Robin Mark – “Days of Elijah”
Every Wednesday here at FishWorship, we take a moment to celebrate a song that has something special to say about faith, worship, and the God we serve. For this week’s Praise Song of the Week, we’re turning to one of the most recognizable modern worship songs of its generation: “Days of Elijah.” Written by Irish Christian songwriter Robin Mark, the song looks toward a time of spiritual awakening and boldly proclaims the greatness and faithfulness of God. Today, we’re featuring Robin Mark’s own version in a beautifully produced lyric video—and we have a special bonus video to share at the end that shows just how far this powerful song can reach.
Apple Music subscribers: Sign in above to hear the full song.
There is a lot more going on in “Days of Elijah” than its energetic melody might initially suggest. Robin Mark wrote the song in the mid-1990s, and he has described it as, at its heart, a song of hope. The inspiration came while he was reflecting on the troubled events of 1994, including the devastating Rwandan genocide and the ongoing turmoil in Northern Ireland. Rather than simply focusing on the darkness around him, Mark began thinking about what it means for God’s people to continue declaring their faith in the midst of difficult times.
The song draws on a remarkable collection of Old Testament images and characters. Elijah represents boldly declaring God’s Word; Moses is associated with righteousness; Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones points toward restoration and new life; David represents the restoration of praise and worship; and the imagery of the harvest points toward the Church’s calling to share the Gospel. All of those themes ultimately lead toward the song’s central declaration of hope: Christ is coming again. Mark has explained that he deliberately used these biblical figures as pictures of qualities and purposes that continue to speak to the Church today.
Perhaps the most remarkable part of the story is how quickly the song came together. Mark has said that after hearing a sermon on Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones one Sunday morning, he went into the kitchen of his church building between services and wrote the words and chords in about 30 minutes. The congregation then sang the song together at the end of the second service. From that very ordinary beginning, “Days of Elijah” went on to become one of the most widely recognized worship songs associated with Robin Mark.
And Robin Mark certainly isn’t the only Christian artist to record it. Twila Paris included her version on her album He Is Exalted, released in 2005, while other recordings have come from artists including Donnie McClurkin, Paul Wilbur, Angela Primm, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, and Bill & Gloria Gaither. That collection of recordings is another indication of how far this song has traveled from the Belfast church where Mark first introduced it—and why, decades later, “Days of Elijah” still feels right at home in churches and worship gatherings around the world.
🐟
🎬Bonus Video: USMC
For our bonus video, we found something that captures the communal spirit of “Days of Elijah” in a particularly powerful way. In a room at Camp Pendleton, several dozen U.S. Marines stand together and sing along with Robin Mark’s version of the song, joining their voices in a declaration of faith and a celebration of God’s purpose for their lives. Watching them sing these words together gives the song an entirely different dimension—it becomes more than a worship recording being played on a screen; it becomes a room full of people actively proclaiming the hope, calling, and faith at the heart of the song. We thought it was a wonderful way to close out today’s Praise Song of the Week.
🐟