I Will Bless Thee, O Lord -- Esther Watanabe

 

We don’t know much about her, except that she was perhaps reading from the Psalms. Esther Watanabe was her name, and what she had to say around the year 1970 was personal, echoing what her musical ancestor, David, said on more than one occasion – “I Will Bless Thee, O Lord.” What David experienced, and what Esther would have noticed when she read his poetry, was that he had many reasons to thank and lift up God’s name, no matter what the circumstances. Maybe Esther didn’t have or need a vision of this God (like Ezekiel did [Ezekiel 1], as imagined in this 16^th Century work of art by Raphael) whom she wanted to bless. But it doesn’t take much imagination to ponder why Esther might have needed His presence, for the human condition has so many pitfalls that to say one never needs Him would be the anomaly, rather than the norm. What might be considered unusual, however, is the attitude to sing of His goodness when one is suffering; complaining and feeling desperately abandoned would perhaps be more appropriate. And David and the rest of us, probably Esther too in 1970, have felt that way, and yet where else can we go but to Him? Maybe it takes just one episode when it seems He indeed listens to coax a bit of faith and praise from deep within, even when trouble pays a visit.

 

We might not have specific information about Esther’s walk that day/s around 1970, but we could hypothesize that what David had to say in two of his psalms, Psalms 34 and 145, struck her as worthy of an ‘Amen’. Was she in the same situation or something similar to what David was going through when he crafted Psalm 34? The preface words to that one indicate David was feeling pretty upbeat in the wake of a strange episode, when he feigned madness before a king in order to escape danger. ‘…at all times’, David said, indicating that in trouble or comfort, or whatever might be an in-between situation, God was still worthy of acclaim. In that particular psalm, David indicated in multiple verses that danger and stress were present (vv.4, 6-7, 15, 17-19), so if these were multiple incidents, or even just the one with the foreign king, it dawned on David that he emerged unscathed from an impossible situation because God was protecting him. In Psalm 145, David again felt God’s protection in difficulties (in vv. 14 and 19), but the praise that arises from David’s heart in that poem is more about who God is, revealed in His ‘greatness’ (v. 3), His ‘mighty acts’ (v.4), His ‘majesty’ (v.5), and righteousness (v. 7). It is God’s character that causes the overflow of David’s heart in exaltation. That God’s goodness and His dominion would ‘endure(s) throughout all generations’(v.13) was also what gave David such ecstasy, perhaps as he realized that his progeny would still prosper even after his (David’s) earthly kingdom ended. We know not whether Esther had any children or successive generations of friends and acquaintances that came after her, but how would you and I feel if we knew that others we’d known in this life could reach eternity some day and reunite with us? Mortality is a certain thing, isn’t it? Looking to Him, offering Him who is good a blessing of praise, is a hope exercise. And, hope is not empty (see Hebrews 3:6; 6:11,18-19; 7:19; 10:23; 11:1).        

 

And so, Esther echoed what David had said long ago. ‘Bless the Lord’ might sound a bit strange at first. How can I, a mere mortal, offer the Almighty, the Divine Creator of the universe, something that would bless Him who is possessing of such greatness already? It would be easy to feel so humble, that you wouldn’t feel right lifting your head and giving Him a gift. Moses was afraid to look at Him (Ex. 3:6) and indeed was later warned not to look at God’s face (Ex. 33:18-21), and yet this same God wanted Moses to know Him, wanted a relationship with him. We are His creation, the most special creatures in His image (Genesis 1:27). Every father wants to hear his sons and daughters, the very offspring of himself, say ‘thanks, Dad’. If He made us to relate to each other in this way, why should He feel different about us and Himself? This Father is one you and I can have forever.    

