The King -- Amanda Cook, Chris Davenport, Ran Jackson, Ricky Jackson

We can say He’s “The King”, but that really means something quite different than what historians and most people imagine when they see that title attached to anyone. That difference certainly did not escape Chris Davenport, Amanda Cook, Ran Jackson and Ricky Jackson when they sat together in 2023 and considered how to sing to this king. They must have thought of the moments when Jesus was with Pilate, and how perplexed that governor was when he encountered Him. Pilate thought Jesus was a mere man (see the artwork Ecce Homo [Behold the Man!], by 19^th Century artist Antonio Ciseri), with perhaps a few tricks up His sleeve, and could not imagine that His crowning moment (even while wearing the ignominious crown of thorns) was near when He would, as king of the universe, die and then turn on death and crush it. No king has ever done, nor could one ever accomplish what King Jesus did. No reign has ever been established the way that Jesus brought about this one, and so these four 21^st Century composers thought of how best to acknowledge someone as unique as Jesus. A single shout of praise just doesn’t do justice to how we should respond. It takes a lifetime, and every moment counts.

  

Chris Davenport sat and talked about how “The King” developed the one day that he and his comrades were at Ricky’s house; they were about to suspend their work for the day, when Ran mentioned that he had a chorus, and the others’ reaction when they heard it was that the lyrics and the idea were obviously hitting the bullseye, so they decided to press on with their efforts, rather than quitting for the day. What is the best way to address the God who has done what Jesus did? They settled on the idea that praising and celebrating with every line was the only apt response. Chris said a church should just ‘light up’ as it shouts about the victory that He’s provided. So, let yourself go, and think of it as a party, but also as a time when your absolute conviction that He’s the beginning and the end of everything gives you confidence to approach the overwhelming issues in your life with a renewed sense that the darkness cannot win. He’s won for you and me, and we should consider it an honor and privilege to be called Christians. ‘For the war is won’, these four sang (v.1), and there are so many other words that they used in the lyrics that should lift the spirit of the church, like ‘victory banner’, ‘celebrate’, and ‘joy’ (v.1); and ‘trumpet’, ‘glorious sound’, and ‘Jesus riding on the clouds’(v.3) that provide thrilling mental images that are based in scripture. These aren’t just feel-good faint hopes, but real promises that we can take with us through life from the One who died and rose again to secure them for us. Oh, and there’s that word ‘Hallelujah’ that they sing repeatedly, to cap what should be an ecstatic moment. But, it’s also not a moment when we forget how Jesus paid for this, as the songwriters retell us in verse two that He ‘bore…burdens, and ‘suffered…shame’ for all of us. And yet, He met death head-on, and left its ‘fear’ in an ‘empty grave’ (v.2). Death is robbed of its horror, and we get to see Him ‘fling the gates wide open’ on that eternal morning. Are you excited yet…does that send an electric shock through you? You and I will indeed tremble at these words -- not in dread, but with exhilaration.

 

He will rouse us one day, of that we can be certain. Chris suggested in the interview that being Christian can make us take some things for granted, that we might become too relaxed in our certainty. You might have sung about the glorified Jesus a thousand times, but don’t get ‘too cool’, that you might start to take the same attitude as those who do not have Jesus. Live life remembering what that resurrection moment was like for Him, and how that will be magnified so many times when He does the same for you. It will indeed be personal, and you can start to celebrate it now, as a way to get others’ attention and broadcast to as many others as will listen that they can expect the same if they connect with this king. The album on which “The King” was included was entitled Time. That seems appropriate when we think of this king and what he’s already initiated, and how it will culminate in one never-ending day. Though time will be suspended, it won’t be an eerie place, a la the Twilight Zone. Chris, Amanda, Ran, and Ricky have reminded us that the shadowy domain where Rod Serling invites people to come, versus the one where King Jesus will be light, are quite different. His domain will inspire adventure, wonder, and utter delight. Which place would you rather be in – Rod’s home or the home of King Jesus?

 

See the song story shared here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcebOp2pwsY

 

See some comments from one of the songwriters here: https://www.ccmmagazine.com/news/chris-davenport-releases-new-worship-single-the-king/

 

See the information here re: the album and the year it was released: https://genius.com/Chris-davenport-the-king-lyrics

 

See information on the image here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcebOp2pwsY …The author died in 1891, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1931. Find the image inside this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontius_Pilate

 

Great Are You Lord -- Steve and Vikki Cook

He and his wife were kinda new at the songwriting and publishing adventure to which they decided to devote themselves. But, only good thoughts emerge from what Steve Cook remembers of Great Are You Lord, and how it came to be penned by him and his wife Vikki. Perhaps that’s because the Lord wants to bless those who are praising Him, and who seek to draw others into that praise too. But, rather than you hearing it secondhand from this blogger, hear about it directly from Steve’s own words about this episode. Here’s what he has to say. 

We wrote Great Are You Lord around 1983 while living in northern California near Redding.  I was working at a Christian radio station and we were a part of a Calvary Chapel church in Redding and serving on the worship team.  The song was inspired by a book by Mel Tari called Like A Mighty Wind which chronicles the revival that took place on the island of Timor in the mid-1960s. (See a picture of that island here, taken from space by NASA.)  The book left me with a deep sense of awe on the greatness of God and most of the song was written in one sitting.  An important contribution to the song came from Tommy Coomes, who at the time, was the #2 man at Maranatha! Music in Costa Mesa, California. Through a contact with our senior pastor at the church we attended we were able to meet with Tommy and sing a few of our songs.  He was very encouraging and shortly thereafter offered to publish the songs, which we were delighted to do.  Maranatha! Music was one of the top two worship music publishers at the time.  Tommy also made a lyric suggestion which made the song stronger, but he asked for no co-writing credit.  He was very generous in that regard.  Once Maranatha! Music signed the song they included it on a number of their recordings over the next 5-10 years.  We were humbled and blessed by it.

The song also played a key role in our focus as songwriters.  Before writing this song Vikki and I primarily wrote Christian artist songs for our band.  The genre would come to be known as Contemporary Christian Music, but there seemed to be a grace on this simple worship song that we wrote that caused us to wonder and finally decide that writing for the local church was how we wanted to invest our songwriting talents, and so we have done that to this day.  To date, we have written something over 100 worship songs, but Great Are You Lord was the first.

Steve’s story should make us aware that God’s still doing amazing things all around the globe, though those things may not headline the news too often. Let them impress you, the way what happened on Timor did for Mel Tari, and then for Steve Cook too. You might end up writing something that is rather special, and help burn into your memory and spirit an historical event via a musical imprint. Steve related this story to me with nothing more to spark his memory than a brief e:mail from me. It happened 36 years ago, and Steve sounds like he remembered it like it happened yesterday. You think God knows something about our insides and how music helps us remember?

The story of the song was provided by one of the authors to this blogger in an e:mail dated 12 October 2019. Many thanks to Steve Cook!

See here for very brief information on author: https://hymnary.org/person/Cook_V

See for the worship ministry of which the authors are a part: https://www.weareworship.com/us/worship-leaders-2/sovereign-grace-music/

A site that tells some of the details of Sovereign Grace Music: https://sovereigngracemusic.org/about/faq/