CeCe Winans, “Mercy Said No” | Music Lifts 🎶 🏋

In the 25^th edition of Lit Music That Lifts, we’re uplifted by beloved gospel musician CeCe Winans performing “Mercy Said No.”

Welcome to Lit Music That Lifts (LMTL), or Music Lifts 🎶 🏋 for short! This column picks up where Sunday Refresh 🙏 leaves off, yet it hits different.  Like its predecessor, Music Lifts seeks to highlight songs that encourage, inspire, and uplift the spirit; songs that exude fortitude, positivity, and resolve, even in the face of adversity.  Featured songs aren’t genre-specific; songs may or may not be faith-based. The goal is for these songs to make you feel better – be LIFTED to new heights!  So, for the X edition of Music Lifts 🎶 🏋 (2022), we highlight 🎵 “Mercy Said No” as performed by beloved gospel musician,  🎙 CeCe Winans.

“Mercy said, ‘No, I’m not gonna let you go / I’m not gonna let you slip away, you don’t have to be afraid.’” Those are comforting, inspired, and faithful lyrics, 🎙 CeCe Winans.  They grace her moving, 2003 gospel/Christian gem, 🎵 “Mercy Said No”. “Mercy Said No” is arguably the crowning achievement of her gold-certified album, 💿 Throne Room.  Yes, you read correctly – there are some gold and platinum-certified gospel albums, believe it or not!  Winans does a fine job ministering with this superbly penned composition by 🎼 ✍ David Allen Clark, 🎼 ✍ Don Koch, and 🎼 ✍ Gregory Long.

CeCe is adept a providing balanced, highly effective gospel performances.  She straddles the line of gospel and CCM (contemporary Christian music) extremely well. “Mercy Said No” sort of breathes on you much of its five-minute duration, never coming off as an in-your-face gospel record. It does ascend to a greater dynamic level on the chorus where Jesus is firmly in control (not Satan), while ultimately reaching a fever pitch towards the end.  Still, Winans never forces things while still delivering with the utmost conviction whether it is, “I realize His grace is what I’ll need / When sin demanded justice for my soul,” or  “The light of hope seemed oh so far away / As evil tried to stop redemption’s flow.”  The big takeaway is, nothing – NOTHING – can stifle G-O-D: “Life and death stood face to face, darkness tried to steal my heart / Thank you, Jesus, mercy said no.”

🎙 CeCe Winans • 💿 Throne Room • 🏷 PureSprings Gospel • 📅 2003

CeCe Winans, “Mercy Said No”: Music Lifts 🎶 🏋 No. 25 (2022) [📷: Arek Socha, Benjamin Balazs, Brent Faulkner, Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Ketut Subiyanto, The Musical Hype, Pexels, Pixabay, PureSprings Gospel]