 

See information on the image here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raphael_-_Ezekiel%27s_Vision.jpg … The author died in 1520, so 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. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1931. …found inside this document -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_the_Father

Psalm 23 (I Am Not Alone) -- Joshua Sherman, Laurel Taylor, Steven Musso, The Emerging Sound

 

It most likely happened at a summer camp. The year was 2018, and Joshua Sherman and two other musical collaborators, Laurel Taylor and Steven Musso, reached back for a song that was very old, in order to drawn something that remained potent from its object of worship. “Psalm 23 (I Am Not Alone)”, which drew upon what one shepherd once wrote about another greater shepherd, spoke to these three 21^st Century songwriters. David’s version, and so many other renderings since his day 3,000 years ago, engender peace and contentment; Joshua, Laurel, and Steven, while in the camp atmosphere of The Emerging Sound, took David’s thoughts to a place of elation and pure excitement as they considered what the Great Shepherd provides. He gives the people of His pasture so much right now, and if what’s to come because of His provision could possibly be fathomed, that would really blow the top off of all we can imagine. That’s what Joshua, Laurel, and Steven seem to want us to drink in.  

 

Joshua, Laurel, and Steven come from different places in the eastern part of the United States, so one can guess that they came together somehow to mull over, share, and create something that their ancient songwriting brother would have recognized. These three heard and read what David said, and just to rearrange his lyrics some would have been profitable, and yet they evidently had some other objective in mind when they thought about Psalm 23. Joshua ministered in Boynton Beach in southern Florida, Laurel was Nashville in Middle Tennessee, and Steven was in Albany in east-central New York, so did the three talk by phones or via some other remote devices to craft the song? Part of it may have emerged from such an interaction, but since they cite The Emerging Sound as a part of their collective composing team, we can be pretty certain that they were together at one of the summer camps that this organization hosts to foster songwriting and ultimately the spread of the Good News. They thought David’s words about the Great Shepherd and what He provides were worth repeating – protection, anointing, guidance through valleys, refreshment and restoration, the mercy and grace He offers, and the comfort and confidence that makes our souls overflow. That’s a lot. Wrap up all of that in a single package, and how does one feel? That is what is expressed in this Psalm 23 version, and you and I are invited to feel as Joshua, Laurel, and Steven unmistakably felt as they sat with each other at a campsite. They used words that David must have also felt, but left unspoken. Hallelujah and Victory (vocalized six and fifteen times, respectively, throughout the song) raise the lyrics to a new height, testifying to a thrilling awareness for what He’s laid up for us to have in His presence, in His home. We can anticipate and be confident that He will, and is already providing for us, as these three remind us that ‘my Comfort, always holds me close’, an antidote to this life of frequent challenge that He alone bestows. David surely knew all about this too, and that ‘Your Spirit lives within me’, though he did not explicitly pen these phrases. Joshua, Laurel, and Steven thought David’s heartstrings beat pretty strong in these unspoken phrases through what he did write, so why not include them three millennia later? Good idea!   

 

Not much more needs to be said to expose what three contemporary Christian songwriters discovered eight years ago. Others probably have felt similarly as they have read and thought about David’s ode to the Great Shepherd. Too often, though, it is consigned to rather sad occasions, at funerals. Its comforting tone is appropriate for soothing the wounded hearts at those times, certainly. But our great Redeemer and Protector is more than a soother, as this new version of the 23^rd Psalm communicates so powerfully. Sing the hallelujahs and victories now that we implicitly know David had in his own soul, and which Joshua, Laurel, and Steven have seen fit to shout aloud. Say them again, and again, and again. Keep doing it. Live like it, and see who else will join in. (Click on one of the links below to get yourself in the correct frame of mind!)    

 

Hear a very stirring rendition of the song here from one of the artists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpTXb_-sir8

 

Read some about the primary composer here: https://www.jasministries.com/

 

Read about another of the co-writers here: https://www.themussos.com/about

 

Read about another of the co-writers here: https://www.thechristianbeat.org/artists/laurel-taylor/

 

Read about the songwriting group that helped spawn the song here: https://www.theemergingsound.com/

 

See information about the image here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bernhard_Plockhorst_-_Good_Shephard.jpg... 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. {{PD-1996}} – public domain in its source country on January 1, 1996 and in the United States….the image may be found in this document -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheep  

Made for More -- Blake Wiggins, Jessie Early, Jonathan Smith, Josh Baldwin

 

