Category: Psalms

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Adopt-a-Psalm, 2017 Choir Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2017

Psalm 46: The Lord of All Is with Us

Update 10/1/20: Sheet music for this song can be downloaded here.

In this, my third-to-last Adopt-a-Psalm song, knowing I was writing something to commemorate the Reformation—and especially because Luther himself set Psalm 46 to music—I knew this needed to be special. I’m a huge fan of the lively rhythmic tunes from the Reformation. They dance in a way that their later, isometric descendants don’t. I had great success with a 7/8 setting of Psalm 78 for a Calvin commemoration (I won a contest and a trip to Berlin), so I decided I’d build on that by writing this setting of Psalm 46 in 4+6/8.

The mixed meter makes this a little more difficult than the average hymn. It may be wise to sing it in unison to start with. (My understanding is that Calvin and Luther’s congregations would have sung in unison.) Once February is done and all my Adopt-a-Psalm songs are written, I’m going to return to this and write an accompaniment that will fill in some of the rests and support the congregation. If all else fails, the text can be sung to EIN FESTE BURG. (Another tip of the hat to Luther.)

Get some practice reading mixed meters (see link above), or simply listen to me attempting to sing all four parts.

The song text is in three verses, which correspond to the sections of Psalm 46. Each ends with, “The Lord of all is with us”–a boiled down version of “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” which ends each section of the Psalm. Whereas Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress” concentrated on the citadel aspect of the Psalm, I chose to focus on the theme of city. In fact, early drafts of the song used the phrase “city of refuge” and “sanctuary city.” What was fascinating to me as I studied the Psalm was how it resonated with the vision of the heavenly city in Revelation 21 and 22. Read them side by side; you’ll be amazed. In any case, I borrowed a good deal of language from Revelation and was even able to sneak in a reference to Emmanuel, “God with us.”

1. O, Lord of all, you are our home,
our strength, and our sure refuge;
our only hope in fiercest storm
to whom we run for rescue.

The ground beneath our feet
may slip into the sea,
but still we will not fear;
in you, we rest secure.
The Lord of all is with us.

2. A river flowing from God’s throne
brings life, and joy, and healing.
God’s splendor, shining like the sun,
gives light to all the people.

For though the nations roar,
soon comes a glorious morn.
Our God will come and dwell
as our Emmanuel:
The Lord of all is with us.

3. Come see the marvels God has done.
Behold with awe and wonder.
Hear how the battle’s deafening sound
falls silent at God’s thunder:

“I AM your God, be still.”
Let all the nations kneel.
Exalt the Lord of all,
your refuge, strength, and home.
The Lord of all is with us.

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Adopt-a-Psalm, 2017 Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2017 Psalms

Psalm 33: A Symphony of Praise

Update 10/2/20: Sheet music for this song can be downloaded here.

Psalm 33 was a refreshing change. I’ve been doing a lot of dark Psalms during my Adopt-a-Psalm month, so it was nice to have one that was joyful and musical. I use Psalm 33:3’s “new Psalm/skillfully” as the scripture for my songwriting workshop description, so I was eager to use it in a song.

I chose E, the most joyful of keys, as my starting point. As I doodled, I came up with the melodic motive for “you saints of the Lord,” which I really liked. It’s off the beaten path, but still singable. The first draft flowed freely from there. What I found, though, is that my first draft was “breathless.” Literally, there was no place to breathe. After another two or three drafts I was able to produce a song that was singable and joyful, but not predictable or (I hope) trite.

I should point out that the phrase “a symphony of praise” came late in the game. At first, I had, “to the music of your name,” but I realized that Marty Haugen had already used that line. So I kept brainstorming and finally came up with “a symphony of praise.” This final phrase felt like it was the missing piece. Indeed, it became the title of the song.

Take a minute to read through Psalm 33, then take a look at my rendition in notated (see link above) or recorded form.

