In honor of Black history month, our family chose “Revelation 19”, also known as “Hallelujah, Salvation and Glory”, as our February hymn of the month.
The Lord gave the Apostle John a vision when he was on the island of Patmos. John was living there as an exile, imprisoned for his testimony concerning our Lord Jesus Christ.
Babylon, in the Book of Revelation, represents a unified geo-political power that oppresses God’s Church. Heaven breaks forth in jubilant praise in Revelation 19:1–2, because Babylon, also called the great prostitute, has just been defeated once and for all. As John records:
‘Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
for his judgments are true and just;
for he has judged the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality,
and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.’”
In this world, it often seems that God is losing. The wicked prosper, while the righteous suffer. Evil seems to prevail. Darkness surrounds us, and we wonder if the Light of Christ shall ever overcome. The main message of the Book of Revelation, for these reasons, serves as great encouragement for the church today and in any age. It tells us that Jesus shall win. Sin shall not ravage forever. Death shall not have the final word. Evil shall give an account at the judgement seat of God. The Light shall overcome. For Babylon, the great mythic oppressor of God’s people, shall fall, and a new age shall break forth, commencing with the Marriage Feast of the Lamb.
The Lord, our God, is indeed mighty and powerful. He shall avenge all that opposes him. His victory is our victory, and we who unite ourselves to him stand in his victory. So, let us join the heavenly chorus and sing praises to our God. For the Lord our God is mighty!
A. Jeffrey LaValley, a black gospel writer, wrote “Revelation 19” almost accidently. He never meant it to be a hit, but the song has become a staple in many gospel-music singing churches. LaValley once explained in an interview how the song came about:
“We were in communion service one Sunday evening in 1985, and the spirit was high. My pastor was standing in the pulpit with his Bible. He walked over to the organ. He flings the Bible on the organ and says, “Sing this.” I said, “Excuse me?” He said, “Sing this.” The Bible was turned to Revelation 19:1. […] The pastor walked back to his pulpit, and I didn’t know what to do, so I began singing the first melody that came into my mind. It was basically the first verse of the song. I sang the verse over and over. Finally the choir joined in unison, and then the congregation joined in, and everybody kept at it. I figured this was it, because I was going to forget the song and the people were going to forget it. But the sound man, who never taped communion service, just happened to tape that communion service. He gave a copy of the tape to me. At that point, we were preparing the His Eye Is On the Sparrow album and we needed a filler cut. So I took that tape and added the “For the Lord Our God is Mighty” section, and did the little descant, and taught it to the choir. […] And that’s how it all happened.”
Traditionally each part of this song is sung individually first. Then the parts are layered, starting with part 1, then adding part 2, and finally adding part 3. This creates a powerful effect, transporting our souls to rejoice in the glory and almighty power of God.
Lyrics
PART 1
Hallelujah, salvation, and glory
Honor, and power unto the Lord our God.
For the Lord our God is mighty.
Yes, the Lord our God is omnipotent.
The Lord our God, he is wonderful.
PART 2
All praises be to the King of Kings
And the Lord of Lords.
He is wonderful!
PART 3
Hal-le-lu-jah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, halle-lu-jah,
He is wonderful.
What a powerful declaration of God’s sovereignty over all things!
Jessica and I last fall had the experience of singing “Revelation 19” with thousands of other Christians in Nashville with Dwan Hill and The Choir Room. The rapturous power of the singing reverberated in my soul for weeks. I pray these words, which come from the great praise of Revelation 19, will be an encouragement to you.
Bible Memory Verses
Revelation 19:1, ESV
“After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,
‘Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God…’”
You can listen to “Revelation 19” here:
Revelation 19: 1 (youtube.com)
If you would be interested in listening to some of our family’s previous month’s hymns, feel free to check out our playlist on Spotify: