Hezekiah Walker – Every Praise

Hezekiah Walker is an American Gospel artist and head pastor of Love Fellowship Tabernacle in New York.  Beginning with his career in 1985, he released 15 albums, with some under the name “Hezekiah Walker & The Love Fellowship Crusade Church Choir”, which has a more hop-hop flair to it.  These include:

• I’ll Make It (1987)
• Oh Lord We Praise You (1990)
• Focus on Glory (1992)
• Live in Toronto (1993)
• Live in Atlanta at Morehouse College (1994)
• Live in New York by Any Means… (1995)
• Live in London (1997)
• Recorded Live at Love Fellowship Tabernacle (1998)
• Family Affair (1999)
• Love Is Live! (2001)
• Family Affair, Vol. 2: Live at Radio City Music Hall (2002)
• 20/85 The Experience (2005)
• Souled Out (2008)
• Azusa: The Next Generation (2013)
• Azusa: The Next Generation 2 – Better (2016)

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Hezekiah-walker-every-praise-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.

1. What message does the song communicate?

God is worthy of the praise that we offer in unison. He is Liberator, Physician, and Rescuer. Unlike many other songs I’ve reviewed lately, the focus is on praise and worship and not on His healings.

Side Note: To those who don’t prefer massive repetition, Chorus 1 repeats the same eight lines 4 times. Bridge repeats four lines 3 times. Chorus 2 opens like Chorus 1, except the phrase “every praise” repeats 14 times. This occurs two more times, except the final section repeats “every praise” eight times. Outro repeats it 13 times. Intermixed are several talking sections by Walker that don’t add nor take away from my commentary in section 2.

Score: 10/10

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

The entire song is consistent with Scripture.

[Chorus 1]

Lines 1 and 2: All worship belongs to God alone (1 Chronicles 16:25, 2 Samuel 22:4, Psalm 96:4-5, Psalm 145:3, and Revelation 4:11), with us Christians worshipping with a singular voice (Romans 15:6).

Lines 3 and 4: Essentially repeats line 1.

Lines 5 and 6: The word ‘Hallelujah” is a compound Hebrew phrase, with “hallelu” meaning “a joyous praise in song” and “jah” or “yah”, which refers to the Tetragrammaton YHWH. Put together, we are singing “we joyfully praise God in song” when we use this word.  Walker recommends that we sing this to God, that He deserves it (see lines 1 and 2).

Lines 7 and 8: Repeats lines 3 and 4.

Lines 9-32: Repeats lines 1-8.

[Bridge]

Lines 1-4: God is Savior, Deliverer (Isaiah 53:7-11, Matthew 1:21, John 1:29, Galatians 1:4, Galatians 3:13, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 3:18, 1 John 2:2, 1 John 3:5, and Revelation 1:5), and Healer (Matthew 9:12, Mark 2:17, and Luke 5:31).

Lines 5-13: Repeats lines 1-4.

[Chorus 2]

Lines 1-27: Repeats Chorus 1, lines 1-3.

[Outro]

Lines 1-7: Repeats Chorus 1, line 3.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

This song only contains a few unique lyrics that are repeated over and over again, easily understood by unbelievers as Christian God worship.  The words “hallelujah”, “Savior”, and “God” are giveaways that point them towards our direction.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God by identifying Him as worthy of praise, as well as our Savior and our Healer.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Hezekiah Walker’s Every Praise is Biblical.  It tells us that God is worthy of our worship, is our Savior, and our great Physician.

Congregations that are looking for a song that contains minimal, yet Biblical, lyrics on repeat may consider adding this classic to their worship set.  It’s not for me though.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: Every Praise (listen to the song)

Artist: Hezekiah Walker

Album: Azusa: The Next Generation

Genre: Gospel

Release Year: 2013

Duration: 7:22

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