A founding member of the Square Peg Alliance, a group of musicians who are “really like each other”, Andrew Peterson has been active since 1996. This folk rock, roots rock, and country gospel musician released a whopping 19 albums, including Love and Thunder (2003), Counting Stars (2010), and The Burning Edge of Dawn (2015).
He also published several books, including The Ballad of Matthew’s Begats (2007) and The Wingfeather Saga, a series of four books released between 2008 and 2015. He won the Christie Award for Young Adult Fiction in 2009 for his second book of this series, North! Or Be Eaten (2009).
You are viewing: Who Wrote Is He Worthy
Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Andrew-peterson-is-he-worthy-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?
The entire song focuses on Christ as the returning, ruling, reigning King, who will create a new heaven/earth, is worthy to open the scroll, and deserves our praise and obedience. Peterson manages to accomplish this with little repetition, stretching out his lyrics by adding the obvious answers to his rhetorical questions. Not that it’s a bad thing.
While the feelings references at the beginning might bother some, it is minimal and does not bother me.
Score: 10/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
100% of these lyrics align with the Bible.
[Verse 1]
Line 1: A question of feeling. The brokenness of the world started in Genesis 3 and is a major theme throughout the entire Bible.
Line 2: Another feelings-based question. It should not be surprising that we are attacked for our faith (Luke 6:22, John 15:18-20, John 16:33, 2 Timothy 3:12, 1 Peter 4:12-19, and 1 John 3:13).
Line 3: This question is more objective, speaking of God’s light conquering darkness (Psalm 107:10-16, Luke 1:79, John 1:1-13, John 12:46, Ephesians 5:8, Colossians 1:13, and 1 Peter 2:9).
Line 4: Our first hint of end times, pointing to Isaiah 65:17, Isaiah 66:22, 2 Peter 3:10-13, and Revelation 21:1-5.
[Verse 2]
Line 1: Quotes from Romans 8:19-23.
Line 2: See commentary in Verse 1, line 4.
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Line 3: Yes, because God is light (Psalm 27:1, Psalm 119:105, Psalm 119:130, Matthew 4:16, John 1:1-8, John 8:12, Ephesians 5:14, James 1:17, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 John 1:5-7, and Revelation 21:23).
Line 4: Although 2 Peter 1:12-15 has a specific context of the growth of Christian virtue, the larger context is the reminder of truths we already know to stay connected to God.
[Chorus]
Lines 1 and 2: No one! It made John weep (Revelation 5:1-5). Until…
Line 3: Christ! He is worthy to open the scroll (Revelation 5:6-10).
Line 4: He is the sacrificial lamb who paid for the sins of mankind (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).
[Refrain 1]
Lines 1-4: According to Revelation 5:12 yes, Christ is worthy of praise.
[Verse 3]
Line 1: As demonstrated on the cross (Romans 5:6-8).
Line 2: He lives in us (Acts 6:5, Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:16-19, Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 5:18, and 2 Timothy 1:14) and convicts us (John 16:8).
Line 3: I hold the unpopular opinion that God does not love everyone, at least, not in the way our westernized minds things about God’s love. Yes, He loves the world (John 3:16) and showed His love through sacrifice (Romans 5:6-8), but He hates those who unrepentantly work iniquity (Psalm 5:5), love violence (Psalm 11:5), and seven other types of people (Prov. 6:16-19). He loves those who love Him (Proverbs 8:17) and we demonstrate we love God through obedience (John 14:21 and 1 John 5:3).
Line 4: That is, Christ will return (Matthew 24:43, Acts 1:9-11, 1 Corinthians 11:26, 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4, 2 Peter 3:10, and Revelation 16:15).
[Bridge]
Lines 1-4: Contextualizes Exodus 19:6 within Revelation 7:9-17 and Revelation 20:4-6 in a New Testament sense.
[Refrain 2]
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Lines 1-8: Equivalent derivative of Refrain 1.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
Unfortunately, most unbelievers will be completely lost. The theology is too deep for the average non-Christian to comprehend. Yes, they will immediately recognize this as Christian given the explicit name-drops of Jesus and God; However, it heavily utilizes figurative references that come straight out of Scripture. It requires more than a basic understanding of Christianity to comprehend its meaning.
Score: 7/10
4. What does this song glorify?
It glorifies the One who is worthy to open the scroll and open its seals.
Score: 10/10
Closing Comments
Don’t let the unbeliever score keep you from enjoying Andrew Peterson’s Is He Worthy? It has a great message that focuses on Christ’s second coming, contains Biblically accurate references, and glorifies Jesus.
While I would not recommend this to seeker-sensitive churches, those whose congregations are hungry for heavier theology should consider adding this one to their worship sets.
Final Score: 9.5/10
Artist Info
Track: Is He Worthy? (listen to the song)
Artist: Andrew Peterson
Album: Resurrection Letters, Volume I
Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)
Release Year: 2018
Duration: 4:33
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Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHO
