Chris Tomlin & Matt Redman – Wonderful Maker

Chris Tomlin is a man who needs no introduction.  It’s hard to believe that he started in 1993 and not, say, ten years before then.  Or was that Michael W. Smith?  I get those two mixed up all the time!

Tomlin released fourteen albums:

• Inside Your Love (1995)
• Authentic (1998)
• Too Much Free Time (1998)
• The Noise We Make (2001)
• Not to Us (2002)
• Arriving (2004)
• See the Morning (2006)
• Hello Love (2008)
• And If Our God Is for Us… (2010)
• Burning Lights (2013)
• Love Ran Red (2014)
• Adore: Christmas Songs Of Worship (2015)
• Never Lose Sight (2016)
• Holy Roar (2018)

He also won 23 Dove Awards, 2 Billboard awards, and 1 Grammy for his work.

Check our my other Chris Tomlin reviews, including Home, At The Cross (Love Ran Red), and Our God.

Matt Redman began his music career in 1993 at the budding age of 15, founding Soul Survivor before transitioning to his solo career.  He released an impressive 17 albums, including 13 studio and 4 live albums (compilations don’t count).

He won numerous awards, including two Grammy’s, ten Dove’s, and one Cranmer Award for his work.

Also, check out my other Matt Redman reviews, including 10,000 Reasons,  Blessed Be Your Name, Better is One Day, and Mercy.

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?

Tomlin and Redman intertwine the light that God creates in physical darkness with the illumination that He brings to our darkened spirits.  They also mix the goodness that God saw in what He made with the goodness that He is by sending Jesus to die for our sins.

Their knitting continues as they declare God to be wonderful in His creation and salvation, demonstrating the depths of His immeasurable love for us through humility on the cross.  This great mystery is too wonderful for our puny minds to comprehend, yet, we listen for that still, small voice of an omnipotent God.

Side Note: I am thrilled once again to see the name of Jesus explicitly stated in song lyrics.  I don’t talk about this often enough, but singing the name of Jesus packs such a huge spiritual punch that seems to be ignored by many artists and worship leaders.  While I’m fine from a technical standpoint to use equivalent terms (Redeemer, Lord, Savior, etc.), there’s just something about that name that stirs my soul in ways that words like “Redeemer” or “Lord” cannot reach.  If any songwriters are reading this, I strongly consider that you include the name of Jesus in your future song lyrics.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

All lines are in agreement with God’s inspired Word.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Verse 1]

You spread out the skies over empty space
Said, “Let there be light”
To a dark and formless world Your light was born

Paraphrases the first three verses in Scripture: Genesis 1:1-3.  This signifies God as the Creator of the universe (Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 8:3-8, Psalm 33:6, Psalm 96:5, Proverbs 3:19, Isaiah 37:16, Isaiah 42:5, Isaiah 45:18, Isaiah 66:1-2, John 1:1-3, Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:16, and Revelation 4:11).

[Verse 2]

You spread out Your arms over empty hearts
Said, “Let there be light”
To a dark and hopeless world Your Son was born

Jesus is the “light of the world” that shines in the darkness that is our hearts (John 1:1-8, John 8:12, and Ephesians 5:14).  This connects with the Genesis account in Verse 1 in that, ultimately, God is the source of light that drives out darkness (Psalm 107:10-16, Luke 1:79, John 12:46, Ephesians 5:8, Colossians 1:13, and 1 Peter 2:9).  It is for this purpose that the Word, Jesus, became flesh and lived among us (John 1:1 and John 1:14).

[Pre-Chorus]

You made the world and saw that it was good

If you read the entire account of Genesis 1:1-31, except for day 2, each day ends with God stating ” and God saw that it was good”.

You sent Your only Son, for You are good

Once again, Tomlin and Redman connect the Genesis 1 account with Christ, stating that God is good (Exodus 33:19, Psalm 13:6, Psalm 23:6, Psalm 27:13, Psalm 31:19, Psalm 34:8, Psalm 84:11, Psalm 100:5, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 118:29, Psalm 119:68, Psalm 145:9, Matthew 7:11, Mark 10:18, Luke 11:13, Luke 18:19, Romans 2:4, Philippians 1:6, James 1:17, and 1 Peter 2:1-3) and that sending Christ, implicitly understood as the sacrifice for wretched sinners, is something a good and loving God does (John 3:16 and Romans 5:6-8).

[Chorus]

What a wonderful Maker
What a wonderful Saviour

That is, good.  See commentary in Pre-Chorus, line 2.

How majestic Your whispers

That is, the still, small voice that God spoke to the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 19:11-13).

And how humble Your love

Christ came to serve, not to be served (Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, and John 13:1-17).  This shows the incredible humility of Jesus, its apex through His death on the cross (Philippians 2:8).

With a strength like no other

God is the most powerful Being in existence (Genesis 1:1-31, Job 11:7-11, Psalm 33:6, Jeremiah 32:17, Romans 4:17, Hebrews 1:3, and Jude 1:24-25).

And the heart of a Father

See commentary in Pre-Chorus, line 2.

How majestic Your whispers

Repeats line 3.

What a wonderful God

See commentary in Pre-Chorus, line 2.

[Verse 3]

No eye has fully seen how beautiful the cross
And we have only heard the faintest whispers of how great You are
How great You are

Our limited human minds cannot fully grasp the mystery that is the cross.  It is much like poetry: human language is man’s attempt to describe that which is indescribable and explain that which is unexplainable.  Romans 11:33 seems like a good summary verse to describe this phenomenon.

[Outro]

What a wonderful Maker

Repeats Chorus, line 1.

Jesus

There’s just something about that name, Jesus!  It is through Him Alone and no other name by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12).

What a wonderful Saviour

Repeats Chorus, line 2.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Tomlin and Redman combine everyday language with obvious portions of Scripture to cohesively communicate a loving God who created a good world filled with dark, human hearts.  He sent a Savior, Jesus, who they will likely recall died on the cross for them.

I can’t think of anything that might easily confuse them.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies both the Father and Jesus as good, loving, and wonderful for creating and saving us.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Chris Tomlin & Matt Redman’s Wonderful Maker is an outstanding song.  It magnifies the goodness of God by intermixing His creation with His rescue of mankind, using clever wordplay to show that the same God who created light that shines in the physical realm also spiritually drives out the darkness in our wicked hearts, bringing Him glory.  Jesus’ sacrifice for us is a great mystery that Christ-followers can fathom, much less unbelievers who should easily comprehend this song’s intended meaning.

I highly recommend this for corporate worship.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: Wonderful Maker (listen to Tomlin’s version) (listen to Redman’s version)

Artist: Chris Tomlin & Matt Redman

Album: Not To Us (Tomlin), Where Angels Fear to Tread (Redman)

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2002

Duration: 5:00 (Tomlin), 4:08 (Redman)

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

*Copyright © 2002 Thankyou Music (PRS) (adm. worldwide at CapitolCMGPublishing.com excluding Europe which is adm. by Integrity Music, part of the David C Cook family. Songs@integritymusic.com) / worshiptogether.com Songs (ASCAP) sixsteps Music (ASCAP) Vamos Publishing (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Updates:

03/23/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.

12/01/2020 – I Added “Adore: Christmas Songs Of Worship (2015)” as an album that Tomlin released prior to this review.