What "Count 'Em" means
"Count 'Em" is a celebration of God's mighty works. It names the kinds of things God has done, raising the dead, healing, restoring what was broken and setting captives free, and concludes that there are too many to count. Brandon Lake has called it his "bragging-on-God song," and that is the simplest way to understand it. This page covers Lake's original recording, released as a single in August 2023 on Provident Label Group and included on his album Coat of Many Colors. Lake wrote it with Jacob Sooter and Hank Bentley.
You may see the title written "Count Em'." It is a different song from the older hymn "Count Your Blessings," though both call people to remember what God has done and praise him for it.
Psalm 40:5 is the natural frame, where David says God's wonderful works are more than can be numbered. 1 Samuel 2:2 gives the reason they matter, since there is none holy like the Lord. The sections below look at how to lead a song that celebrates miracles without overpromising them.
What this song does in a room
Some churches rarely hear testimony. People come, sing, listen and leave, and the stories of what God has done in their lives stay private. A song that piles up God's works gives a room a different habit. It trains people to remember out loud.
Picture the moment after the song when you ask, without pressure, whether anyone has seen God at work this year. A few hands go up. A grandmother mentions a grandson who is back in church. A man mentions a job that came through after months of waiting. None of the stories is dramatic, and every one belongs on the list.
The song also meets people who are waiting. Somewhere in the room is a person who has prayed for healing for years and has not received it. For that person, a song full of miracles can hurt. The way you frame it makes the difference between encouragement and burden.
What this song is saying about God
The first claim is about God's character. The works the song celebrates flow from who God is. Hannah's song in 1 Samuel 2 begins with God's holiness and only then describes how he lifts the poor and humbles the proud. God acts this way because he is holy, good and faithful.
The second claim concerns boasting. Scripture says some bragging is right. Psalm 34:2 says, "My soul shall make her boast in the LORD," and Paul writes that whoever glories should glory in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31). What matters is the direction of the boast. In Acts 3, after a lame man walks, Peter asks the crowd why they stare as if he and John had done it by their own power, and he gives the credit to the name of Jesus. A song that brags on God keeps the spotlight on him.
The third claim needs pastoral care. God has healed, delivered and even raised the dead, and he is still able to act in power. He has not promised that every sick person will be healed before the resurrection. Hebrews 11 lists people who saw great deliverance, then people who were mocked, imprisoned and killed, and says all of them were commended for their faith. Both lists belong in the count.
Scriptural backbone
Psalm 40:5 speaks of God's wonderful works and his thoughts toward his people, and says, "if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered." 1 Samuel 2:2 grounds those works in God's character: "There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God."
Acts 3:16 shows where the credit goes after a miracle: "his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know." John 21:25 says that if everything Jesus did were written down, "even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." Hebrews 11:39 keeps the count honest: "these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise." If you read one passage before the song, Psalm 40:1-5 moves from waiting to testimony in a few verses.
How to use it in a service
Use it on testimony Sundays, at the start of a service built around thanksgiving, or as a response after preaching on the miracles of Jesus or the book of Acts. It can also open a time of prayer for the sick, as long as the words around it trust God's will.
Consider pairing it with a time of remembering. Before the song, invite people to recall one thing God has done for them this year. Afterward, let two or three people share briefly.
On Thanksgiving weekend it can sit beside a classic hymn of gratitude, so older and younger members are counting together.
Avoid placing it straight after a lament or a time of grief. A sudden list of miracles can feel dismissive to people who are still in that moment. Put it later, after the room has been comforted.
Things to watch for as the worship leader
Watch what you say about healing. Declare what God has done and what he is able to do, and avoid promising that everyone in the room will receive a particular miracle this week.
Watch for the person who is still waiting. A sentence acknowledging that some in the room are praying for things they have not yet seen gives them a place inside the song.
Watch the spotlight. A bragging song can drift toward the band or the leader. Keep your words and your posture pointing to God.
Plan your repeats and check the range. Decide in advance how many times you will repeat any section, and test the key with a few untrained voices.
Watch the title on your slides and in your planning software. With two spellings in circulation, it is easy to create duplicate entries.
A note for the team behind you (techs, vocalists, band)
Drummers and bass players, aim for confident energy, not frantic energy; lock to a click and let dynamics do the building. Electric players, consider rhythmic parts that leave room for the vocal, since the lyric moves through a long list of God's works and each line needs to be heard.
Vocalists, the lead should prioritize diction, because a list only lands if people catch each item. Consider group vocals on the recurring refrain so the congregation hears it as theirs to join. Techs, if you plan testimonies afterward, have a handheld mic ready and a clear slide on screen so the transition is quick and nobody waits in silence.