There’s No One Like Our God by Steve Mitchinson and Vicky Beeching

• Posted: August 27, 2008
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• Author: Tom Arthur
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• Filed under: Praise Music, Recommended
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• Tags: 1 John 4:19, Infertility, Isaiah 46:9, Jeremiah 10:6-7, Monotheism, Prevenient Grace, Psalm 113, Psalm 86:8, Steve Mitchinson, There's No One Like Our God, Vicky Beeching

There’s No One Like Our God
By Steve Mitchinson & Vicky Beeching
CCLI Song # 2650395
Reviewed by Tom Arthur
(tom[at]saraharthur[dot]com)

Lyrics
Steve Mitchinson
Vicky Beeching
Sample Music

Mitchinson and Beeching’s song draws its strength from sticking close to scripture. There’s No One Like Our God (hereafter referred to as No One) draws heavily from Psalm 113 and a theme which runs through several other passages in scripture: there is no one like God.

The song’s chorus begins with a simple statement: there’s no one like our God. This statement is almost word for word from several scriptures. Possibly the strongest and most familiar is Isaiah 46:9 which says, “For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like me” (NRSV). This scripture is attributed by many scholars to be a unique contribution of the Hebrew scriptures to religion: monotheism. This is possibly the earliest statement of strict monotheism in all of history. While Isaiah may have been the first to articulate a revelation of God in this regard, it is not unique to Isaiah. Jeremiah picks up the theme (Jeremiah 10:6-7) as does Psalm 86 when it says in verse eight, “There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours” (NRSV).

The second half of Psalm 86:8 provides a nice bridge for No One’s theological arc. While the song does not quote this half of the verse it moves in the same direction toward God’s works in God’s Son. It is a nice touch theologically that No One refers first to God’s work and love before declaring our love back toward God. Wesley referred to this as prevenient grace. God’s grace was at work in us long before we ever recognized it or accepted it. God’s love was wooing us before we responded with our own love. This idea can be seen most clearly in 1 John 4:19 which says, “We love because he first loved us” (NRSV). The order of love in No One gets it right when many other praise songs focus exclusively on our love for God over and above God’s love for us.

One more subtle point is worth being made about the chorus before moving on to the verses. The favored pronoun throughout this song is “we.” And in reference to love for God, the love is always a communal love. No One always says, “We love you,” and not “I love you.” There is nothing wrong with saying to God, “I love you.” But in a communal worship setting “We love you” seems more appropriate, and given the dearth of songs which say “we love you,” No One’s choice of words is a welcome change.

The chorus moves easily into the two verses which follow. Both verse one and two lean heavily on Psalm 113. Verse one also incorporates the Christological hymn from Philippians 2:5-11. Verse seven holds the key phrase upon which much theological ink has been spilled: “[Christ Jesus] emptied himself.” This thought alone given Jesus’ equality with God (Philippians 2:6) should leave the worshiper in awe of God’s good and gracious nature.

There is only one potential problem with this song. Verse two runs into possible contextual difficulties and requires pastoral discernment for any given setting. If there are couples in your church who are struggling from infertility, this song may be difficult for them to sing with its declaration of praise for healing from barrenness. And yet, because the song is almost word for word from Psalm 113, any issue is not so much with this song as with scripture. And like any selection of scripture for any given context, these issues should be taken into account in a decision to sing this song. Praising God for healing from barrenness amidst a continual struggle with infertility provides an opportunity for teaching, formation, and growth in God’s grace. Some contexts may need more reflection upon these issues than the song itself allows.

Conclusion: Recommended

Overall I am very comfortable using this psalm in worship and recommend it to others. It gets the order right between God’s love and our love. It sets that love within a communal response to God. It draws directly from several themes in scripture and from several specific scripture passages. For these reasons, there aren’t many songs like No One.

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