Is He Worthy?
One of the 94 hymns we sing together at Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church on the Gold Coast. Browse the full hymnbook.
Lyrics
Verse 1
[Men] Do you feel the world is broken? Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole?
[Ladies] We do. Is anyone able to break the seal and open the
[Men] Do you feel the shadows deepen? scroll?
[Ladies] We do. The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave!
[Men] But do you know that all the dark won’t He is David’s root and the Lamb who died to
Stop the light from getting through? ransom the slave
[Ladies] We do. From every people and tribe,
[Men] Do you wish that you could Every nation and tongue,
See it all made new? He has made us a kingdom and priests to
[Ladies] We do. God
To reign with the Son!
Verse 2
[Ladies] Is all creation groaning? Of all blessing and honour and glory
[Men] It is. Is He worthy? Is He worthy?
[Ladies] Is a new creation coming? Is He worthy of this?
[Men] It is. He is! He is!
[Ladies] Is the glory of the Lord to be Is He worthy? Is He worthy?
The light within our midst? He is! He is!
[Men] It is. He is worthy! He is worthy!
[Ladies] Is it good that we remind He is!
Ourselves of this?
[Men] It is.
Chorus
Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole?
Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?
The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave!
He is David’s root and the Lamb who died to
ransom the slave.
Is He worthy? Is He worthy?
Of all blessing and honor and glory,
Is He worthy of this?
He is.
Verse 3
[Men] Does the Father truly love us?
[Ladies] He does.
[Men] Does the Spirit move among us?
[Ladies] He does.
[Men] And does Jesus, our Messiah
Hold forever those He loves?
[Ladies] He does.
[Men] Does our God intend
To dwell again with us?
[Ladies] He does.
Behind the Hymn
"Is He Worthy?" was written by Andrew Peterson and Ben Shive in 2018 and is structured as a call-and-response dialogue between a worship leader and the congregation, inspired by the heavenly scene in Revelation 5. In that passage, a scroll sealed with seven seals is presented, and the question rings out: "Who is worthy to open the scroll?" — when no one in heaven or earth is found worthy, the Lamb who was slain steps forward, and all of creation erupts in worship. Peterson, a singer-songwriter and novelist from Nashville, Tennessee, crafted the song to make the congregation active participants in answering the great theological questions: "Is He worthy?" "He is!" "Is He worthy?" "He is!" This participatory structure gives the song a dramatic, liturgical quality rarely found in modern worship music. Peterson has spoken about wanting to write a song that made the congregation feel the weight of the question before they gave the answer — that the worthiness of Christ is not a given to be assumed but a truth to be proclaimed with conviction. The song has been widely adopted across denominations and has been praised for its creative structure and deep biblical roots.