By grace you have been saved through faith,

and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

—Ephesians 2:8, NRSV

The song’s simple syncopation is easy to learn, and the tempo can be varied. As an enthusiastic praise song, it can clip along at 136 beats per minute (bpm), accompanied by piano, guitars, and some supplemental percussion. But I’ve also heard it done nearly a cappella at a much slower 80 bpm on a Sunday when a congregation was still reeling from the unexpected death of a beloved member. On that Sunday, the song was a beautiful testimony to Christ, the “solid rock.”

 

It is very nearly a perfect praise chorus—it can be learned in one singing; it’s simple but not trite; it focuses on the work of Jesus rather than on us; and the IV chord on the downbeat lets you sing it a number of times without feeling finished. In fact, it could easily work in a medley with a related song, such as “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less.”

(from Reformed Worship, Issue 88)

Greg Scheer (b. 1966) has composed hundreds of pieces, songs and arrangements. His music is published by Augsburg Fortress, GIA, Abingdon Press, Worship Today, Faith Alive and in numerous hymnals. He has won commissions from the Iowa Choral Directors Association, Iowa Composers Forum, Linn-Mar High School String Orchestra, Chagall String Quartet and Northwestern College. His electronic piece, "Crossfade," was included on the CD ...from everlasting to everlasting... His string quartet "6" was featured on WQED in Pittsburgh and was also a winning composition in the 2000 Southeastern Composers' Symposium. His hymn "People of the Lord" won the Calvin09 hymn contest and was subsequently sung and published internationally.