Cory Asbury – Endless Alleluia

A little over a year ago, I put my hat in the ring and reviewed Cory Asbury’s controversial song Reckless Love.  It still remains today as a hot topic among Christians, both on this site and others who have spoken on it.  He was honored with a Grammy nomination for the song this year, though he lost out to Lauren Daigle’s You Say.

We’ll try our hands on something…less controversial and see if Aubury can do better with Endless Alleluia.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Cory-asbury-endless-alleluia-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.  I strongly encourage you to consider the potential blessings and dangers of this artist‘s theology by visiting Resources.

1. What message does the song communicate?

All creation eternally praises God, with Christ-followers who are in continual connection with God throughout the day.  There is an invitation given for others to join.  Everything else pales miserably in comparison to life with God.

Rather than directly referencing God, Ausbury gives subtle hints and clues that point his audience to God.  The pronoun “we” used of us, creation, the word “alleluia”, mention of heaven’s song, miracles, and His presence.

Score: 10/10

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

All the lyrics are biblical.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1 and 2: In the morning, he awakens our ears (Isaiah 50:4-5) and we will hear of God’s steadfast love (Psalm 59:16, Psalm 90:14 and Psalm 143:8). We will wait upon the LORD (Psalm 130:6) to which His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23) in which we will find joy (Psalm 30:5). We cry out to Him (Psalm 88:13) and He hears our voice (Psalm 55:17).

Lines 3 and 4: That is, God takes priority over everything else (Psalm 73:25-26, Matthew 10:37, Luke 14:26, John 12:25, Philippians 3:8, and 1 John 4:20).

[Chorus]

Lines 1-3: All of creation worships God (Psalm 150:6) with eternal praise (Nehemiah 9:5, Psalm 30:12, Psalm 52:9, Psalm 86:12, Psalm 89:1, Psalm 115:18, Psalm 145:1-2, Psalm 145:21, and Revelation 5:9-13).

Lines 4 and 5: An invitation for others to join the everlasting choral sound.

Line 6: Repeats line 3.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1-4: Describes miracles that occur right underneath our limited noses.  One of the most overt is the majesty that is our universe, declaring God’s glory with proof that demonstrates unbelief as inexcusable (Psalm 19:1-4 and Romans 1:18-22).

[Bridge]

Lines 1 and 2: Refers to the mortality of man (Job 7:7, Job 7:16, Psalm 39:5, Psalm 39:11, Psalm 94:11, Psalm 144:4, Romans 6:23, and James 4:14).

Lines 3-5: That is, we will enter the final resurrection (Luke 20:34-38, Acts 24:15-16, Romans 6:1-5, Romans 8:11-13, 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 1 Corinthians 15:50-56, 2 Corinthians 4:13-14, and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

[Post-Chorus]

Lines 1:4: The antecedent of “this” is the final lines of the Chorus, that is, worshipping God.

Lines 5-8: Repeats lines 1-4.

[Verse 3]

Lines 1-4: Substitutes lyrics in Verse 1 to use “evening” instead of morning, indicating that the first and last thoughts (and presumedly in-between thoughts) are God (Psalm 63:6-8).  This is consistent with the concept of praying without ceasing, or continual connection with God (1Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Anyone who is not Christian should come to the same conclusions as I.  Asbury uses everyday language to communicate their points, significantly easing interpretation.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God with continual focus and eternal praise.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Cory Asbury’s Endless Alleluia is a great song.  It invites all of us to worship God because He’s better than anything else, bringing Him glory.  Unbelievers should easily interpret similarly.

I highly recommend it for corporate worship.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: Endless Alleluia (listen to the song)

Artist: Cory Ausbury

Album: Reckless Love

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2018

Duration: 4:25

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

Updates:

02/15/2022 – After re-reading these lyrics, I found reasons that Asbury offers as rationale.  Namely, countless miracles and that there’s nothing better.  I’ve removed my criticism in sections 1, 3, and 4, raising its score from 8/10 to 10/10, with a recommend for corporate worship.

07/16/2021 – Per Artist Theology announcement, I expanded the red text to encourage others to study Bethel Music’s theology, which Asbury is a leader.

05/06/2021 – Added Psalm 63:6-8 to commentary on Verse 3.  Thanks to Karly McKinney for finding it!

03/23/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.