Rejoice, you saints of the Lord!
Adorn yourself with God’s praise.
Lift up a joyful new song
and renew old melodies.
Let every lung, every pipe, every string
lift the lift up the song until all the world rings
with a symphony of praise.

1. God’s word crafted sea and earth,
the rivers, wind, and waves.
God breathed and the planets turned;
And still they spin in space.
But even surer than the coming dawn
Is God’s everlasting love. (Chorus)

2. All earth: love and fear the Lord.
All peoples: stand in awe.
All life’s cradled in his word;
our days God only knows.
One generation waxes another wanes,
but God’s wisdom still remains. (Chorus)

3. God watches from heav’n above
and sees our days and deeds.
God knows every human heart,
Our passions and beliefs.
Blessed indeed are those whose only trust
Is their God’s unending love. (Chorus)

4. Ruler’s trust in their own strength,
But strength is never enough
God saves those who call his name
and hope in his strong love.
Even in doubt, despair, and darkest night
God is leading us to life. (Chorus)

Our souls will wait for the Lord;
We give ourselves to God’s care.
Rejoice! Our hearts have a hope,
and our voices fill the air
with a symphony of praise.

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Arrangement Choir Church Congregational Songs Live Psalms

Rejoice in All Your Works, at Calvin’s LOFT

I recently completed a full choral arrangement of Wendell Kimbrough’s “Rejoice in All Your Works.” (Which reminds me that I’ve forgotten to post it here on my blog.) Paul Ryan led it at Sunday’s LOFT service at Calvin College with a full band and the Campus Choir. Pretty cool. It starts at 13:28 minutes into the video below.

 

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Adopt-a-Psalm, 2017 Church Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2017 Psalms

Psalm 125: Those Who Trust in the Lord Shall Abide

Update 11/4/21: Sheet music for this song can now be downloaded at gregscheer.com.

This was one of the “easier” Psalms of my Adopt-a-Psalm month—lots of good images to work with, and no imprecations—but it gave me the hardest time. I think it was difficult because the song is so simple, and simple music has to be just right or else it sounds simplistic. 

For example, I changed the first three notes over and over again. I wrote F#, A, B in my first draft, but then second guessed myself because it sounded too much like “Ten Thousand Reasons.” I changed it to A, F#, B, but then it threw off the symmetry with “like the city” a few measures later. So I changed it back, but decided in a final draft to accompany those notes with an F#m chord rather than the D, A/C#, Bm I had at first. On and on it went for a week, writing something, changing it, singing it while driving my car or running, changing it again. I even made significant changes as I went through the process of recording it!

You’ll notice that the third verse (not included on the recording) pulls from John 14:23-31. It’s uncanny how closely that passage tracks with this Psalm. The one alludes to “the scepter of wickedness” and the other “the ruler of this world,” “those who trust” becomes “those who love me,” and “Peace be upon Israel!” is transformed to “My peace I leave with you.”

The music is quite adaptable. It could be led by one folk guitar, played in flowing arpeggios on the piano, or rocked out with a full metal praise band. In the recording above, I went for something of a South American style—perhaps because I spent the week of worship symposium with a group of Argentinians! (Turn the bass up on the recording so you can hear the bass and bass drum groove.)

Those who trust in the Lord
shall abide, shall abide
like the city of God,
Holy Zion.

Oh, the people of God
shall remain, shall remain,
for the Lord shall surround
those he loves.

1. The scepter and the crown
belong to God alone.
Though evil rages,
it shall not rage for long.

2. God, bless us with the strength
to walk your holy way.
Lord, keep your children
within your strong embrace.

3. Christ’s peace will be with you;
Christ’s peace will dwell in you;
Do not be troubled—
let nothing frighten you.

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Adopt-a-Psalm, 2017 Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2017

Psalm 16: The Refuge of My Soul

Update 10/6/20: Sheet music for this song can be downloaded here.

Psalm 16 is the next in my Adopt-a-Psalm settings. I took a unique approach on this one. At first glance, it may seem like the song has little to do with the Psalm. It uses none of the “protect me, God” or “path of life” phrases that other settings of this Psalm use. Instead, it goes a layer deeper, into the Psalm’s structure.

Samuel Terrien proposes that Psalm 16 is made up of 6 strophes, with the first three mirroring the last three. In broad strokes, the Psalm begins its focus on things of earth and moves toward heaven. As I meditated on the Psalm it suddenly struck me that it closely follows the span of human life. It is very clear in the last two strophes, which focus on the grave and eternal life. Working your way backward you can see further life milestones: the growth of wisdom (strophe 4) and earthly blessings (strophe 3). The first two strophes are less clear, but with a bit of imagination, I recast the first strophe’s protection and refuge as the womb and the sacrifices to false gods in strophe two as the sins of youth. It’s easier to understand when you see the Psalm and my song side by side as in this PDF.

Once I decided the lyrics would be a life-spanning prayer, I knew I needed a folk melody that could hold all the different emotions. Something with a classic contour and perhaps a Celtic color. The melody came out quickly. I channeled my inner Irish balladeer and wrote a tune reminiscent of “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” John Bell’s “O Lord, Our Lord,” or “The King of Love My Shepherd Is.” In fact, it uses the same hexatonic scale as “Be Thou My Vision.”

Try it out for yourself or just take a listen: MP3 (see link above for sheet music)

In the waters of the womb;
In the first breath my lungs drew;
even there I knew
the refuge of my soul.

Please forgive the wasted years
I spent chasing empty dreams
That could never be
The refuge of my soul.

Still, you kept me in your care,
Granted blessings undeserved,
But I treasure most
The refuge of my soul.

As years passed and wisdom grew
My best thoughts were still of you
In the quiet of night
The refuge of my soul.

In the cool air of the tomb
Even there I rest in you.
Still my life, my all,
The refuge of my soul.

And as life begins once more
And I’m filled with joys unknown,
Through eternity
The refuge of my soul.

You will always be
the refuge of my soul.

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Adopt-a-Psalm, 2017 Church Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2017 Psalms Quirky

Psalm 4, the ridiculous outtake

Things get a little weird when you’re recording with two teenagers. (Okay, and with me.)

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Adopt-a-Psalm, 2017 Church Commissions Congregational Songs FAWM 2017

Psalm 4: I Rest in You

Update 10/6/20: Sheet music for this song can be downloaded here.

Continuing on my Adopt-a-Psalm journey, we come to Psalm 4. At its core, Psalm 4 is the lament of someone whose honor has been impugned. You can hear the theme of shame and honor recurring throughout. Ultimately, though, the Psalmist chooses to rest in the Lord. It reminds me of what Richard Foster says in The Celebration of Discipline—I believe in the section on silence—about not speaking in defense of yourself, but simply allowing your reputation to stand on its own. This lack of control is frightening, especially when your name is at stake, but ultimately we can’t control what others think of us. 

My approach with some of these more difficult Psalms is to address the Psalm’s themes as fully as possible without necessarily adopting all the original text’s images. For example, Psalm 3’s “Break their teeth, O Lord” is a tough sell for a congregational song! I also use the music to soften the blow a bit. In this case, the lyrics and music turn the Psalm from an indignant defense into a quiet prayer in the night. The song’s chorus focuses on rest, as this is what binds Psalm 3 and 4, and I couldn’t resist tipping my hat to Philippians 4:7 on the chorus repeat.

The recording features everyone’s favorite boy band, The Scheers, with Simon on bass, Theo on cello, and me on guitar and vocals (and a light backing track of ukulele). Take a closer look (see link above) or listen (MP3).

1. God, you hear my prayer in the dark.
Only you can judge human hearts.
Lord, set me free from these chains;
Let me see just how gracious you are.

