Song Recommendation – “You Alone Can Rescue”

Matt Redman released his CD “We Shall Not Be Shaken” in August 2009. There are a bunch of great songs on it, and one that stood out from the beginning and has been a great addition to the repertoire at my church is “You Alone Can Rescue”. Here are the lyrics:

Who, oh Lord, could save themselves
Their own sin could heal?
Our shame was deeper than the sea
Your grace is deeper still

You alone can rescue, You alone can save
You alone can lift us from the grave
You came down to find us, led us out of death
To You alone belongs the highest praise

You, oh Lord, have made a way
The great divide You heal
For when our hearts were far away
Your love went further still
Yes, your love goes further still

We lift up our eyes, lift up our eyes
You’re the Giver of Life

Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin. (C) 2008 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) sixsteps Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) Said And Done Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) SHOUT! Publishing (Admin. by Integrity Music, Inc.)

Here’s a video of Matt performing the song on The 700 Club:

Here’s why I like the song:
– It’s easy for a congregation to learn. Sing it once or twice and they’ll be able to join in.
– It’s simple but not trite. Two verses, a chorus, and a bridge, but full of truth.
– It’s flexible. You can lead this song with a full band or just one instrument, arrange it quietly, or arrange it like Matt does.
– It’s Christ-centered.

When I lead this song I make two little changes to make it easier for the congregation to sing:
– Move it down to the key of A or Bb. The recorded key of B feels a bit high in the chorus.
– Instead of repeating the last line of the second verse “…yes, Your love goes further still!” and jumping up an octave like Matt, I just cut that part out and go straight to the chorus. I might put this part back in some day, or use it in a higher-energy setting, but found that jumping up an octave there was a bit jarring the couple of times we did it that way.

– Listen to the whole song on Matt’s MySpace
– Download the song on iTunes for $.99
– Download the album on iTunes for $9.99
– Buy the album from Amazon for $12.05
– Download the free chord chart from Matt’s website
– Purchase the sheet music from musicnotes.com