Category: Congregational Songs

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Church Congregational Songs Psalms

Psalm 136: The Gracious Love of God Will Never End

Sorry I haven’t been posting regularly lately. Sometimes the music business gets in the way of the music itself…

I’m back with a new Psalm. This draft has been in my idea folder since 2020 when I read that Psalm 136 was something of an addendum to the Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120-134). You’ll remember that I set all 14 of those Psalms to music in my Pilgrim Psalms project. At the time I jotted down some ideas for the song, put it in my idea folder, and promptly forgot about it. But this week I stumbled across it and decided it was time to complete it.

You’ll remember that Psalm 136 is a long Psalm with the repeated refrain, “His love endures forever.” That suggested to me a call-and-response style song, with a leader singing the bulk of the text and the people responding. While “his love endures forever” gets the job done, the Hebrew is much richer. The word “love” encompasses loving-kindness, grace, mercy, and compassion. I arrived at a repeated refrain of “The gracious love of God will never end.”

The Psalm is divided into five sections: a prelude of thanksgiving, creation, salvation (from Egypt), leading (through the wilderness), and final praise. This is represented in the song’s five verses. (Purists beware: I left out the bits about God killing Og, king of Bashan, etc.)

Musically, it is similar to many of my Pilgrim Psalms; it is a simple call-and-response that could be led without music. It is music for the journey. And we could all use a little encouragement on the journey, couldn’t we?

Give thanks to the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord.
The gracious love of God will never end.

1. Give thanks to the Lord. Our God is good!
Give thanks again to the God of gods–
the God of gods and Lord of lords–
for God alone works wonders.

2. The heaven’s expanse was God’s design.
God’s hand rolled out earth o’er the ocean wide;
created the sun, marking days with its light;
the moon and the stars, keeping watch over our nights.

3. Our God visited us in our misery,
and broke the chains of captivity.
God’s mighty hand pushed back the sea,
and led us through. God set us free!

4. Through weary years in the wilderness,
the light of God shone upon our path.
Dangers and foes, without, within;
God’s love became our promised land.

5. The humble and poor are God’s delight.
God sees our need and hears our cry.
All creatures are sustained by God’s loving-kindness.
All earth gives thanks to our God on high!

Categories
Church Congregational Songs Demos Psalms

Psalm 15: Lord, May I Dwell with You?

From my Psalm 15 study notes:

I’ve got to admit: it’s almost depressing reading Psalm 15. Not only is it works righteousness, but it sets the bar impossibly high. Who may dwell in God’s sanctuary? No one…

I believe that if we’re going to take God’s Word seriously, we have to begin with what the text actually says. Too often, we’re quick to explain away something as allegory because we don’t like its primary message. (Song of Solomon, anyone?). Having said that, we also need to dig beneath the surface if we’re going to let the Spirit speak to us through scripture.

Psalm 15 initially struck me as a spiritual checklist for those who want to be close to God: be blameless, speak honestly, don’t take bribes, and hate the wicked. I thought to myself, “How in the world am I going to write a song based on this Psalm?” Perhaps recast it as a confession? (“Forgive us for not living up to these godly traits.”) Or answer the question “who may dwell?” with the answer “Jesus–the only truly perfect One.” “How can we dwell? Only through Jesus.”

In the end, I decided to turn the Psalm into a prayer of devotion. The chorus is a prayer of aspiration, “Lord, may I dwell with you?” and the verses pray for the strength and guidance to live the godly life outlined in the Psalm. The music is in a simple, Taizé-like style, with verses chanted over the chorus. This also allows the chorus to be used independently as a scripture song, focusing on the deeper message of the Psalm: a desire to dwell in God’s presence, knowing God as a refuge and our true home.

Lord, may I dwell with you?
Lord, may I dwell with you?
Lord, may I know your refuge, my home.
Lord, may I dwell with you?

1. Who may remain in your presence?
Who may live in your holy place?
The blameless, the righteous, and those who speak truth.
Lord, may I dwell with you?

2. Lord, may my tongue speak no ill;
let me do my neighbor no wrong,
pay no heed to the proud, but honor the just.
Lord, may I dwell with you?

3. Lord, help me keep my word.
Let me be generous and honest.
Keep me secure in your perfect will.
Lord, may I dwell with you?

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Church Congregational Songs Demos Psalms

Psalm 14: We Wait for You, Our Savior

Update: This song is now available at gregscheer.com.