How long must I be bent in shame—
Shackled by dishonor’s dead weight?
Lord, when I call, you will hear,
For you know all I have is my faith.

When I lie down to sleep I shall rest in peace, For Lord, I rest in you.
I know the peace of God Which transcends this world, This peace will rest in me.

2. All the anxious thoughts of my mind;
All of my unrest and disquiet:
When I have nothing but trust,
Lord, I offer it up, sacrificed.

Even in the dark hours of night,
May your countenance once more shine.
Oh, let your joy ever be
This poor heart’s richest feast: bread and wine.

When I lie down to sleep I shall rest in peace, For Lord, I rest in you.
I know the peace of God Which transcends this world, This peace will rest in me.

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Adopt-a-Psalm, 2017 Church Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2017

Psalm 12: I Will Now Arise

Update 10/6/20: Sheet music for this song can be downloaded here.

Continuing my Adopt-a-Psalm commission month, I turned my attention to Psalm 12. It’s another difficult Psalm, with abrasive sentiments like, “May the Lord cut off all flattering lips.” Underneath its prickly exterior, though, the Psalm is all about words and how we use them—lies, lips, tongue, boasts, promises—the Psalm is full of “word” words.

Samuel Terrien proposes a chiastic form for the Psalm, with God’s words of verse 5 at the center of the form and the rest of the sections mirroring each other. (So, for example, the power gained by the flattering lips of verse 3 and 4 are answered by God’s sure promises and protection in verse 6 and 7.) That suggested to me that verse 5 would be an appropriate refrain.

Using God’s words as a song refrain is unusual. Normally, a song that uses God’s words has them sung by a leader, while the people sing their response. (Think Dan Schutte’s “Here I Am, Lord.”) But in this song, the verses are sung as a first person prayer and the refrain answers with God’s words. While it’s unorthodox, I like the idea of an individual’s plea for help being answered by a whole group thundering God’s words of assurance.

I was asked by my Psalm adopter to write a song that could be played on guitar. That worked well because I was already hearing a rugged folk style. In my mind was Kiran Young Wimberly’s Celtic Vespers service from this year’s symposium. As  I worked on that service, I noticed how the folk melodies served to both tame unruly texts and give a little muscle to the prettier Psalms we’ve heard a million times. So this song has none of the typical “Scheer-isms” you’d expect. It’s just a straight up modal melody and chords.

What’s been interesting to me is how much these more difficult texts have come to mean to me as I work on them. The way humans use words to wield power has never been something I’ve contemplated much. But in this political climate and given some things I’ve been experiencing lately, I found myself praying the text and expressing my own feelings as I wrote and recording the song. I guess that’s what the Psalms are all about, right?

Note: I was having trouble with Logic Pro and my Apogee Duet and found out too late that the digital artifacts I was hearing in my headphones were making their way into the recording. Nonetheless, you are welcome to listen or look (see link above for sheet music).

1. Hear, O Lord, my prayer,
for truth has disappeared;
vanished like a breath or like a sigh.
Here, O Lord, am I,
adrift in floods of lies.
Is honesty extinct from humankind?

I will now arise and the poor will know my might.
I still I hear the needy when they cry.
I will now arise and the poor will know my might.
I, the Lord, have heard the prayer you prayed in groans and sighs.
I, the Lord, have heard the prayer you prayed in groans and sighs.

2. You, O Lord, you know
they benefit by boasts,
flattery, and rumors, and white lies.
You, O Lord, you see:
they gain from their deceit
and misery of those they trap like flies. refrain

3. Speak, O Lord, I’ll hear
the truth your word reveals.
Trusting, though malicious mouths resound.
Your word O Lord, is true.
Your promises are pure;
a refuge when no honesty is found. refrain

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Adopt-a-Psalm, 2017 Church Congregational Songs FAWM 2017 Psalms

Psalm 24: Lift Up Your Heads, O You Gates!

Update 10/2/20: Sheet music for this song can be downloaded here.

