Blended/Folk
Showing 37–48 of 52 results
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Psalm 4: I Rest in You
$0.00 – $5.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page[embed]http://musicblog.gregscheer.com/psalm_004-i_rest_in_you.mp3[/embed]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. In this song, the lyrics and music turn the Psalm from an indignant defense (“Break their teeth, O Lord”) into a quiet prayer in the night.
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Psalm 41: Blessed Are the Weak
$0.00 Add to carthttps://musicblog.gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/psalm_041-blessed_are_the_weak.mp3
Psalm 41 is a prayer for healing–a prayer of hope though both enemies and friends are waiting for you to die. “Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.” This is very similar to Jesus’ words in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” God has always sided with the poor, the weak, and the outsiders. We should, too, knowing that God will side with us in our moment of weakness.
This hymn is a free download. If you sing this song in your church please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense.
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Psalm 44: For Your Mercy’s Sake
$0.00 Add to carthttps://musicblog.gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/psalm_44-for_your_mercys_sake.mp3
Lyricist T.L. (Tammy) Moody has a knack for finding fresh ways to express herself, or in this case express Psalm 44’s anguished cry for help of the original Psalm: “Awake, O Lord!” The Psalm is full of unresolved questions; similarly, the song’s harmonies remain unsettled throughout.
This hymn is a free download. If you sing this song in your church please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense.
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Psalm 46: O Lord of All, You Are Our Home
$0.00 – $5.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page[embed]http://musicblog.gregscheer.com/psalm_046-o_lord_of_all.mp3[/embed]Psalm 46 offers comfort and hope in times of trouble. It doesn’t promise that we won’t experience hardship, but that God will be with us in those times.
In Martin Luther’s famous setting of Psalm 46, “A Mighty Fortress,” he focused on themes of strength and battle. In my setting, I highlight the Psalm’s images of God as a refuge–God’s stable presence among us in a chaotic world–concluding each verse with an affirmation of hope: “The Lord of all is with us.”
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Psalm 6: Lord, My God, Do Not Contend
$0.00 Add to cart[audio mp3="https://gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/psalm_006-carlill-lord_my_god_do_not_contend.mp3"][/audio]Adam Carlill’s Psalm versifications in Psalms for the Common Era strike a fine balance between faithfulness to the Hebrew texts and singability for modern congregations. For Psalm 6, I wrote a Celtic-style ballad, which feels to me like it’s sturdy enough to contain the harsher elements of the Psalm (“do not castigate and chide,” “Turn away from me my foes” ), but soft enough for phrases like “soothing touch and balm inside.”
This leadsheet is a free download. If you sing this song in your church please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense.
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Psalm 62: Only God Can Save Us Now
$0.00 – $5.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pagehttps://musicblog.gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/psalm_062-only_god.mp3
Psalm 62 famously begins with the words, “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.” The Psalmist goes on to describe the many difficulties experienced in life–those who are attacking or extorting money–always coming back to the refrain, “My soul finds rest in God alone.” Scottish lyricist, Doug Gay, has given these words an introspective feel in his setting of the Psalm. They could almost be sung by a victim of abuse, crying to God for help. That’s the thing about the Psalms: they give words to things we may have not experienced, which may make us feel like we don’t need them–until we do.
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Psalm 78: People Of The Lord
$0.00 – $10.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page[audio mp3="https://gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/people_of_the_lord-cantor_and_choir.mp3"][/audio]Who would have thought that a Genevan Psalter-style setting of Psalm 78 in 7/8 time would become my biggest hit? After it won the Calvin09 hymn contest, the song was translated into a half dozen languages and sung from Switzerland to Brazil. It is included in a number hymnals, including the Presbyterian Glory to God and CRC/RCA Lift Up Your Hearts. Your church can get in on the fun, too, by downloading the music here at www.gregscheer.com.
Read the whole story of the song here: People of the Lord
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Psalm 80: Restore Us, O God!
$0.00 – $5.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pagehttp://musicblog.gregscheer.com/restore_us_guitarchestra.mp3
Eugene Peterson argues that we sanitize the Psalms. His Bible translation, The Message, attempted to restore some of the grittiness of the original Hebrew. If this is true in Bible translation, it’s even more true in the way we sing the Psalms–we edit out the difficult verses and sing the rest very piously. “Restore Us, O God!” has a folk music (almost Klezmer) feel that brings out the urgency of Psalm 80’s lament.
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Ready My Heart
$0.00 – $5.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageI first heard “Ready My Heart” on Steve Bell’s CD Each Rare Moment a number of years ago and immediately fell in love with it. Lois Shuford has composed a unique Advent song, a devotional text in which we pray that our hearts would be prepared to cradle the coming Savior. Below is a video of Larry Figueroa and me introducing the song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3aMobSfosM
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The Beauty of Your Holiness
$0.00 – $5.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page[audio mp3="https://gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/02-The-Beauty-of-Your-Holiness.mp3"][/audio]This song was written to celebrate the completion of pastor Lou Mitchell’s dissertation, The Experience of Beauty in the Thought of Jonathan Edwards. The song draws on images Edwards uses in writings such as Religious Affections and The Excellency of Christ and from 2 Chronicles 20:21: “After he (Jehoshaphat) had advised the people, he appointed people to sing to the Lord and praise him for the beauty of his holiness.”
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The King of Glory Comes (KING OF GLORY)
$5.00 – $10.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pagehttps://musicblog.gregscheer.com/scheer-hosanna_in_the_highest.mp3
This arrangement of THE KING OF GLORY COMES works with the familiar text by Willard F. Jabusch as well as Greg’s Palm Sunday text, “Hosanna in the Highest.” Optional flute descants add to the Klezmer feel of this rhythmic tune.
Arrangements for strings and brass are also available with the alternate text.
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The Kingdom of Heaven
$0.00 – $5.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page[audio mp3="https://gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/the_kingdom_of_heaven.mp3"][/audio]“The Sermon on the Mount” contains some of Jesus’ most beloved words, but there are surprisingly few songs that take up these themes. As some settings of “The Beatitudes” have fallen into disuse it seemed the time was ripe for a new one. The verses are nearly verbatim scripture and the chorus is exceedingly easy to learn.
PowerPoint slides for congregational singing are available from Digital Songs & Hymns.
Showing 37–48 of 52 results