Hallelujah! What a Savior

The story behind this song is much more a story of discovery than it is a story of creation. The lyrics to all five verses were written by Philip Bliss in 1875, but I never heard them until early 2008. While on a road trip with my wife we listened to a CD that was given to us by a friend. The CD was Upward: the Bob Kauflin Hymn Project released by Sovereign Grace music. “Hallelujah! What a Savior” was the fourth of eleven songs on the CD, and while all the songs are excellent this particular song captured me. A few weeks later I heard the song again, this time it was a darker arrangement on Mars Hill Church’s Rain City Hymnal. Again the song was one among many other well-written, well-arranged hymns but, again, this particular song stuck with me in ways the others did not. The reason for this was simple: Philip Bliss gave us a simple, memorable melody filled with the profound truths of the gospel story.

Of course most hymns speak of the truths of the gospel. But “Hallelujah! What a Savior” does more than proclaim the truths of the gospel. It walks us through the gospel story. The first verse speaks of Jesus’ first coming, the second and third verse speak of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross, the fourth verse speaks of Jesus’ subsequent resurrection, ascension, and exaltation, and the fifth verse speaks of Jesus’ future second coming. As we sing each part of this story it only feels appropriate to conclude each portion with the refrain, “Hallelujah! What a Savior.”

I knew the song would be a perfect fit for the Emmaus community because we believe that the gospel (the good news of who Jesus is and what he has done) is not only the only means to becoming a Christian but also the only means to growing as a Christian. Thus, it is something we rehearse repeatedly every time we gather. This song would provide us with yet another way to do that as a church. So I called my friend Jelani Greenidge and asked him to create an R&B flavored musical bed for Bliss’ lyrics and melody. We sat with one another as he put it together and agreed that it would be nice to add a hook/chorus to complement the refrain. Jelani wrote the melody but initially we struggled to fill the melody with the right lyrics because the song already said so much so well. The next day I settled on the words you hear on the recording because they did not say anything new as much as summarize the story that Bliss’ words already told (“through your death we have died/through your life we have life”) and call us to respond appropriately (“to your throne, now we cry”).

I am grateful that Bliss gave us such a magnificent song to adapt for our own congregation over 100 years later. I will never tire of singing the gospel story with the people of God and his song allows us to do that in a powerfully simple way.

No One Else

Psalm 73 is one of my favorite psalms. It’s one that we as a church have turned to time and time again. In this psalm the author, Asaph, begins by expressing his frustration over the state of the world. He is troubled that God’s people seem to suffer terribly while wicked people seem to prosper endlessly. In view of this apparent injustice Asaph initially thinks that perhaps he has lived righteously in vain. After all, if righteous people suffer and wicked people prosper what’s the point of living righteously? But before he can utter the words he stops himself and reminds himself who God is, what God will ultimately do to the wicked, and how God is present with his people in their suffering. As he reflects on these things he remembers that while the wicked may have money in this life he has God now and forever, and nothing could be more wonderful than that. He puts it this way, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25).

After preaching a sermon on this passage I knew that those words would be perfect for a congregational song. They capture a truth we need to be reminded of and rejoice over: that God is the greatest treasure we could ever obtain and that this greatest treasure is ours in Jesus Christ. That’s where the chorus to this song came from. The verses and pre-chorus came that same week. While on a plane flying to St. Louis I took out my computer and began to make a list of some of the ways God fulfills and surpasses our every desire: “Satisfaction for the hopeless/and forgiveness for the flawed/you are peace for the stressed and anxious/you are God.” The lyrics for the entire song were completed by the time I landed in St. Louis in October of 2008. But we didn’t sing the song in church until 2011. I simply couldn’t find the right melody.

After trying to shape the melody several times I had basically given up and placed the song in my mental file for “things I wish I could make work but will probably never finish.” Then one of our worship music leaders, Michael Dean, asked if I had any songs. I emailed him the lyrics to what would become “No One Else.” In less than an hour he replied with the song as it is now heard on our album. To get it there he had to make a lot of adjustments. In addition to creating the entire melody around the existing lyrics, he also transformed what was originally the second verse of the song into what is now the pre-chorus (“You are justice for the victim/you are riches for the poor/you are Father for the orphan/you are Lord…”). This turned out to be very wise as the pre-chorus is the most memorable part of the song, both melodically and lyrically.

“No One Else” is one of my favorite songs to sing with Emmaus. There’s something special about watching our entire family singing out who God is and reminding one another that God himself is enough for us regardless of life’s circumstances.

What a Trade

Martin Luther’s life and writings have had a tremendous impact on me both as a Christian and as a pastor. In fact, it was Luther’s example that led me to begin writing original songs for Emmaus’ corporate worship. In his cultural context he rediscovered what was then the lost art of congregational singing. He provided the Church with simple, easy-to-sing, easy-to-remember melodies, laced with theologically rich lyrics, so that every person could rehearse and retain deep gospel truths. He insisted that such songs be sung at every congregational gathering and believed that singing is like praying a second time. He helped me see the value of such songs for the life of the church and motivated me to do my best to provide them for our congregation.

Of course, this particular song was not just influenced by Luther the songwriter but also by Luther the theologian. One of his most famous teachings was his teaching on what he called “the wonderful exchange.” To Luther, the wonderful exchange is what happened when Christ died under God’s wrath in the place of his people. Through faith in Jesus Christ as our substitute the Christian gives her sin and the punishment for her sin to Jesus and Jesus gives his righteousness and the reward for his righteousness to the Christian. Luther explained it this way, “This is that mystery which is rich in divine grace to sinners: wherein by a wonderful exchange our sins are no longer ours but Christ’s, and the righteousness of Christ not Christ’s but ours. He has emptied himself of his righteousness that he might clothe us with it and fill us with it; and he has taken our evils upon himself that he might deliver us from them.”

This theological truth has changed my heart and life like no other. While it has always been at the center of our preaching at Emmaus I wanted it to also be at the center of our singing. To be honest, the song didn’t require much creativity at all. I simply listed the things that Christ has given to us in exchange for all he has taken from us: “My punishment for your reward/my death for your life, oh, Lord/my curse for your blessedness/and my curse for your blessedness/my filth for your cleanliness/my poverty for your riches/my enmity for your peace/and your joy for my suffering.” The most challenging part was figuring out how to make Luther’s phrase “the wonderful exchange” work melodically. After trying several times I eventually settled for a paraphrase of Luther’s great quote so that we as God’s people could marvel together, “Jesus, thank you, what a trade!”

Matthew Smith is an East Nashville singer-songwriter who writes brand new music to centuries-old hymn texts. He is a founding member of the Indelible Grace community, whose work has drawn acclaim across denominational lines and is used in churches around the world. Born out of a college ministry, the reimagined hymns have found wide acceptance both among college students and the church at large, joining people who desire to honor tradition with those who want a modern musical approach. His latest album, All I Owe , focuses on how Jesus sets people free from the burden of both God’s law and self-imposed laws, by crediting his perfect life and death to those who trust in him.