy John suggests, if you don’t agree with it, sing something else! And I agree with the excogitating engineer that this is a song that contains an unbiblical message despite its biblical message. Therefore, we should simply not sing it.
As a final note. There is a danger here. We should still heed the words of Andy and not trumpet our own horn. That is, we can still err if we are prideful about what we do and do not sing. Doing the right thing can be wrong if it’s laden with pride. So let us put trust in our pastors of worship to lead us in a song service that is built on biblical truth, and when something comes up that we believe is not, we should go to them humbly and talk to them about it.
Our pastor has built the finale to our Good Friday service around the singing of this song.
I agree that Jesus didn’t die for me above you or anyone else. I was not His primary reason for obeying His Father and going to the cross. Could the joy set before Him be the pleasure of His Father and their soon to be realized reunion? Could it be the ministry of intercession He’s accomplishing for you and I today? Ultimately, it is about God’s glory, isn’t it?
I am rewriting the last lines. I’m thankful for a couple of the ideas posted here. One idea for an alternative is “You gave Your all, unfailing love, Above All.”
In defense of the songwriters, they are serving God with all of their heart. We all fall short at times so, be sure to keep them in your prayers that as they continue to minister to the LORD that He direct them.
Some alternatives from across the net:
“Exalted Lord, We worship you above all”
“You gave Your all, unfailing love, Above All”
“You paid the price, and honoured Him, above all”
“On the cross, hanging there for me, You paid the debt, you made the way, so I go free”
“Your life for mine, now love abounds”
Wow….How about those alternative ending lines… I’m sure glad God used Paul Baloche to write the rest of this song.
The following is copied directly from the CCLI website which handles licensing for the song “Above All”
License Holder Duties
The following requirements are the responsibility of the License Holder as stated under the terms of the Church
Copyright License agreement.
Song Editing
The following activities are prohibited under the terms of the license agreement: altering or changing the lyrics, melody or fundamental character of any song covered under the Church Copyright License.
Even though you obtain the license to use the song-you are NOT ALLOWED to change the lyrics to someone else’s song. It’s ILLEGAL. I know as Christians you wouldn’t be doing that…
If you don’t like the song don’t sing it. I can’t believe how many people said they changed the lyrics. So leave your “alternative endings out.” Write a new song. That’s biblical. (Sing to the Lord, a new song.)
Karl, you make an excellent point. Thank you for pointing that out. I completely agree and would much rather just not sing that song. Thanks again.