Eternal Praise

Anthem for Sunday, 09/30/2012
Words & Music by Nancy Gordon, Dennis Allen and Jimbo Stevens
Arranged by Jimbo Stevens
MSCL#0087

Nancy Gordon is a well published modern song writer with over 300 published songs to her credit since 1987.  Dennis Allen and James (Jimbo) Stevens have a multitude of published arrangements and compositions.  All three artist have at various times been teamed with other well known modern artists to churn out usable and doable arrangements for church services.

As is the case with many modern texts it is a poem that appears to have grown out of the writer’s personal life and experiences with the Lord and is drawn from scripture or scripture themes.  A search at Biblegateway.com for the phrase “Eternal Praise” did not turn up a direct match, but the following was found utilizing the search words “praise forever”.  I encourage you to use these verses in meditation upon eternal praise to our Lord.

1. 1 Chronicles 16:36
LORD God of Israel, you deserve to be praised forever and ever.” After David finished, the people shouted, “Amen! Praise the LORD!”

2. 1 Chronicles 29:10
[ David Praises the LORD ] Then, in front of everyone, David sang praises to the LORD: I praise you forever, LORD! You are the God our ancestor Jacob worshiped.

3. Ezra 3:11
They praised the LORD and gave thanks as they took turns singing: “The LORD is good! His faithful love for Israel will last forever.” Everyone started shouting and praising the LORD because work on the foundation of the temple had begun.

4. Psalm 41:13
You, the LORD God of Israel, will be praised forever! Amen and amen.

5. Psalm 45:17
I will make your name famous from now on, and you will be praised forever and ever.

6. Psalm 61:8
I will sing your praises forever and will always keep my promises.

7. Psalm 72:17
May the glory of the king shine brightly forever like the sun in the sky. Let him make nations prosper and learn to praise him.

8. Psalm 89:1
(A special psalm by Ethan the Ezrahite.) [ The LORD’s Agreement with David ] Our LORD, I will sing of your love forever. Everyone yet to be born will hear me praise your faithfulness.

9. Psalm 89:52
Our LORD, we praise you forever. Amen and amen.

10. Psalm 106:48
LORD God of Israel, you deserve to be praised forever and ever. Let everyone say, “Amen! Shout praises to the LORD!”

11. Psalm 113:2
Let the name of the LORD be praised now and forever.

12. Psalm 115:18
but we will praise him now and forevermore. Shout praises to the LORD!
Psalm 115:17-18 (in Context) Psalm 115 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

13. Psalm 145:21
I will praise you, LORD, and everyone will respect your holy name forever.
Psalm 145:20-21 (in Context) Psalm 145 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

14. Psalm 146:10
The LORD God of Zion will rule forever! Shout praises to the LORD!

15. Isaiah 63:12
The glorious power of the LORD marched beside Moses. The LORD will be praised forever for dividing the sea.

16. Daniel 2:20
“Our God, your name will be praised forever and forever. You are all-powerful, and you know everything.

17. Daniel 4:34
Finally, I prayed to God in heaven, and my mind was healed. Then I said: “I praise and honor God Most High. He lives forever, and his kingdom will never end.

18. Romans 1:25
They gave up the truth about God for a lie, and they worshiped God’s creation instead of God, who will bepraised forever. Amen.

19. Romans 9:5
They have those famous ancestors, who were also the ancestors of Jesus Christ. I pray that God, who rules over all, will be praised forever! Amen.

20. Romans 11:36
Everything comes from the Lord. All things were made because of him and will return to him. Praise the Lord forever! Amen.

21. Romans 16:27
And now, because of Jesus Christ, we can praise the only wise God forever! Amen.

22. 2 Corinthians 11:31
God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, knows I am not lying. And God is to be praised forever!

23. Ephesians 3:20-21
I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.

24. Philippians 4:20
May God our Father be praised forever and ever. Amen.

25. 2 Timothy 4:18
The Lord will always keep me from being harmed by evil, and he will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. Praise him forever and ever! Amen.

26. 2 Peter 3:18
Let the wonderful kindness and the understanding that come from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ help you to keep on growing. Praise Jesus now and forever! Amen.

27. Jude 1:24-25
[ Final Prayer ] Offer praise to God our Savior because of our Lord Jesus Christ! Only God can keep you from falling and make you pure and joyful in his glorious presence. Before time began and now and forevermore, God is worthy of glory, honor, power, and authority. Amen.

28. Revelation 5:13
Then I heard all beings in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea offer praise. Together, all of them were saying, “Praise, honor, glory, and strength forever and ever to the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!”

