Photo by Davis Pan
It’s not often that I get an opportunity to examine a Michael W. Smith song, especially one that he wrote himself!
Smith enjoyed a prestigious career, releasing many albums, including 15 studio, 4 Christmas, 2 instrumental, and 6 live. He won 3 Grammy’s and 40 Dove awards.
I watched him recently as an actor in the 2015 film 90 Minutes in Heaven. I also reviewed two other songs he released: Let it Rain and Ancient Words.
Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Michael-w-smith-agnus-dei-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?
We praise God because He rules over His creation. He is set apart and omnipotent. He is the Lamb of God who was killed for us.
Side Note: To those who are sensitive to massive repetition, this song relies heavily on repetition to stretch out this short song.
Score: 10/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
This entire song aligns with God’s inspired Word.
[Verse]
Line 1: The word “alleluia” is a derivative of the word ‘Hallelujah”, which is 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”. “Alleluia” is often used within liturgies, usually combined with Psalms or other passages of Scripture before proclaiming the Gospel.
Line 2: This references God’s sovereignty (Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 4:39, Deuteronomy 10:14, Joshua 2:11, Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 29:10, Psalm 45:6, Psalm 50:7-15, Psalm 93:1-2, Psalm 115:3, Psalm 135:6, Isaiah 43:13, Isaiah 45:9-10, Isaiah 46:10, Lamentations 5:19, Daniel 4:35, Romans 9:19-21, Ephesians 1:11, Hebrews 1:8, James 4:15, Revelation 4:11, and Revelation 20:11).
Lines 3-5: Repeats lines 1 and 2.
[Chorus 1]
Line 1: God is holy; set apart from the rest of us (Leviticus 11:44-45, Leviticus 19:2, Leviticus 20:7, and 1 Peter 1:15-16).
Line 2: According to Strong’s, there are 48 references in the Old Testament and 10 in the New Testament to God as almighty. God as “Lord” is another reference to His rulership. See Verse, line 2.
Line 3: That is, the Lamb that was slain, Jesus, is worthy to receive our praise (Isaiah 53:7, John 1:29, John 1:36, 1 Peter 1:19, Revelation 5:12, and Revelation 13:8).
Side Note: The song’s title, Agnus Dei, is Latin for “Lamb of God”.
Lines 4-6: Essentially repeats lines 1-3.
Line 7: So be it.
[Chorus 2]
Lines 1-12: Repeats Chorus 1, lines 3-6.
[Chorus 3]
Lines 1 and 2: Repeats Chorus 1, lines 3 and 4.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
This song contains several explicit references to God and the word “alleluia, which contains associations to Judaism and Christianity. While Christians will conclude Christianity due to its “Lamb of God” reference, I question if unbelievers will know that the Lamb of God is Jesus, lending them to conclude Christianity over Judaism; However, I also don’t see how they would believe it’s about Judaism and not Christianity. Regardless, they will believe it’s religious and speak of God’s rule and reign over the world, with His followers worshipping Him.
Score: 8/10
4. What does this song glorify?
It glorifies Jesus as our Holy Lord and King.
Score: 10/10
Closing Comments
Michael W. Smith’s Agnus Dei is short and sweet. It magnifies Christ as Lord, Holy, and the Lamb as the Sovereign Ruler of creation, bringing Him glory. Unbelievers will conclude that it’s religious worship, though I am uncertain if they would think it Christian, as opposed to Judaism.
I highly recommend it for corporate worship.
Score: 9.5/10
Artist Info
Track: Agnus Dei (listen to the song)
Artist: Michael W. Smith
Album: Go West Young Man
Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)
Release Year: 1990
Duration: 5:09
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
Updates:
03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.
Comments
Any
Michael W. Smith didn’t write it. Samuel Barber wrote it. Nor did he write Ancient words, it is was written by Barbara Lynn Deshazo.
Vince Wright
Any,
Thank you for your comment!
The artist is not always the person who wrote it. It’s the person who released it first.
-Vince Wright
Mo
Of course it’s biblical! Good grief. It’s straight from the Bible! People actually question this?!
Vince Wright
Mo,
Great question!
Not necessarily. I have a template that I use for the page title that is intended to draw people to The Berean Test. It’s one of many SEO strategies that I implement to increase traffic to this site.
-Vince Wright
Carl Nally Simon
Good job (for the SEO)
janetcoverdale
I’ve always liked this song, but the phrase “Are you Lord God Almighty” just sounds wrong, like it’s a question. Why couldn’t the lyrics have been written “You are Lord God Almighty” instead?
Neal Cruco
janetcoverdale,
Because it’s a continuation of the previous line.
“Holy, holy / Are You Lord God Almighty / Worthy is the Lamb / Worthy is the Lamb”
Penny Forte
It is not a question. It is a statement. It follows the word “Holy”. Holy are you, Lord God Almighty.
Maj
Great question. I’m a musician that was going to sing it with the words reversed as you have spoken. That was my problem with playing the song. And thank you for knowledgeable answers that brought it into light. The pause from “Holy to are You was confusing until now. 😂. That’s why I am always searching for God. Thank you for the clarity. God bless you all.