I’m posting this Psalm two days after the Superbowl, which has given people 48 hours to register their disgust at Rihanna’s halftime show. Clutching their pearls and a bag of chips, they have declared it indecent. Perverse. I really don’t have an opinion about that. (Except maybe you shouldn’t be watching the Superbowl if you’re that easily offended.)

I just realized I’m posting Psalm 14 on February 14. Happy Valentines Day!

At first blush, Psalm 14 seems almost as catty as the Rihanna haters. The Psalmist comes out swinging, calling the godless “fools,” “abominable,” “perverse,” and “evil.” Ouch. However, this vitriol is not aimed at random unbelievers (or entertainers who sing suggestive songs), it is reserved for those “who eat my people as they eat bread” and who would “confound the plans of the poor.”

This is a good lesson for those who would engage in culture wars. God gets angry, but not with people who simply don’t believe. No, God gets angry with those who harm the ones he loves–especially the poor. And beautifully, we don’t have to get angry or fight these people; we just have to run to God for refugee.

RiRi, I’ve got your back. I just hope one day you’ll stand under God’s umbrella (ella, ella, eh, eh, eh)*

In times of disbelief and doubt,
corruption and alarm,
the Lord looks down from heaven
to judge the human heart.

The strong devour the innocent
like gluttons gorge on bread.
O God, have mercy on the weak–
give refuge, once again.

We wait for you, our Savior,
to rescue us, once more.
Restore us to your favor;
renew us in your joy.
Renew us in your joy.

*Sorry. I couldn’t resist.

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Church Congregational Songs Demos Psalms

Psalm 108: O God, My Heart Is Ready (w/ Kate Bluett)

Update: This song is now available at gregscheer.com.

Whenever I get the chance to work with Kate Bluett, I jump at the opportunity. She has a knack for writing hymns that are fresh and insightful, yet draw a worshiper’s attention to the subject rather than the words.

In this case, I told her I would welcome any new Psalm songs she’d like to send my way. Within three days, there was a new rendering of Psalm 108 in my inbox. As I told her in my reply, anyone who rhymes “thrum” and “done” is okay in my book. (Please, let’s call a moratorium on God/sod, sin/within, and died/crucified!)

Since this is a Psalm of morning praise, I wanted the music to be bright and airy. The melody leaps and dives like a brisk ride through a hilly landscape at sunrise. The harmonies float under the melody until finally coming to rest in the interlude. It is a short, simple song, but beautifully satisfying. (If I don’t say so myself.)

1. O God, my heart is ready
to rise and sing your praise.
My soul in you is steadfast;
my song will wake the day.
My pulse reverberating
your name in every thrum,
so I will tell the nations
the wonders you have done.

2. For I have seen your mercy
that towers to the skies,
and I will know your justice
at last when you arise.
But is my hope now fading?
Shall I not see your love?
O God, my heart is waiting:
When will you shine above?

3. The earth is but your footstool,
and heaven is your throne:
Then save your earth from misrule,
whose hope is you alone!
When human strength is helpless,
our hearts turn back to you.
O God, come and defend us
who triumph in your truth!

Categories
Church Congregational Songs Demos Jazz Psalms

Psalm 11: Our God Is Still on the Throne

Update: This song is now available at gregscheer.com.

There are many, many ways to set the Psalms to music. Some of the most popular choices include metrical, responsorial, and verbatim Psalm settings. Each approach has its merits and I try to use a variety of approaches from Psalm to Psalm and sometimes even mix and match within a Psalm. What I really want is an approach that honors the original Psalm text–including its form–while making the song understandable to the common churchgoer.

When I began working on Psalm 11, I quickly ruled out a word-for-word lyrical setting. Some of the Psalm’s meanings are obscure (scholars can’t agree who is suggesting that the Psalmist flee like a bird, for example), some of it is archaic (arrows are not high on my list of fears), and some is vitriol that probably shouldn’t be included in group singing (“the wicked…he hates with a passion; fiery coals, burning sulfur, and scorching wind will be their lot”).

The Psalm’s primary message seems to be that there are a lot of scary things out there; even some of what you thought was a firm foundation is no longer reliable, but God is still in control. I decided to use verse 4 “The Lord is in his holy temple” as the primary chorus image: “Our God is still on the throne.” From there I fleshed out the verses using as many of the images in the original Psalm as I could. I’ve included a side-by-side comparison below so you can see how the original Psalm was transformed into a song.

