Showing 41–50 of 57 results
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Psalm 44: For Your Mercy’s Sake
https://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
Price range: $0.00 through $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
[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
Price range: $0.00 through $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 64: I Lift My Voice
https://musicblog.gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/psalm_064-i_lift_my_voice.mp3
Psalm 64 portrays the author as being hunted down by the wicked. Linda Bonney Olin does a great job of faithfully transforming the Psalm into a modern song. She begins with a cry for refuge and ends with praise for God’s unfailing help. In between, she is honest about the damage wicked schemes can do, while focusing on the ultimate justice and protection God gives us. It is a timely message when we’re all swimming in a sea of lies and malice: God still sees our deeds and judges hearts fairly.
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Psalm 72: Hear Our Prayer
https://musicblog.gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/psalm_072-hear_our_prayer.mp3
Instead of interpreting the royal blessings of Psalm 72 (“Endow the king with your justice” and “may he defend the afflicted”) as the future deeds of a messianic monarch, Linda Bonney Olin portrays them as acts that all of God’s people can, and should do— right now. Her hymn prays to that effect: “Hear our prayer for the ones you’ve called to rule, to judge, to guard, and to govern. May all our leaders be guided by wisdom, mercy, humility, and defending the oppressed!
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 78: People Of The Lord
Price range: $0.00 through $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!
Price range: $0.00 through $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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Psalm 87: Glorious Things
Price range: $0.00 through $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_087-glorious_things.mp3
Psalm 87 is a beautiful and surprising prophecy of how God will draw all nations to the holy city of Zion. Long-time enemies like Babylon and Philistia will miraculously be welcomed into God’s family. This is a lovely reminder that God’s understanding of insiders and outsiders has always been more gracious than ours. Michael Morgan captures this as “generations to be numbered, sons and daughters yet unborn” are “future heirs of Israel.” Beautiful.
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Ready My Heart
Price range: $0.00 through $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