He Reigns by Peter Furler and Steve Taylor

• Posted: October 28, 2008
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• Author: Tom Arthur
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• Filed under: Praise Music, Recommended
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• Tags: 1 John 5:19, General Thanksgiving, He Reigns, Inclusive, News Boys, Peter Furler, Philippians 2:9-11, Revelation 19:6, Sanctus, Steve Taylor

He Reigns
By Peter Furler and Steve Taylor
CCLI# - 4026635
Reviewed by Tom Arthur
(tom[at]saraharthur[dot]com)

Lyrics
Peter Furler (News Boys)
Steve Taylor
Sample Music

Peter Furler, lead vocalist for the Newsboys, teamed up with Steve Taylor to write a song grand in scope that stretches across continents and time as it echoes themes reminiscent from the entire span of scripture. The repeated tri-colon in the chorus sums up the song nicely:

It’s all God’s children singing
Glory glory hallelujah
He reigns He reigns.

“He Reigns” focuses one’s attention clearly on God and God’s glory and that’s where the song stays for its duration. As one sings, Revelation 19:6 comes to mind:

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out, “Hallelujah ! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns” (NRSV).

The inclusion in verse one of many people groups around the world (not to mention the wordplay—alliteration, assonance, and rhyme—in verse one of “African plain,” “Amazon rain,” and “Asian believers”) is exceedingly commendable in a genre that does not often speak outside its own cultural context. The verse brings to mind Philippians 2:9-11:

Therefore God also highly exalted [Jesus] and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (NRSV).

One bi-colon in verse three stands above the rest, full of beautiful theological significance. Taylor and Furler write, “Of all the songs sung from the dawn of creation, Some were meant to persist.” In the back of this reviewer’s mind while singing these lines is the Sanctus of the General Thanksgiving, the communion prayer from the United Methodist Hymnal and many other traditions’ communion liturgies, which says:

And so,
With your people on earth
And all the company of heaven
We praise your name
and join their unending hymn:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

“He Reigns” reminds us that when we join in the liturgy of the church, whether that’s a formal liturgy like the General Thanksgiving or an informal liturgy of singing praise songs, we seek to join in a song that began at the beginning of time and is never ending. We join something bigger than ourselves.

The bridge introduces a new theme when it says, “And all the powers of darkness, Tremble at what they’ve just heard.” The overriding theme present in the chorus of all God’s children singing of God’s glory united with this new theme of spiritual realities is a combination that would resonate with the author of 1 John when he says, “We know that we are God’s children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one” (5:19, NRSV). And yet, in the end, God and God’s song win as the bridge and the Great Thanksgiving remind us:

By your Spirit make us one with Christ,
one with each other,
and one in ministry to all the world,
until Christ comes in final victory
and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

Furler and Taylor have written a truly commendable song, and yet I have one quibble. The overall nature of the song is one of inclusion, but the use of the male pronoun so prominently to refer to God, even in the title of the song, is problematic. Referring to God as “he” is not in and of itself a problem. But the prominence of the male pronoun in this case drags the song down for those who would prefer to emphasize that God is not a male (or female). Had Furler and Taylor simply written “God reigns” rather than “he reigns,” the song would have soared even higher.

The complication of changing the words after the song has been published are insurmountable. It is illegal to publish in print or projection different words for a song than those copyrighted (for further discussion of this see the last paragraph on this page of the GBOD’s worship website). Attempting to get permission to make those change for this song, I once contacted the two companies who administer the rights to “He Reigns.” I was denied every conceivable creative option I asked for (i.e. brackets, footnotes, ellipses, etc.). The only option left was to print the song as is and have the band leader explain ahead of time that we would be singing it differently than it was printed. But this option makes this issue more prominent than it should be in worship.

Conclusion: Recommended

The broad inclusion of Christians beyond the West, the multiple layers of scriptural allusions, and the depth of theological resonance make “He Reigns” an exceedingly strong worship song. I would “highly recommend” it if not for the prominent gender exclusive language in reference to God. May we all get “caught up in the heavenly sound” of all God’s children and all creation singing the glory of God.

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