VERSE 1
When my heart tries to sing
in the shadow of your wings,
but my fear’s all I hear:
fly away, fly away.

And when doubt fills my soul,
feel I’m losing control,
and even friends want to know
why I stay.

CHORUS
Our God is still on the throne.
We are not alone,
for God sees us, God hears us;
we are not alone.

From the heavens, our God reigns,
and his children see his face.
While the ones who’d do them violence
fade away, fade away.

Oh, our God is bringing justice, holiness, and love.
Our God is still on the throne.

VERSE 2
When the night closes in
and the shadows grow thick,
and I don’t know what dangers
await.

When the foundations I had
start to crumble where I stand.
And everything feels like sinking sand.

Categories
Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos Global Psalms

Tuhan Adalah Gembalaku/You, Lord, You Are My Shepherd of Love

One final song for 2022.

An Indonesian friend introduced me to this setting of Psalm 23, which he’ll use in his ordination service. It’s simple, lovely, and has some interesting melodic twists and turns. Since I was learning it anyway, I decided to translate it into English so that those of us outside Indonesia could enjoy it. This wasn’t as easy as it sounds, because Indonesian uses many more syllables than English to say the same thing!

While there are many Psalm 23 songs to choose from, this one has a gentle spirit that cuts right to the heart of the Psalm. The song really helps us feel the complete trust the sheep feels for the shepherd. It makes the metaphor personal, so we can offer the words of Psalm 23 as our own prayer.

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2022 Psalm Collaborations Church Congregational Songs Demos Psalms

Psalm 54: Save Me, O God (with Doug Gay)

Update: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

February 2022 proved to be too short to achieve my goal of 14 Psalm collaborations. (You can hear a concert of the 12 songs I completed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBiORFbDulE) However, I’m trying to make things right by completing two more songs that I left as drafts earlier.

This one is a hymn Doug Gay wrote on Psalm 54, a prayer for salvation from enemies. It is the kind of Psalm I once dismissed as petty and paranoid. But now that I am older (or more petty and paranoid?) I see that, indeed, life is full of people who get a thrill out of bringing others down a few notches: “Arrogant foes are attacking me; ruthless people are trying to kill me–people without regard for God.” (Turn the page to Psalm 55 and you’ll see that sometimes the worst foes are former friends!) Doug has done a great job of capturing the spirit of the Psalm honestly while focusing more on God’s salvation than the malice of the attackers.

Musically, I heard it as an urgent, yet confident prayer. It needed music that is vulnerable, but strong. My original version (which is retained in the SATB version of the music) sounds like an early music consort, with modal harmonies and a hand drum. But as I developed the song, I wanted to make it accessible to those who don’t have Estampie at their church, so I wrote a simple piano accompaniment. As I recorded it, it morphed from Estampie into Malicorne or Steeleye Span. One could do worse…

1. Save me, O God, save me by your great name.
Uphold my life, by your almighty power.
Those who despise me, pitiless and cruel,
seek to destroy me, mock me to my face.
Hear me, O God, draw near to hear my prayer.
Draw near to hear my prayer.

2. Still I confess my faith, that God is near.
God is my helper, God is my defense.
And I believe my enemies will find
God will not let their callous evil stand.
Come, faithful God, and bring it to an end!
Come, faithful God, be near.

3. In love and freedom, I will bring my praise.
I will give thanks, O Lord, for you are good.
You have delivered me and saved the day.
Now I can see my enemies dismayed.
Danger is past, my hope has been renewed.
I will give thanks, O Lord.

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Church Congregational Songs Demos Retuned hymn

Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies

Update: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

Charles Wesley originally titled this text simply “Morning Hymn.” Indeed, the text is filled with images of morning, light, and day. Of course, Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, is praised as the true source of all light.

Even though Charles Gounod wrote one of the more famous tunes for this hymn, I’ve never felt like any of the tunes do the text and theme justice. This wide-eyed, joyful text needs something that makes you feel the refreshing hope of a new sunrise.

I hope my tune captures some of that vitality. It is a simple folk song with a melody that rises and sets like the sun. Though the song itself is simple and singable, I’ve added a challenging and exciting instrumental verse that can be played by either keyboard or two solo instruments. In this recording, I used the keyboard solo as an intro and the duet as an instrumental verse between verses 2 and 3.

1 Christ, whose glory fills the skies;
Christ, the true, the only light;
Sun of Righteousness, arise;
triumph o’er the shades of night;
Dayspring from on high, be near;
Daystar, in my heart appear.

