Rebecca was born in Sydney, Australia, to David and Helen Smallbone. She is the oldest of seven children, and currently lives in Los Angeles with Jacob. Rebecca took the name St. James from her grandmother, as it was her maiden name. Her album ‘’God’’ was certified Gold by the RIAA in 1995. Also, ‘’Pray ‘’ was certified Gold by the RIAA on the last week of September 1999.
Rebecca's musical career began in 1990 at age 13 when she began opening shows for CCM (Christian Contemporary Music) artist Carman during his Australian tour which was promoted by her father's company, David Smallbone Promotions. That same year she recorded her first album, Refresh My Heart. In 1991 she moved to the United States upon signing with ForeFront Records, and took her stage name at the label's request.
In 1999 Rebecca received a Grammy Award for her album ''Pray'' in the Best Rock Gospel Album category. Rebecca is the eighth Australian artist or group to win a Grammy Award.
In 2003 she played the part of Maggie (Mary Magdalene) in the !HERO rock opera.
Rebecca is an open supporter of teenage sexual abstinence, and has become an unofficial spokesperson for True Love Waits. The single "Wait for Me", from her 2000 album Transform, encourages waiting to have sex until after marriage. Later that year it also became the title and focus of a 46-city tour. James wrote the song herself on a tour bus, and it became instantly popular. The song was also used on the TV program The O.C. Rebecca's first book, titled Wait for Me: Rediscovering the Joy of Purity in Romance, was published in 2002 and further addressed the issue.
In November of 2005, Rebecca released her highly anticipated album If I Had One Chance To Tell You Something. After not putting out a new pop/rock album since 2000, this album combines Rebecca's overall versatility in vocal and song writing to the finest degree.
Rebecca sang a song on the 2005 soundtrack, Music Inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia called "Lion" for which she won a Dove Award.
A Special Edition of If I Had One Chance To Tell You Something was released in November 2006 and included two acoustic tracks and other special features.
In 2007. Rebecca released her live CD\DVD aLIVE In Florida featuring some of her No. 1 hits as well as fan favorites.
In 2008, two compilation albums, The Ultimate Collection (Double Disc) and Greatest Hits featuring some of her biggest hits were released. The same year she also released a new book called Pure: A 90-Day Devotional for the Mind, Body, & Spirit which broke into Top 10 at #9 on the CBA bestseller's list in Feb 2009. Pure is also nominated among the Top 3 books of 2009 for the youth/teen market.
The September 09' release of Loved, (Hachette/Faithwords) and the fall national film release of Sarah’s Choice capped 2009 as one of Rebecca’s most creatively diverse years.
Merciful
Rebecca St. James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We confess that we have sinned against You
Merciful God
We confess that we have not loved You with our whole heart
In what we have done and left undone
In what we have done and left undone
We humbly repent
And we cry out for you God
Have mercy on us
Merciful God
Forgive us now
That we may delight in Your will
And walk in Your ways
And lift high Your name
And walk in Your ways
And lift high Your name
The lyrics of Rebecca St. James's song "Merciful" express a deep sense of confession and repentance towards God. The first verse begins with the acknowledgement that the singers have sinned against God, recognizing their wrongdoing and taking full responsibility for their actions. The second line of the verse follows this up by confessing that they have not loved God with their whole hearts, which is a clear expression of humility and contrition.
The chorus continues the theme of repentance, as the singers list the specific things they have done and haven't done that have led to their current state. They vow to "lay down" these sins, to humbly repent, and they cry out for God to have mercy on them. The lyrics seem to be based on the idea of Psalm 51, which is a prayer that King David wrote after he had been confronted about his adultery with Bathsheba. In the psalm, David confesses his sins to God, humbly pleads for mercy, and commits to living a better and more righteous life in the future.
Overall, the lyrics of "Merciful" show that the singer has come to a place of contrition and humility, recognizing their shortcomings and weaknesses, and reaching out to God for healing and forgiveness.
Line by Line Meaning
Merciful God
We acknowledge and praise God's compassionate nature
We confess that we have sinned against You
We admit to committing wrongdoing against God
Merciful God
We acknowledge and praise God's compassionate nature once again
We confess that we have not loved You with our whole heart
We acknowledge that we have not given God our complete devotion
In what we have done and left undone
We take responsibility for both our actions and inactions
In what we have done and left undone
We reiterate our accountability for our actions and inactions
We will lay down
We will surrender and let go of our pride and ego
We humbly repent
We express sincere regret for our past mistakes and vow to make amends
And we cry out for you God
We call out to God for mercy and guidance
Have mercy on us
We ask God to pardon us and show us compassion
Merciful God
We acknowledge God's forgiving and gracious nature once again
Forgive us now
We request that God forgives us immediately
That we may delight in Your will
We desire to follow God's plan and find joy in it
And walk in Your ways
We aspire to live our lives in accordance with God's teachings
And lift high Your name
We seek to honor God and bring glory to His name
And walk in Your ways
We reiterate our aspiration to live our lives in accordance with God's teachings
And lift high Your name
We reaffirm our commitment to honor and glorify God.
Lyrics © CAPITOL CHRISTIAN MUSIC GROUP, Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: JEREMY BOSE, MATT BRONLEEWE, PAUL FIELD, REBECCA ST. JAMES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind