This post is written by artist, Corey Voss. To download the song and the song chart for FREE visit Christian Song Charts!
PRAISE THE KING was written by Michael Farren, Dustin Smith, Michael Bryce Jr., and myself. This song is a powerful anthem for the Church to sing. This lyric and melody speak of the resurrection power of Christ and what He accomplished for us. I believe there are some moments in this song that will help every believer to receive and proclaim the work of Christ in their life.
This song has had quite a journey in the writing process. I started working on the song almost two years ago in my office at church. I had an idea for a chorus, “Hallelujah He is risen, Hallelujah He’s alive” that I was singing and playing on the piano. I had also written some verses and bridge ideas but still felt like the song was missing something. Try as I might to push through the writer’s block, I set the idea aside for a few months. Sometimes I think songs need time to cook before their ready for writing.
Later that summer, while my good friend Michael Bryce Jr. was visiting Nashville, I shared the chorus idea with him. I can remember he thought the song had something special on it, but also agreed there was a gap that needed filling. We were sitting in the writer’s room when he kept asking me to play the chorus idea over and over again. All of the sudden he jumps up and says “Praise the King…He is risen!” and that gave us our chorus and what would also become our song title. It just felt right, but the song still wasn’t finished.
In the fall of last year, I took an impromptu trip to beautiful Buena Vista, Colorado with my producer Michael Farren and Dustin Smith. We took a few days to just get away, seek the Lord, and write. One particular day we were going through some song ideas when I shared “Praise the King” with them. Immediately, Michael jumped on the piano and starting working his magic on the verses and Dustin crafted some amazing lyrics that became the bridge.
Sitting at the grand piano in Buena, Michael, Dustin, and I sang through the chorus. When out of nowhere Michael starts singing, “There’s a reason why the curse of sin is broken…there’s a reason why the darkness runs from light…there’s a reason why we stand here now forgiven…Jesus is alive.” This became the structure for all of the verses. The rest of the song began to flow out of that moment.
Dustin shared with us the victorious lyric for the bridge he had worked on, “The world cannot ignore it, when all the saints are roaring, hell where is your victory, death where is your sting?” These are the kinds of lyrics that make you want to run the aisles at church because they are so powerful!
Once we had put the entire song together and played it through a few times we were so excited to share it. There happened to be a worship gathering taking place that night at the Sanctuary Retreat where we stayed. We led worship and sang “Praise the King” for the first time that evening and it was electric! A dozen of us sang the song for almost 15 minutes together. Young and old alike, and that’s when I saw that God had given us something powerful for His Church to sing.
I’ve loved the process of seeing this song come to be. When we first wrote it, I said to the guys, “This is a perfect song for Easter!” Michael smiled and said “No, this is an all year round song! I would lead this Sunday!” I’ve had the opportunity to lead it at my home church as well as several other churches that have never heard it before. They all had the same reaction…loud shouts and praise unto the Lord when they sing and recognize “There’s a reason why we stand here now forgiven, Jesus is alive!” What an honor it is to write for His glory and for the nourishment of His people.
I’m excited to see what God will do with this song and I pray it is sung on the lips of many. I don’t believe that great worship songs are the end result or even the goal in corporate worship, but rather they are a means to a greater encounter, revelation, and relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Download the song and sheet music today at Christian Song Charts! For more music by Corey Voss, visit his website http://coreyvoss.com