2 Dark and cheerless is the morn
unaccompanied by thee;
joyless is the day’s return
till thy mercy’s beams I see;
till they inward light impart,
cheer my eyes and warm my heart.

3 Visit then this soul of mine;
pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
fill me, radiancy divine;
scatter all my unbelief;
more and more thyself display,
shining to the perfect day.

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2022 Psalm Collaborations Church Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2022 Psalms

Psalm 102: My Heart Is Sick (Linda Bonney Olin)

Update: This song is now available at gregscheer.com.

I first collaborated with Linda Bonney Olin in February of this year. Our setting of Psalm 8, “How Often in the Deep of Night” was part of my 2022 Psalm Collaboration project. I’m now coming back to some other texts she sent in February. Among them was “My Heart Is Sick.”

The song title certainly catches one’s attention. Though the title doesn’t sound as inspiring as, say, “Like a River Glorious,” there are plenty of times when our hearts are sick and we don’t feel glorious at all. The Psalmist is certainly experiencing one of those times in Psalm 102. The Psalm vacillates between utter despair (“I eat ashes as my food and mingle my drink with tears”) to hope in God’s unchanging love and ability to save.

As I began working with the text, I could hear waves of dissonance that mirrored the heart-sickness and longing of the Psalm. Indeed, many notes of this melody are dissonant against their accompanying chords. What keeps all this dissonance from descending into chaos is an undulating stepwise motive that is woven throughout the song. It’s surprisingly singable.

Of course, there’s no lily I’m unwilling to gild! As I wrote the piano part, I began to imagine what the song might sound like with an accompaniment of low strings instead. I finally gave in and wrote one. The score calls for a cello quartet, but I’m sure I could be convinced to re-score it for string orchestra if you asked nicely. On this demo, though, it is played by a quartet of basses played by yours truly. For those of you who are having a hard time imagining a quartet of low strings accompanying this Psalm, a demo of the piano accompaniment is below.

The tune is named DESERT OWL after the lonely nocturnal bird in verse 2.

1. My heart is sick, my body weak.
I’m starved to skin and bones.
My mouth, too full of dust to speak,
can utter only groans.
O God, my God, see my distress
and heed my wretched prayer,
for I am poor and powerless
without your gracious care.

2. As lonesome as a desert owl,
I lie awake, in tears.
Around me adversaries prowl,
with curses, taunts, and jeers.
And you, the God I have adored,
in anger shun me too.
Restore me to your presence, Lord,
to walk once more with you!

3. Our days on earth so swiftly pass,
like waves on restless seas.
We fade away like withered grass,
like smoke upon the breeze.
But you, O God, will always be,
eternally the same.
All generations, hear and see!
All people, praise God’s name!

Categories
Church Congregational Songs Demos

Teach Us Your Peace (David Bjorlin)

Update: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

I was talking to my boys yesterday about the mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo. I admitted that lately, I’ve become callous to the whole process: some troubled person murders multiple innocent people, the whole nation acts shocked, and then we quickly go back to life (and death) as usual. The Christians make pious statements about the existence of evil being the real problem. The conservatives sing the praises of the freedoms that make this country great, including the freedom of unrestricted gun ownership. (Did you know that there are 1.2 guns for every person in this country?) It’s an endless cycle that won’t stop until we decide we love our children more than our guns.

A short time later, David Bjorlin sent an email with a new hymn text addressing the world-weariness I was experiencing. As he described it, there is “something inherently life-affirming about the creative act.” Indeed, this life-affirming hymn is an act of defiance in a culture so enamored with weapons and so willing to offer children to the god of untethered freedom.

He wrote “Teach Us Your Peace” to the tune of FINLANDIA. I hope my simple tune will bring something new to our hearing of these important words.

1. Teach us your peace when death is all around us
and we are fed the bitter bread of tears;
when hollow words and cowardice confound us
as hope for action once more disappears.
Teach us your peace, and with your love surround us–
your perfect love that casts away our fears.

2. Teach us your peace where weapons meant for killing
are turned to tools to help us grow and thrive,
where hardened hearts are furrowed by your tilling
and stubborn seeds take root and come alive.
Teach us your peace where everyone is willing
to harvest change so children may survive.

3. Teach us your peace till peace rules every nation
and justice springs and streams to every shore,
till you return to cradle all creation
and put an end to violence, hate, and war.
Teach us your peace, a holy habitation
where we will dwell and death will be no more.