Revelation Song -- Jennie Lee Riddle

 

She’d been praying for a decade, and this was the result. Jennie was having more than just ‘one of those days’ when she envisioned “Revelation Song”, and though she says her thoughts were indeed a prayer, she didn’t want any more of the ‘I’ and ‘me’ to emerge from that inner stimulus that she had to write something new. Instead, what she saw as the focus was the throne and the mercy seat upon which He would be sitting, a vision perhaps as awesome and terrifying as it gets, brilliant and stunning in the light surrounding its Creator-Judge. (See the Mercy Seat shown here, as illustrated in the 1890 Holman Bible, representative of what is described in Ezekiel 1:26-28 and Revelation 4). That’s the way to lift the church up off the ‘daily… rubble…and worry’, as Jennie described herself and those with whom she worshipped in the early 2000s (Revelation Song was written in or about 2004).

 

Jenny Lee Riddle was a young mother taking care of her son one day, perhaps an otherwise ordinary day, with the exception that some feeling had been building in her consciousness for some time. From her own words and the story behind ‘Revelation Song’, we can guess that she might even have been humming or listening to another song (Gerrit Gustafson’s I Hear Angels, written in 1989) with the same scenery that she would use for her own lyrics, because she appreciated its awe-inspiring imagery. She fervently wanted to see Him in all this glory described by Ezekiel and John, this God arrayed in ‘rainbows of living color’. Not only sight, but sound will testify about Him, in ‘thunder’ and ‘a new song’, as exotic creatures surround His seat on the throne – His mercy seat (Hebrews 9:5 and Revelation 11:19) -- to utter His praises. ‘Holy, holy, holy…’ is He, this ‘Lamb who was slain’. To ‘adore You’ is the only proper response, as Jennie reminds us. Just let yourself be filled with ‘awestruck wonder’, watch the ‘flashes of lightning’, and join with ‘all creation’ to sing to the ‘King of kings’. The only ‘I’ and ‘me’ in this episode is the one in which I am overwhelmed, and yet loved, in His very presence because His merciful judgement contains compassion mingled with righteousness. ‘You are my everything’ is the only way in which I can momentarily contemplate myself, and it’s only because I’ve been drawn into final one-ness with Him, He  ‘who was, and is, and is to come’. In fact, in that moment He’s no longer in the past or future tense; think of when all of history will culminate into an eternal present. That’s where Jennie was that day, when she set her son down and picked up her guitar and vocalized some words, words she expected to come true. Look at Him upon His mercy seat, and see if you can imagine what the ancient prophets and this 21^st Century songwriter could see and hear.

 

Step into the bright sunshine, an invitation that we all accept here below without even a second thought. Put on the sunglasses, so you don’t have to squint so much, and so your eyes don’t strain with effort. They didn’t have such protection when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (Exodus 34), and a veil was placed over his face to make the people less afraid, so they’d be less apprehensive in the presence of one who had talked with God – they were warned not to look upon Him, after all. I will have an unveiled face to look upon Him. You and I get that now, even as Paul told the Corinthians and all believers in a post-resurrection reality (2 Corinthians 3:7-18). It’s just a warmup for what Jennie wants us to see, and I won’t be given sunglasses to shield my eyes. I’ll see Him completely. Get ready for that rainbow of colors, and Him who will bestow His gift from where He sits.   

 

See the song’s story told here by the songwriter: Bing Videos (story from beginning through 1:25)

 

See a brief blurb here about the song’s genesis: Stories behind songs that changed the way we worship | ChristianToday Australia

See some of the song’s background her Revelation Song - Wikipedia

 

See here for a description of the place where God sits: Mercy seat - Wikipedia

 

See the image information here, and its public domain status: File:Holman The Mercy Seat.jpg - Wikimedia Commons …This media file is in the public domain in the United States. This applies to U.S. works where the copyright has expired, often because its first publication occurred prior to January 1, 1928, and if not then due to lack of notice or renewal. See this page for further explanation. This image might not be in the public domain outside of the United States; this especially applies in the countries and areas that do not apply the rule of the shorter term for US works, such as Canada, Mainland China (not Hong Kong or Macao), Germany, Mexico, and Switzerland. The creator and year of publication are essential information and must be provided. See Wikipedia:Public domain and Wikipedia:Copyrights for more details.

Great Are You Lord -- David Leonard, Jason Ingram, Leslie Jordan

 

These three friends set out to make a song, a LOUD song. That is how David Leonard envisioned “Great Are You Lord”, something not terribly original, but one that could let a crowd sing with abandon and energy. He must have felt like the worship crowds he was trying to guide could use an injection of life, something that would metaphorically look like some old dry bones coming to life (as in what the prophet Ezekiel saw, reproduced in this 19^th Century engraving by Gustave Dorè). And actually, David and his friends Jason Ingram and Leslie Jordan also borrowed and re-phrased an idea from a fourth musical friend (Matt Redman) to provide some of the inspiration for the song they were trying to bring about. And still, according to David Leonard, the song almost didn’t happen, except that this group kept working this one over and over until something clicked. Was it their own dry bones that needed the Spirit’s influence?