29. Revelation 7:12
and said, “Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen!”

Be Still My Soul

Anthem for Sunday, 09/23/2012

Text: Katharina Von Schlegel

Music: Jean Sibelius

Arranged by Benjamin Harland

MSCL#206

History of Theme

The melody of the anthem, Be Still My Soul is from the symphonic poem, Finlandia, Opus 26 by  Jean Sibelius.  The piece which premiered on July 2, 1900 in Helsinki was written as a protest against censorship in Finland from the Russian Empire.  Reportedly, a recurrent joke within Finland at the time dealt with renaming the piece so it could be inserted covertly in various concerts in an attempt to avoid the Russian censorship.  The structure of the symphony is intended in the opening to depict the struggles of the Finish people against the oppressive empire.  The Finlandia Hymn theme breaks through during a period of calm near the end of the orchestral work.  The theme is often described as a national folk tune of the Finish people, but was actually an original melody created by Sibelius.  Later, Sibleius arranged the melody into the Finlandia Hymn, a stand alone piece with words written in 1941 by Veikko Antgero Koskenniemi.  The hymn has often been suggested for the national anthem of Finland, but has never been officially acknowledged as such. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlandia)

History of Text

An English translation from German of the hymn, Be Still My Soul appearing in 1752 is attributed to author, Katharina Amalia Dorothea von Schlegel (1697-1768) and translated later by Jane Laurie Borthwick (1813-1897).(http://www.hymnary.org/text/be_still_my_soul_the_lord_is_on_thy_side)  The arrangement of this particular anthem was written by Benjamin Harlan the dean of the School of Church Music at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary since 1995.

Scriptural Basis of the Text

Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God.    I will be exalted among the nations,    I will be exalted in the earth!”

1 Cor. 10:13

 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

1 Peter 5:7

casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

James 5:7

Be patient, therefore, brothers,[a] until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.

Day By Day

Anthem for Sunday, 09/16/12

Text and Music: Jay Althouse

MSCL#0231

Composer's Bio

Jay Althouse received a B.S. degree in Music Education and an M.Ed. degree in Music from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. For eight years he served as a rights and licenses administrator for a major educational music publisher. During that time he served a term on the Executive Board of the Music Publishers Association of America.

As a composer of choral music, Mr. Althouse has over 400 works in print for choirs of all levels. His music is widely performed throughout the English-speaking world. He is a writer member of ASCAP and is a regular recipient of the ASCAP Special Award for his compositions in the area of standard music. His hobbies are cooking and swimming.

His book, Copyright: The Complete Guide for Music Educators has been in print continuously since 1984 and is recognized as the definitive sourcebook on the subject of copyright for music educators. An updated, second edition was released in 1999. Mr. Althouse has also co-written several musicals and cantatas with his wife, Sally K. Albrecht, compiled and arranged a number of highly regarded vocal solo collections, and is the co-writer, with Russell Robinson, of the best-selling book The Complete Choral Warm-up Book, published by Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. (Fredbrock.com http://www.fredbock.com/Promo.asp?page=223)

Music

This particular composition embraces a multitude of modern composition techniques that are very familiar and therefore easy to receive for the ordinary listener.  Several choir members have remarked that it sounds like music from a soap opera or a musical.  It is my opinion that is the trap inherent in modern compositions.  Keep in mind there is no such thing as an original composition.  Every composer draws on a lifetime of music he has composed, listened to, performed and studied.  This does not make his work a plagiarism in any way.  In the complicated, market driven world we live in today music is a not necessarily an art form, but is a commodity and a tool.  Rather than criticize a piece of music because it is outside our norm musically, as anthems go, let’s look at how these elements enhance this composition.

The light melody that serves as the introduction (measures 1-4) and the segue to the second verse (m. 13-16, ) does have the feel of a movie theme reminiscent of Ice Castles or even Love Story yet truly sounds like neither of these romantic and well known themes. Perhaps the composer was seeking to remind us with the theme that our walk with God is indeed a relationship and is something experienced Day by Day even as a romantic story or soap opera.  He may be musically reminding us that our lives and our walk with God take place As the World Turns  for All the Days of our Lives and the relationship with God revolves around our walk with him and All my Children each and every day carries us closer and closer to The Edge of Night.  Sorry, I couldn’t resist. 

Another common modern composition technique is the use of a “bridge”.  Often right in the middle of a composition a new variation of the basic melody is introduced and utilized that can be identified as neither a “verse” nor a “chorus”.  The bridge literally takes you off the musical road you have been traveling and then returns you to it.  Composers often use the bridge to emphasize a set of text that truly sums up the heart of the message of the piece.  In this particular composition the bridge can be identified beginning at measure 26 and going through measure 34.  The text, “Lord, be our friend and our companion, long though journey may appear.  Be Thou at our side, evermore our guide.  Help us overcome our doubt and fear,” truly does reflect the central message of the anthem.

           

A similar but far more dramatic theme calling on God for companionship, hope, and direction is found in Psalm 22 where David, tired of the woes and terrors of life and the pursuit of enemies cries out and calls on God to comfort and sustain and strengthen him in his fight to survive.  Psalm 68 goes further calling on God to “Do something vs.1 CEV”.

“ Psalm 68:19 Blessed be the Lord—    day after day he carries us along.He’s our Savior, our God, oh yes!   He’s God-for-us, he’s God-who-saves-us. (The Message)”

John 15:1-8 in its discussion of the vine and the branch reiterates the need we have for God moment by moment, day by day.

In Acts 8 we have the story of Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch.  The lost Ethiopian seeking God says of the scriptures in verse 31, “How can I understand unless someone helps me?”  Which, is a fitting illustration for this piece.  What a prayer to end with!  “How can I understand unless someone helps me?  Help me Lord!”