This is the second of my February Adopt-a-Psalm commissions, written to commemorate a pastor’s retirement. I had been given a number of possible Psalms and decided Psalm 24 could fit well into a pastor’s retirement celebrations without being so retirement-specific that it wouldn’t be able to be used in the future.

The person who commissioned this mentioned that her church has multiple services in different styles. I wanted to compose something that could be adapted to any of their services. The demo above is done on guitar simply because that’s what I play, but the chords move in a way that it could easily be led by piano or organ. (Actually, I hear an anthem with piano, organ, rhythm section, and brass—and maybe strings, too. But that’s a different commission…)

If you read the Psalm, you’ll see the repeated “Lift up your heads” in v7 and v9. That felt like it needed to be the refrain. That’s where I started. The verses are set off from the refrain with a more subdued melody in a distant key. I’m a big fan of shifting keys like this—it’s a way of providing something fresh in the verses and creating anticipation for the return of the refrain. It also creates the possibility of choir or cantor leading the verses the first time to keep things easy for the congregation.

The Psalm is full of seeming non-sequitors. It starts with the creation themes, then moves to the section on a pure heart. I decided this latter section could be broken into two song verses. The first is a fairly standard rendition of the text. But verse 3 of the song I adapted creatively to fit the pastor’s retirement context. The Psalm says:

5 They will receive blessing from the Lord,
and vindication from the God of their salvation.
6 Such is the company of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

I decided it would be appropriate to adapt this blessing to infer the blessing a pastor receives after a life of ministry. Further, as often as appropriate I try to find New Testament resonances in the Psalms. In this case, I interpreted the “opening gates” of the refrain as the door that Jesus opens in Matthew 7. A bit of a stretch? Maybe. But it seems appropriate to remember that God has always been opening doors to enter our lives.

3. Oh, who will God call to receive a blessing?
And who will go out with the gift of peace?
The doors open wide to the sound of knocking;
The seeker shall find, those who ask, receive.

Need greater detail? See the link above for the PDF, or listen here: MP3

Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, O you ancient doors!
That the King of Glory may come in.

Who is this King of Glory?
Who is this King of Glory?
It is the Lord—
Our mighty Lord.

1. The earth is the Lord’s and all within it,
for God spoke the word and it came to be.
Within oceans vast, God laid earth’s foundations;
Its pilings secured in the deepest seas. Lord. refrain

2. Oh, who shall ascend God’s holy mountain?
And who shall remain in that holy place?
Only those with clean hands, who have washed in water,
And those with pure hearts, who have bathed in grace. refrain

3. Oh, who will God call to receive a blessing?
And who will go out with the gift of peace?
The doors open wide to the sound of knocking;
The seeker shall find, those who ask, receive. refrain

Categories
Adopt-a-Psalm, 2017 Church Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2017 Psalms

Neither Death nor Demon

Update 11/4/21: Sheet music for this song can now be downloaded at gregscheer.com.

As I study the Psalms I’m setting to music during my Adopt-a-Psalm month, I often find echoes of the Psalms in the New Testament. This shouldn’t come as a surprise; after all, Jesus quoted the Psalms more than any other book of the Old Testament. When I was working on Psalm 3: I Shall Rest in Peace, it seemed that Romans 8:38-39 was Psalm 3’s New Testament twin: For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I decided to write a song on Romans 8 that could be paired with Psalm 3. It’s just a short chorus that can be sung as a coda to Psalm 3 (same key) or as a stand-alone scripture song. You’ll notice I took quite a bit of liberty with the text. I think it still conveys the spirit of Romans 8, though it doesn’t quote it verbatim.

Neither death nor demon can hold me,
or life’s sweetest angels control me,
and no pow’r today or to come;
highest high or lowest low.
For nothing can resist the tireless love of God;
And nothing can undo our redemption in Christ’s blood;
For nothing can change what our God’s already done.