We sang another great song by Keith Getty and Stuart Towend this Sunday. I thought it was especially fitting for Thanksgiving week. I really appreciate their music having showcased their songs in my recent post “The Modern Hymn Movement”. I also have posted about the following hymns written by one or both of them: “In Christ Alone”, “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”, and “O, Church Arise”.

This song is especially appropriate for Thanksgiving week. Perhaps it will jumpstart your week to be filled with thoughts of thankfulness for the many blessings Christ has purchased for us on the cross. I trust you will be blessed as you discover this great new song.

 

My Heart Is Filled
Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who bore my pain
Who plumbed the depths of my disgrace
And gave me life again
Who crushed my curse of sinfulness
And clothed me in His light
And wrote His law of righteousness
With power upon my heart

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who walks beside
Who floods my weaknesses and strengths
And causes fear to fly
Whose every promise is enough
For every step I take
Sustaining me with arms of love
And crowning me with grace

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who reigns above;
Whose wisdom is my perfect peace;
Whose every thought is love.
For every day I have on earth
Is given by then King.
So I will give my life, my all,
To love and follow Him.

Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright  © 2003 Thankyou Music/MCPS

 

To hear a sample of the melody of this song, click here or here [mp3]. You can preview the musical score for the song here, and order it there or here. The song is found on (at least) the following CDs: The Mandate: See What a Morning and New Irish Hymns 2 (which you can purchase if you’d like). Again, for more info on the authors, check out this earlier post.

Let me stress in closing, that this particular song can be sung to a strictly traditional style or a contemporary style. And it is actually well suited to both. So regardless of your musical convictions, I would encourage you to explore the great new songs that Getty and Townend are writing and take advantage of them in your personal (and even coorporate) worship.

The following is one of my favorite hymns. In our church we sing a wonderful rendition of this arranged by Bob Kauflin. Let me share the words and point you to the new musical score available online for free.  

 

Hallelujah, What a Savior!
Lyrics and music by Phillip Bliss
Arranged by Bob Kauflin

“Man of Sorrows!” what a name
For the Son of God, who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim!
Hallelujah, what a Savior
Hallelujah, what a Savior

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood—
Sealed my pardon with his blood:
Hallelujah, what a Savior
Hallelujah, what a Savior

Guilty, vile and helpless we,
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
Full atonement! can it be?
Hallelujah, what a Savior
Hallelujah, what a Savior

Lifted up was He to die,
“It is finished,” was His cry;
Now in heav’n exalted high:
Hallelujah, what a Savior
Hallelujah, what a Savior

When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew this song we’ll sing:
Hallelujah, what a Savior
Hallelujah, what a Savior

Arrangement copyright 1998 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI), a division of Sovereign Grace Ministries. All rights reserved.

 

This arrangement emphasises the last line (and repeats it). It turns the end of each verse into a chorus of sorts, where we joyfully lift our voices in praise: “Hallelujah…”. It really lifts the song majestically and allows the congregation to really be swept away by the power of the message of this song and the wonder of the glory of our Savior. This arrangement could be done with any musical style, and I commend it to all to consider.

To see [or download] the musical score click here. You can also view a chords chart here, or a transparency master here. The song was produced on Upward: The Bob Kauflin Hymns Project CD. You can also sample the melody by clicking here (mp3).

---

∼striving for the unity of the faith for the glory of God∼ Eph. 4:3,13 “¢ Rom. 15:5-7

By now, most of my regular readers know that I am still catching my breath (or wringing my wrist) from the long and drawn out music debate we had here, occasioned by the fundamentalist blogosphere’s rumblings over John Piper’s use of a Christian rap musician in a worship service. Well in the midst of that whole debate, I was extremely blessed by none other than a CCM style Christian song.

I had picked up my sister’s  Carried Me, worship album by Jeremy Camp,  and was listening to it over and over again. And one particular song struck me. The song “Wonderful Maker” really did produce in me a greater love for Christ and moments of genuine and intense worship—the genuine kind of fruit that I mentioned in my debate (and which you would have read about if you stuck it out all the way to the end!) And then, in worship this past Sunday morning, we sang this song! Let me share the song, and then direct you to some links where you can sample the song.

 

Wonderful Maker

Verse:
You spread out the skies over empty space
Said, “Let there be light”
To a dark and formless world Your light was born

You spread out Your arms over empty hearts
Said, “Let there be light”
To a dark and hopeless world Your Son was born

Bridge:
You made the world and saw that it was good
You sent Your only Son, for You are good

Chorus:
What a wonderful Maker
What a wonderful Savior
How majestic Your whispers
And how humble Your love
With a strength like no other
And the heart of a Father
How majestiv Your whispers
What a wonderful God

Bridge:
No eyes has fully seen how beautiful the Cross
And we have only heard that faintest whispers of how great You are

Words and Music by Chris Tomlin & Matt Redman
 © 2002 WorshipTogether.Com Songs / SixSteps Music / ThankYou Music (ASCAP) admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing

 

The accompaniment of this song is appropriately thoughtful and worshipful. And the chorus becomes a glad song of praise. The music lifts your song up as the chords crescendo. Regardless of what might be said of other songs, this one definitely majors on communicating the message of the song. (I threw this line in on account of the recent debate!)

To hear a sample music clip of this song, click here But I did find a YouTube video clip that has the entire song on it. Now the picture is really dark and grainy, and is of some kind of “expressive” worship dance. But you can ignore the picture and just enjoy the whole song (of course, if you have broadband that will be easier to do). If you like the song, you can buy just the clip here, or you can order the CD by clicking on the picture of the CD’s cover above.