Write Your Blessed Name

Anthem for Sunday, 09/09/2012

Text: Thomas a’ Kempis (1380-1471)

Music and arrangement by K. Lee Scott

MSCL#0208

The music of this moving anthem is composed by University of Alabama graduate, K. Lee Scott.  Scott, born in 1950 is recognized as one of America’s foremost composers of church music.  Currently he is published in 8 different hymnals.  Among his 300 published works are anthems, hymns, works for solo voice, organ, brass and major works which include a Christmas cantata.  He has served as adjunct faculty for The University of Alabama School of Music, and Samford University School of Music.  

The light airy nature of the music of this piece subtly reinforces the prayerful nature of the text.  Even as a prayer rises from our lips to heaven, so the music rises and floats and calls on a light touch for instrumentalist and vocalist alike.  There are a multitude of beautiful things happening simultaneously through the piece, yet none of them draw attention to themselves but rather add to the whole.  The unison section beginning at measure 26 emphasizes the call for Christ to be our strong tower of defense.  Without a key change, Scott masterfully paints  minor textures into the section from measure 35 to 45 meshing music and text together so that we can feel the, “temptations and dangers of this life.”  Lastly, before returning to the original themes and repeating the first half of the text of the prayer, Scott throws in the most startling element of the piece.  Right in the middle of the light airy accompaniment and minor textures the piece all but stops as the composer tips his hat to the cloister where the prayer originated.  In plainsong the choir calls out to the only hope of salvation, “Jesu”, the Latinized name of Jesus. 

The text is an often used modern translation of a prayer credited to Thomas a’ Kempis (1380-1471).  Kempis is recognized as the author of a number of works which survive to today and are still held in high esteem.  The prayer, rendered in this anthem as…

Write Your blessed name, O Lord, upon my heart,

there to remain so indelibly engraved

that no prosperity, that no adversity shall ever ever move me from Your love.

Be to me a strong tower of defense,

a comforter in tribulation, a deliverer in distress,

and a faithful guide to the courts of heaven

through the many temptations and dangers of this life.

O Jesu, my only Savior!

…comes from a prayer found in Kempis’ book, Prayers and Meditations on the Life of Christ.  A more scholarly translation of the prayer can be found on page two of the 1904 edition of this book, translated by W. Duthoit, D.C. I. (Kindle Edition Location#705)

O most sweet Jesus, my one hope of salvation, write, I beseech Thee, Thy Name upon my heart, not in the letter but in the spirit; and grant that by Thy Grace it may be so strongly there impressed, and may there remain, that neither prosperity nor adversity may ever dim my love for Thee.  Be Thou to me a strong tower from the face of the enemy, my comforter in tribulation, my counselor when I am in doubt, my refuge in distress, my lifter-up when I fall, the model of my life, my restorer when I go astray, and my ever-faithful guide through all the dangers and temptations of this mortal life to my home which is above.

This pre-reformation prayer by the cloistered copyist-priest is rich in bibilical themes and ideas which speak to the rich spiritual life of Kempis.  Note that he calls on the Lord to write His blessed Name on his heart.  The author of the text was obviously well acquainted with the power God demonstrated throughout scripture to alter, change, influence and imprint on the hearts of men.  Even as pharaoh and others had their hearts hardened by God, the scriptures speak of God replacing hearts of stone.  God holds the hearts of men in his hands.  The Hebrew concept of ones name can also be identified.  A person’s name was much more than a proper noun.  The name was the character of the person, who he really is.  The heart in scriptures refers to the seat of the mind and intellect.  This portion of the prayer is a call to God to change our thinking.  The cry is for God to stamp on our minds the character and the mind of Christ.  “Let us think and be like You!”

Furthermore, the prayer goes on to implore of the Lord that this transition of our hearts be so permanent that nothing ever distracts or impedes the stamp of Christ upon our mind.  “No prosperity….no adversity shall  ever move me from Your love.”  Deuteronomy 8:13-15 warns of the power prosperity yields to cause us to wander.  

“13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock,”

It is a cruel truth that blessings and prosperity usually cause us to wander and feel there is no need for God in our lives.  By the same token, horrid adversity has often been blamed for driving weak professors of faith from their piety.  Kempis prayer calls on God to so imprint the character of Christ upon us that these corrosive influences cannot weaken or cause us to wander.

The last half of the prayer utilizes imagery from the Psalms calling upon the Lord to be a defender, comforter, deliverer, and guide as we move through the challenges and pitfalls of life.  We are on a journey.  There is a final destination we are headed for and there is only One who can provide us with the spiritual GPS to get us there.  The way there is not gong to be easy and it will be filled with tribulation, distress, temptation and danger.  There is no insistence that we avoid or be spared these challenges.  The prayer is that God provide what we need as we face each trial.

Lastly, the prayer acknowledges Jesus as the only possible source of salvation.  Notice Jesus is the “only savior” or as stated in the other version of the prayer, “My one hope of salvation.”  There is salvation in no other.  

Following the example set for us in the prayer of a monk over 500 years ago, we call upon Christ to write His blessed name on our hearts.