 

This song really was a group effort, with each of the members bringing some of their own thoughts to what would eventually emerge (sometime in either 2012 or 2013). Jason apparently had been sharing with Matt Redman about David’s desire to create a spirited anthem, a feeling not unfamiliar to Matt, who told Jason he felt that hearing a crowd really lifting God’s name in worship through song while in the very presence of Him was a matchless experience. That gave Jason a thought which was inserted into the song’s lyrics – that God’s ‘breath (was) in our lungs…’, so praise just could not be limited. That thought provided the initial push for the song’s creation as Jason, David, and Leslie sought to add more lyrics in their joint session. They eventually added words about God giving ‘life’ and ‘hope’; being ‘love’; ‘restor(ing) …broken hearts’; and bringing ‘light to the darkness’ – all great reasons to shout the song’s title words. Whether it was one of them alone or a collaborative thought, the imagery of Ezekiel 37 leapt to their lips too, as they imagined a whole army of lifeless skeletons suddenly becoming reanimated. ‘These bones will sing’, they said, but it was more than just one valley where they saw God’s hand at work; they believe He’s got ‘the whole earth’ on His mind. As Leslie explained, this vivid imagery helps spur a certain fervor and unparalleled power among His people, something that can speak volumes to a world filled with those who don’t yet believe. We’re all waiting with great anticipation the New Heaven and New Earth, but it’s not too soon to tell Him now what we think of that great future that He’s preparing.

 

There’s a point in the podcast with David (see its link below – ‘simplecast….david-leonard’) in which he admits that there’s not a whole lot more to the lyrics that he and Jason and Leslie settled on. Perhaps that’s why David suggests that the group almost put aside the song as an unfinished work, thinking it still needed some more. But, as they think now, what more needs to be said, in order to say ‘thank you’ to Him over and over? The blessings He’s already delivered are plenty to acknowledge, and to mull over in their depth and breadth. He’s lived up to His promises about bringing hope and life and purpose, not to mention restoration to broken people through countless Christian communities. Further, access your imagination, and just think of your lifeless form rising from a coffin someday. Be reborn, with rejuvenated parts, and just look around at your friends and loved ones alongside. Wow! That’s the feeling that David, Jason, and Leslie were after with this song. Pass that along to others, and watch this electric contagion take hold!       

 

See here for the song story: https://www.logos.com/grow/great-lord-new-classic/

Hear the story of the song here: https://jesus-songs.simplecast.com/episodes/001-great-are-you-lord-david-leonard-ju2TebN6 (begin here: 18:20 – 22:11)

See here for information about the authors/composers: Great Are You Lord | Hymnary.org

 

Information and link to the image of the dry bones: The Vision of The Valley of The Dry Bones - Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones - Wikipedia. This image is in the public domain because it is a mere mechanical scan or photocopy of a public domain original, or – from the available evidence – is so similar to such a scan or photocopy that no copyright protection can be expected to arise. The original itself is in the public domain for the following reason: This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer.

There Shall Be Showers of Blessing -- Daniel W. Whittle

 

This Civil War veteran did not start out being a believer, but something must have intervened to change his outlook. Could it have been the war, which permanently maimed Daniel Webster Whittle with the amputation of his right arm? What in the world would change someone who suffered so grievously, that he was able to tell others that “There Shall Be Showers of Blessing” years later? Despite his wartime service, or perhaps because of it, Daniel had found something that would stay with him, even though his battlefield experiences had cost him a limb. Major Whittle, as he would be known for the remainder of his life, was a vivid example of someone who trusted, an amputee who knew his God and His promises were worth more than his right arm.

 

Daniel Webster Whittle was 43 years old in 1883, when the song ‘There Shall Be Showers…’ first appeared in print, some 20 years and a number of life-altering events after the 1860s, perhaps the hinge-point of his life. At war’s end, Daniel probably could not have imagined himself doing what came to be his life’s purpose, but perhaps it all started with a New Testament that his mother placed in bag as he went off to war. Was it the loss of his arm that finally pushed him to read this during his time in a field hospital? Following the war, his time with Dwight Moody in Chicago also played a significant role in his Christian development, though he’d begun his postwar life initially in a clock company. It was apparently Moody who coaxed the major to focus his life on evangelism instead, perhaps seeing that his life was a walking message to others about God’s work. Daniel apparently collaborated with James McGranahan, who wrote the tune for this hymn and many other songs that that the two men worked together to produce; these two reportedly travelled together on many evangelism tours, suggesting that it was on one of their trips when ‘Showers…’ was created by them. And, the song title suggests Whittle was reading or preaching about Ezekiel 34:26 on that occasion. Did Whittle find especially resonant the message from that prophet about sheep being cared for directly by the Lord, that this God would send showers of blessing? Every verse of his song begins with this promise about showers of blessing, about the provision of this God that Whittle had grown to trust unconditionally. What would it have been like to hear a message from a one-armed veteran about the blessings of life?

 

Whittle associated many facets of knowing God with the showers he trusted God would deliver.  Trust and obedience (v.5); certainty of His love (v.1); confession and submission (v.4); prayer (refrain, v.3); and His abundant nature (v.2) all resound in Daniel’s poetry, things he had evidently gleaned from the prophet’s writings. Did he also pen his words as a response to how his own life had progressed to that point? He’d seen the misery of war, and had survived. ‘Was it luck?’, you could imagine the major might have asked himself one or multiple times. Perhaps Daniel had surmised that God is the provider he needed, no matter what is going on. Think about it, and see if you agree with Daniel.

 

   

See more information on the author of the song’s verses in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990.   

 

Also see this link, showing all five original verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/t/h/e/r/s/thershow.htm

 

Also see this link for author’s biography: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/w/h/i/t/t/whittle_dw.htm  

 

And here also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Webster_Whittle