Modern

Showing 61–72 of 80 results

  • Psalm 7: Arise!

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    https://musicblog.gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/psalm_7-arise.mp3

    Isaac Watts described Psalm 7 as “God’s care of his people and punishment of persecutors.” Indeed, the Psalmist makes some pretty explicit suggestions about how God might bring vengeance on enemies. But it is also full of vivid language like “save me or they will tear me like a lion” and “he who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment.” So, while this is unlikely to be my big hit, I think my Psalm 7 song does a good job of letting the text speak. Or as I like to say: This is not the best song you’ve ever heard, but it’s probably the best Psalm 7 song you’ve ever heard.

    This leadsheet is a free download. If you sing this song in your church please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense.

  • Psalm 77: We Will Remember

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    https://musicblog.gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/psalm_77-ham-we_will_remember.mp3

    Psalm 77 is an interesting case study in lament. It begins like many lament Psalms: “I cried out to God for help.” It wistfully remembers the good old days, then asks the pivotal question: “Will the Lord reject us forever?” The Psalm then turns to hope as the Psalmist remembers God’s mighty works in the past, stilling the waters of creation and parting the Red Sea. Lyricist Travis Ham, with whom I collaborated on this song, took the Psalm’s remembering one step further by recalling Christ’s work on the cross. Because Christ suffered for us, died, and was resurrected, we can endure our hardships, questions, and doubts.

    This leadsheet is a free download. If you sing this song in your church, please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense.

  • Psalm 8: How Often in the Deep of Night

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    https://musicblog.gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/psalm_8-how_often.mp3

    One would think that the Psalm 8 well had long ago run dry, but Linda Bonney Olin has written a new setting of the Psalm that is full of child-like wonder, bringing a fresh sense of awe to our hearing of the Psalm. She includes the theme of creation care in verses 2-3, a timely interpretation to be sure.

  • Psalm 82: Gathered in the Judgment Hall

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    http://musicblog.gregscheer.com/psalm_82-gathered_COS.mp3

    Psalm 82 is fascinating. While it could be understood as an indictment of unjust people, in actuality, it appears to be a judgment against the high council of gods. Who are these “gods” over which God holds court? In the Psalmist’s time, it would have likely referred to the pantheon of gods who were believed to oversee weather, oceans, fertility, and every other aspect of life. I don’t think it would be inappropriate to recast these gods for modern times as “The Man”: The powers that be. The principalities. The forces (inequity, fear, racism, etc) that seem to control our world on some higher, untouchable plane. However, just like in the Psalmist’s time, these gods of our time are not, in fact, untouchable. They bow to the Almighty God.

  • Psalm 82: There Where the Judges Gather

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    [audio mp3="https://gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/psalm_82-there_where_the_judges.mp3"][/audio]

    After I led the Psalter Hymnal version of Psalm 82 one Sunday, I was told the tune that accompanied the text was too nice. What this psalm really needed was a tune that matched the text’s “stick it to the man” tone. This tune, appropriately enough, is called STICK IT TO THE MAN. Do punk rock and metrical psalms mix? You be the judge.

    This leadsheet is a free download. If you sing this song in your church please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense.

  • Psalm 9-10: Rise Up, O Lord!

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    https://musicblog.gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/psalm_009-010-rise_up_o_lord.mp3

    Though the verse melody for this setting of Psalms 9 and 10 is fairly straightforward, there are lots of harmonic twists and turns in the harmonies underneath it. This feels to me a lot like life: we may put on a good front, but there may be knots in our stomach and a prayer of anguish in our heads.

  • Psalm 98: Sing to the Lord a New Song

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    [audio mp3="https://gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/sing_to_the_lord.mp3"][/audio]

    It seems like everyone has their own version of Psalm 98, but each generation needs a “new song” so I make no apologies for adding my voice to the fray! This song was chosen to be sung at COLAM 1999 (Conference on Liturgy and Music) at Dordt College as part of the Composition Competition.

  • Renew Us, O God

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    http://musicblog.gregscheer.com/renew_us_o_god.mp3

    This song was commissioned for the World Communion of Reformed Churches 2017 General Council. It takes the council’s theme (“transformed and transforming; renewed and renewing”) and puts it in prayer form: “Renew us, O God.” This prayer serves as a refrain that can be sung joyfully, as on the recording, or introspectively, like a Taizé chorus.

    An Indonesian translation by Ivan Santoso is also available for download.

  • Seven Last Words: 1. Forgive Us

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    [embed]https://musicblog.gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/forgive_us.mp3[/embed]

    This is the first in a series of songs on the seven last words of Christ. It is based on Luke 23:34: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” With each of these songs, my goal is not to restate the words of Jesus but to let worshipers reflect on them. For this passage, I wanted to invite people to take to the posture of the repentant thief on the cross, offering a heartfelt confession.

    For all seven songs, visit the Seven Last Words page.

    This leadsheet is a free download. If you sing this song in your church please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense.

  • Seven Last Words: 2. By Your Side

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    [embed]http://musicblog.gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/by_your_side.mp3[/embed]

    “By Your Side” is song #2 in my Seven Last Words series. This one is based on Luke 23:43 “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” We understand what these words mean when Jesus speaks them to a criminal dying next to him on a cross, but what do they mean for us today? In this song, we respond to Christ’s words with dedication: “Yes, Lord, we want to be with you in life and death, in paradise or cross.”

    This leadsheet is a free download. If you sing this song in your church please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense.

  • Seven Last Words: 3. Love One Another

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    [embed]http://musicblog.gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/love_one_another.mp3[/embed]

    The Gospel of John tells the story this way: “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. (John 19:25-27)

    It is touching that Jesus was taking care of his mother even while he was dying, but it is not surprising; John’s Gospel is all about love, from the famous “for God so loved the world” to the new commandment of the last supper, “love one another.” So a song about these last words of Christ should make us consider who our family is and how we can love them best.

    This leadsheet is a free download. If you sing this song in your church please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense.

  • Seven Last Words: 4. Set Us Free

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    [embed]http://musicblog.gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/set_us_free.mp3[/embed]

    This fourth song of the “Seven Last Words” project has Jesus speaking perhaps the most desolate words of the Bible: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34) These words uttered from the cross are actually a direct quote from Psalm 22, where we read of a Psalmist surrounded by enemies but ultimately saved from the grasp of death.

    If Jesus could trust God even on the cross, certainly we can cry out for deliverance even in the middle of our pain, doubt, and despair.

    This leadsheet is a free download. If you sing this song in your church please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense.

Showing 61–72 of 80 results