Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.
Martin Luther
Texts:
Psalm 111
Martin Luther
Texts:
Psalm 111
Deuteronomy 3:23-29
Romans 9:6-18
Some days, like Moses, it is almost as though we can see the Promised Land but cannot get there. Some days, the promises of God seem like a pile of sand in our hands, as the shadows in our souls lengthen, and we wonder why we are in the wilderness. From a blog entry last January, when I was in Egypt (even as I remember the events that took place there a year ago):
The soul needs many languages in which to sing; perhaps we understand the language of the soul because it exists deeper than the language of Babel. I think of Miriam and Moses, singing in the desert, with many miles to walk, many years to suffer, many friends to bury, in joy of having escaped Pharaoh. I wonder if they found themselves humming those ancient melodies as they trudged through the desert, assuring themselves that God had pierced their spirits, breathed life into their souls, and given them music as a remembrance of grace and liberation.
Louez l'Eternel, serviteurs de Dieu.
Beni soit son nom,
Maintenant a jamais.
Du lever du soliel,
Beni soit son nom!
Loue soit Dieu, l'Eternel.
Qui est comme notre Dieu
Dans les cieux,
Sur la terre,
Qui exalte les pauvres au rang des grands
De son peuple.
Qui manifeste misericorde?
Beni soit son nom!
Loue soit Dieu, l'Eternel.
Praise to the Lord,
All of you,
God's servants.
Blessed be the name
Of our God now and ever.
From the rising of the sun,
May the Lord be priased,
Praise to the name of the Lord!
There is none like our God
In the heavens or on earth,
Who lifts the poor from dust,
Seating them with the mighty.
Who stoops to raise the weak and low.
May the Lord be praised,
Praise the name of the Lord.
(Text by Ron Klusmeier, b. 1946, based on Psalm 113, French tr. R Gerald Hobbs, b. 1941; Music by Ron Klusmeier)
And music, which knows not the boundaries of language, knows not the barriers of time and space, speaks to us in the moments of despair, in the moments of darkness, in the wilderness of our fear. It transcends our hearts, connecting us with the song of creation and the song of those who have stumbled into the journey of faith. In the end, I'm not sure which speaks more deeply: the Word that continues coming into our reality, or the Word that teaches us how to sing. Perhaps they are one and the same. "Beni soit son nom! Loue soit Dieu, l'Eternel."
The soul needs many languages in which to sing; perhaps we understand the language of the soul because it exists deeper than the language of Babel. I think of Miriam and Moses, singing in the desert, with many miles to walk, many years to suffer, many friends to bury, in joy of having escaped Pharaoh. I wonder if they found themselves humming those ancient melodies as they trudged through the desert, assuring themselves that God had pierced their spirits, breathed life into their souls, and given them music as a remembrance of grace and liberation.
Louez l'Eternel, serviteurs de Dieu.
Beni soit son nom,
Maintenant a jamais.
Du lever du soliel,
Beni soit son nom!
Loue soit Dieu, l'Eternel.
Qui est comme notre Dieu
Dans les cieux,
Sur la terre,
Qui exalte les pauvres au rang des grands
De son peuple.
Qui manifeste misericorde?
Beni soit son nom!
Loue soit Dieu, l'Eternel.
Praise to the Lord,
All of you,
God's servants.
Blessed be the name
Of our God now and ever.
From the rising of the sun,
May the Lord be priased,
Praise to the name of the Lord!
There is none like our God
In the heavens or on earth,
Who lifts the poor from dust,
Seating them with the mighty.
Who stoops to raise the weak and low.
May the Lord be praised,
Praise the name of the Lord.
(Text by Ron Klusmeier, b. 1946, based on Psalm 113, French tr. R Gerald Hobbs, b. 1941; Music by Ron Klusmeier)
And music, which knows not the boundaries of language, knows not the barriers of time and space, speaks to us in the moments of despair, in the moments of darkness, in the wilderness of our fear. It transcends our hearts, connecting us with the song of creation and the song of those who have stumbled into the journey of faith. In the end, I'm not sure which speaks more deeply: the Word that continues coming into our reality, or the Word that teaches us how to sing. Perhaps they are one and the same. "Beni soit son nom! Loue soit Dieu, l'Eternel."
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