He Shall Reign Forevermore: Lyrical Christmas Countdown, Day 13

Often, things don’t quite turn out like we expect. Today, my Not Quite involved rain, a dog bakery, a broken birthday bone, and an accident under the Christmas tree.

Day 13’s lyrics are from He Shall Reign Forevermore by Chris Tomlin and Matt Maher. The lyrics speak to another Not Quite: the world’s Savior came in bleak darkness and his throne was a dirty stable. While looking up information about this song, I heard about another Not Quite. Here’s the story:

This song was written by Matt Maher and Chris Tomlin, and can be found on Tomlin’s live worship album Adore. The day of the live recording event, Maher was sick and had to back out. The concert went on and the song was recorded without him. That’s a big Not Quite, isn’t it? But there IS an online video where the two singers recorded an acoustic version instead. If you’re interested, here is the link. Forward to about 6 minutes in to hear the song, or watch the entire video to hear the whole story.

The song is an echo of a poem written by Christina Rossetti in 1872 for the magazine Scribner's Monthly. Here are some of her words I really like: “But His mother only, in her maiden bliss, / Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.”