Develop a Discipleship System
History of Hymns: 'Worthy of Worship'
By Guest Contributor Anderson (Andy) Harrison, III
“Worthy of Worship”
Words by Terry York; Music by Mark Blankenship
Refrain:
You are worthy, Father, Creator,
You are worthy, Savior, Sustainer,
You are worthy, worthy and wonderful;
worthy of worship and praise.
©1988 Van Ness Press, Inc.; McKinney Music, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The hymn “Worthy of Worship” was written by Terry W. York and set to music by Mark Blankenship.
In 2025, Terry York (b. 1949) was named Professor Emeritus of Christian Ministry and Church Music at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, Texas, where he had served since 1998. He has published more than forty hymns and sixty choral anthem texts, and has collaborated with numerous composers on various projects. One of those collaborations was with composer and arranger Mark Blankenship.
In addition to his role as composer and arranger, Mark Blankenship (b. 1943) is a former publishing director and worship specialist. With an extensive, international ministry career spanning more than five decades, Blankenship has been a featured vocalist on more than one hundred projects, and he has published more than four hundred notable works.
Blankenship and York’s paths crossed in 1984 when both were employed by the Baptist Sunday School Board (now Lifeway Christian Resources). Blankenship began his career there ten years earlier as the youth and adult music editor. In 1988, the two decided to write a musical that would include various hymns and anthems—traditional and newly-composed—that could be performed during Holy Week. York’s prowess with texts, coupled with Blankenship’s compositional strength, resulted in the work, Praise the Risen Savior (1989). “Worthy of Worship,” one of five newly composed pieces by the duo for the musical, was selected to be included in The Baptist Hymnal (1991), commissioned by the Southern Baptist Convention. “Worthy of Worship” was notably placed behind the ecumenical hymn standard, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” Since its first appearance in The Baptist Hymnal, the song has been added to seven additional hymnals.
Originally composed in the key of G major, “Worthy of Worship” is published in the key of F major and includes three stanzas and a refrain. Various places within the hymn incorporate anaphora—the repetition of the same word at the beginning of successive lines for rhetorical purposes—as well as several instances of alliteration (Eskew and McElrath, p. 22). These poetic devices provide a sonic and thematic unity to the hymn:
“Worthy of worship, / worthy of praise, / worthy of honor and glory” (anaphora)
“bowing and bending” (alliteration)
“Wonderful Counselor, Comforter” (alliteration)
“Savior and Source” (alliteration)
“You are worthy, worthy and wonderful” (anaphora, alliteration)
York alludes to several biblical references, the most obvious being Revelation 4:11 (NIV[1]):
You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.
The third stanza references Isaiah 9:6 (NIV), which details the prophecy of the expected savior and the names that he would be called:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Other references include Psalm 145:3, Philippians 2:9-1, Revelation 5:11-14, Revelation 17:14, and Revelation 19:16.
As previously noted, “Worthy of Worship” succeeds “Holy, Holy, Holy” in the 1991 edition of The Baptist Hymnal, perhaps because of their many similarities. Both contain symmetric themes of adoration, exaltation, and the Holy Trinity—God the Father, God the Son/Savior, and God the Holy Spirit/Ghost. “Holy, Holy, Holy” emphatically affirms the holiness of God in the same way “Worthy of Worship” affirms God’s worthiness, doing so through the use of some of the same poetic devices, biblical references, and adjectives/descriptors.
The composer named the tune JUDSON after Judson Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, where Blankenship and York were members at the time of the composition. Worship planners may seamlessly weave “Worthy of Worship” into the worship service. The use of alliteration, repetition, and conversational language aids in connection and memorization.
A presentation of the hymn is available at the “A Celebration of Grace” worship service at Hayes Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, featuring the choir and orchestra, can be found here.
SOURCES
“Mark Blankenship,” Jubilate Music Group, https://jubilatemusic.com/pages/mark-blankenship.
Harry Eskew and Hugh T McElrath. Sing with Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Hymnology. 2nd ed., rev. exp. (Nashville: Church Street Press, 1995).
Wesley Forbis, ed.. The Baptist Hymnal. Nashville: Convention Press, 1991.
David W. Music, “Terry W. York,” The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press,
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/t/terry-w-york.
——, “Worthy of Worship,” Handbook to the Baptist Hymnal (1991), ed. Jere V. Adams, ed. (Nashville: Convention Press, 1992), p. 279.
“Terry York, DMA, Professor of Christian Ministry and Church Music.” George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University, https://truettseminary.baylor.edu/person/terry-york-dma.
Anderson (Andy) Harrison, III is a graduate student in the theological studies program at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, where he is a student of Dr. Marcell Silva Steuernagel. He is currently the worship director at Vista Ridge United Methodist Church in Lewisville, Texas.
[1] Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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