You can also click here to see the chord chart for this song, and here to see a preview of the musical score (you can also purchase the score if you want). Lastly, to learn more about Jeremy Camp as well as the authors of the song, Christ Tomlin and Matt Redman (2 of the best worship song writers today), click on the following links: JeremyCamp.Com, ChrisTomlin.Com, & MattRedman.Com.

---

∼striving for the unity of the faith for the glory of God∼ Eph. 4:3,13 “¢ Rom. 15:5-7

There is a common criticism today that much of today’s contemporary praise & worship music is shallow. And to a large extent, I would grant that the criticism is valid. But only if it likewise indicts many of the hymns written in around the turn of the last century (1900).

When we look at the Psalms, however, we see a mix of very deep theologically rich psalms, and simple heartfelt songs. Today’s music (much like the popular “gospel” hymns from around 1850 through 1930) often emphasizes the emotional response of the believer to the truths of God. As long as the song expresses Bible truth and responds in a Biblical way, I would say the song is a Biblical song! And as such we can and should use it.

Now we may prefer the richer, deeper songs, and we probably should major on those songs for their teaching value. But we must not hesitate to use the songs which help draw forth our spirits in heartfelt praise.

One such song is “Worthy is the Lamb” by Darlene Zschech. This song is by no means shallow doctrinally. However, you will notice there is no 2nd and 3rd verse. My recent post on the modern hymn movement was not meant to convey the idea that only hymns are useful for praise. This song, repeated twice (and the last half repeated more than that), is written in such a way as to focus our hearts and souls on a few key thoughts: the cross, the wonder of our personal redemption, & the exalted glory of our Savior. And the music builds throughout the song making it the perfect vehicle for expressing our emotion of joy and love and wonder to God in a holy way.

I have been meaning to post on this song for quite some time, as every time I sing it, it soooo moves me! I trust you will be moved by the message of this song, too.

Worthy Is the Lamb
Words & Music by Darlene Zschech

Thank you for the cross, Lord.
Thank you for the price you paid.
Bearing all my sin and shame, in love you came
And gave Amazing Grace.

Thank you for this love, Lord.
Thank you for the nail-pierced hands.
Wash me in Your cleansing flow, now all I know…
Your forgiveness and embrace.

Worthy is the Lamb
seated on the throne.
We crown You now with many crowns
You reign victorious!
High and lifted up
Jesus, Son of God.
The darling of Heaven, crucified…
Worthy is the Lamb.

 © 2000 Darlene Zschech & Hillsong Publishing. CCLI #1596342

One little note, our church substitutes “High King of Heaven” for “The darling of Heaven” at the end of the song. I am not sure if it is just us, or it this is a more common substitution. It does add to the song, I think to change it, yet it stresses a different side of Christ. Yes, He was the Ultimate Sovereign  who humbled Himself, but He also is the Beloved Son of God, too.

For an idea as to the melody, click here (mp3). Also, I found the entire song on YouTube.Com. The video part  shows some young ladies doing a choreographic dance to the music, but if you click on the link, you will at least here the song in total, even if you prefer not to watch the dancers (nothing immodest, here, too by the way). If you click here, you will see a guitar chord chart of the music; and this link, will take you to a preview of the sheet music, which you can purchase should you so desire.

To learn more about Darlene Zschech, check out her  personal website. This link, also gives a bio and a collection of links (and interviews) concerning Darlene, best known for her song “Shout to the Lord”.

I have a long post in store for this week, but it is taking a long time to finish it. (Especially since the cold bug has me down right now.) So I wanted to at least give you a music post.

“O Church Arise”  is yet another excellent modern hymn by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend (they gave us “In Christ Alone”, and Stuart also wrote “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”, among many other good hymn-like songs). It has the aura of a hymn written three or four hundred years ago, yet it is popular over a wide spectrum of churches today. It’s rich lyrics and fitting melody make it perfect for corporate worship, and when sung in a full congregation, it has almost the same effect as Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”. It is theologically sound focusing on the sure hope we have despite our struggles to fight the good fight of faith. This song could even enrich the worship of church’s who emphasize strictly traditional hymns. I encourage you to look well at this song and let it bless your heart (and others).

  

O Church Arise
by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

O Church Arise and put your armour on
Hear the call of Christ our Captain
For now the weak can say that they are strong
In the strength that God has given
With shield of faith and belt of truth
We’ll stand against the devil’s lies
An army bold whose battle-cry is Love
Reaching out to those in darkness

Our call to war to love the captive soul
But to rage against the captor
And with the sword that makes the wounded whole
We will fight with faith and valour
When faced with trials on every side
We know the outcome is secure
And Christ will have the prize for which He died
An inheritance of nations

Come see the cross where love and mercy meet
As the Son of God is stricken
Then see His foes lie crushed beneath His feet
For the Conqueror has risen
And as the stone is rolled away
And Christ emerges from the grave
This victory march continues till the day
Every eye and heart shall see Him

So Spirit come put strength in every stride
Give grace for every hurdle
That we may run with faith to win the prize
Of a servant good and faithful
As saints of old still line the way
Retelling triumphs of His grace
We hear their calls and hunger for the day
When with Christ we stand in glory

Copyright  © 2005 Thankyou Music

  

To listen to a sample of the song (and get an idea as to the melody) click  here [if you do not have RealPlayer, and that link does not work, try this link (mp3)]. You should be able to preview some sheet music on the song here  and you can order some there or at this link.