The Choir – God of Wonders

Many of you are aware that I review songs based on the original artist.  However, I’ve never heard of The Choir until this review! Steve Hindalong & Marc Byrd from The Choir wrote God of Wonders, not Third Day.  However, I’ve created a second entry on the Song Review Index page for Third Day to make it easier for others to find.  If you found this page by selecting Third Day’s entry, my genius plan worked!

The Choir is a Christian alternative rock band that began in 1984.  They released 16 albums and other works, including three 3 EP’s, 5 live albums, 17 non-album singles, and many other appearances.

They won a GMA Dove in 1996 for Best Modern/Alternative Rock Album for Free Flying Soul.  In 2001, their album City on a Hill won a GMA dove for Special Event Album of the Year.  The first track is God of Wonders.

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 created the universe, which in turn points to His glory through creation itself and our worship.  The created heavens are a shadow of the new heavens that will come post-Christ’s return.  He is holy.

Side Note: Most versions contain moderate repetition of Stanza 2, Stanza 3, and Stanza 5 throughout the song.

Score: 10/10

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

This song perfectly lines up with Scripture.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

This song does not contain a Verse/Chorus/Bridge structure.  Therefore, I will assign stanzas to each paragraph.

NOTE: Due to all the variations of repetition in live versions, covers, etc., I’ve only included the five stanzas that contain all the lyrics.

[Stanza 1]

Lord of all creation
Of water, earth and sky

God is sovereign over all that He made (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).

The heavens are Your tabernacle

Much like the physical tabernacle, the heavens are a copy, a shadow of the spiritual, permanent dwelling place (Hebrews 8:5), the heavens are a copy of the new heaven and earth that is to come (Revelation 21:1).

Glory to the Lord on High

Indeed, He was, is, and will be glorified (Exodus 16:7, Exodus 24:17, Exodus 40:34-35, Leviticus 9:23, 1 Chronicles 29:11, Psalm 3:3, Psalm 8:1, Psalm 19:1-4, Isaiah 6:1-3, Isaiah 40:5, Isaiah 42:8, Isaiah 58:8, Isaiah 60:1, Habakkuk 2:14, John 1:14, John 17:22, Romans 3:23, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Philippians 4:19, Hebrews 1:1-3, Revelation 21:10-14, and Revelation 21:23).

[Stanza 2]

God of wonders beyond our galaxy

That is, the God that does wonders who indwells beyond the second heaven and into the third (Genesis 28:12, Deuteronomy 10:14, 1 Kings 8:27, and 2 Corinthians 12:2).

You are holy, holy

God is holy (Leviticus 11:44-45, Leviticus 19:2, Leviticus 20:7,1 Peter 1:15-16, and Revelation 4:8).

The universe declares Your majesty

The heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1-4 and Romans 1:18-20).

You are holy, holy

Repeats line 2.

[Stanza 3]

Lord of heaven and earth

See commentary on Verse 1, lines 1 and 2.

Lord of heaven and earth

Repeats line 1.

[Stanza 4]

Early in the morning
I will celebrate the light
When I stumble through the darkness
I will call Your name by night

Most likely an allusion to Psalm 30:5 and Romans 10:13, where there’s a calling on God for salvation, with joy brought forth when we’re rescued from darkness.

[Stanza 5]

Hallelujah to the Lord of of heaven and earth

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.  Thus, this line states that we joyfully praise the God who is sovereign over His creation.  This summarizes the entire song.

Hallelujah to the Lord of heaven and earth
Hallelujah to the Lord of heaven and earth

Repeats line 1.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

This song contains a mix of everyday and Christianese language.  The majority is easily understood without deep study in the Scriptures, that Christians worship God, God is set apart, and creation points to His existence.  The only part that might be esoteric is the tabernacle.

Score: 9/10

4. What does this song glorify?

This song glorifies God by declaring God as sovereign and holy, alongside creation that glorifies Him.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

The Choir’s God of Wonders is an awesome song.  It tells us that God created the universe, rules it, and is glorified by the universe and our worship, alongside this song that talks about these concepts.  Aside from the concept of tabernacle, unbelievers should find this interpretation easy to conclude.

I highly recommend this song for corporate worship.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: God of Wonders (listen to the song)

Artist: The Choir

Album: City on a Hill

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2000

Duration: N/A

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

*Copyright © 2000 Storm Boy Music (BMI) Meaux Mercy (BMI) Never Say Never Songs (ASCAP) New Spring Publishing Inc. (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.