He’d just made a move, and he was searching. That’s what Josh Baldwin shared as he talked about “Made for More” after the song was released in 2024. He had several collaborators – Blake Wiggins, Jessie Early, and Jonathan Smith – so it wasn’t just Josh making up his own mind about how he himself was ‘made for more’; indeed, Josh and the others implicitly acknowledged that identity begins with the One who made us all. Josh had been part of Bethel Music based in Redding, California (see its seal here), which has been a collection of songwriters that may have played a role in the song’s development. So, when he moved across the country to Tennessee, he was evidently hunting for some ‘newness’. Fortunately, he found that this endeavor did not really take him in an opposite direction, but rather allowed him to step back from leading and reexamine the basics of his faith. What did his life mean for him personally? That’s what comes through in the words that Josh began, and which Blake, Jessie, and Jonathan helped focus and refine.

 

Josh said the song emerged during a songwriting session, so one can imagine the ideas that were shared back and forth in ‘Made for More’. He says the song felt pretty special right from the start, and actually helped him rethink what the theme of the album on which it appears should be. That tells us, who are searching like Josh was, that something pretty essential is contained within the songwriters’ collective thoughts when they finished their work. It’s said that these essentials captivated them through several scriptures – Romans 8, Isaiah 43:1, and Ephesians 2 – which ancient writers also used to communicate powerful, life-giving manna to their age, and now to ours. In short, one word helps sum up how they said we should feel: Alive! That’s what the ancients were saying poetically and otherwise. The Apostle Paul no doubt read what Isaiah had written what God told him: ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.’ It must have dawned on the prophets, Jesus-followers like Paul, and these 21^st Century songwriters that God doesn’t redeem people to let them remain dead or to live a futile existence; He wants His chosen ones to be as alive as He is. Josh says this living message, that being ‘made for more’ helped strengthen his own son, and became like a personal anthem when he and his family were hunting for a new church in Tennessee. There were valleys and peaks, but they could count on the Creator-God to remain faithful. If you’re feeling hamstrung by your past mistakes, leave them in the dust, and as Josh and the others wrote in their lyrics, take heart, for ‘I have a future and it's worth the living’. Life is so much more than merely being born and then dying, so don’t ‘be tending a grave’, because that will only be a temporary stopping/resting point along the way.

 

Josh and company have so much more to say about being “Made for More”, and its message evokes an emotion that actually can transcend the human life experience. It will go beyond the grave, where none of us have yet been. And yet, Josh and the others say something else that’s interesting in one of their verses – ‘The cross of salvation was only the start’, implying that there’s so much more than looking out ahead to the finish line. Jesus did say ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30), so we all look to that seminal moment when Jesus accomplished the saving act for you and me. How Josh and his friends respond, though, is to say ‘we’re risen now’. If your day has a heavy rock that you feel like you’re dragging along behind you, let it go, and grab hold of what’s said in “Made…” -- I know I am Yours. Am, not will be someday. Right now.

 

 

Details of the song found here: https://www.google.com/search?q=made+for+more+song+story&aic=0&bih=825&biw=1459&sca_esv=ae1e161c6b0f2947&ei=kOx7ae6IHqjm5NoPoLqlmQo&ved=0ahUKEwjukL_z8rGSAxUoM1kFHSBdKaMQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=made+for+more+song+story&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiGG1hZGUgZm9yIG1vcmUgc29uZyBzdG9yeTIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgsQABiABBiGAxiKBTIIEAAYgAQYogRI_HhQ9A9Y_HFwAXgBkAEAmAFSoAGsDaoBAjMxuAEDyAEA-AEBmAIboALVC8ICChAAGLADGNYEGEfCAgUQIRigAcICBRAAGO8FwgIGEAAYBxgewgIIEAAYBxgIGB7CAggQABgFGAcYHsICChAAGIAEGEMYigXCAg0QLhiABBixAxhDGIoFwgILEAAYgAQYkQIYigXCAgUQABiABMICChAuGIAEGEMYigXCAgUQLhiABMICFBAuGIAEGJcFGNwEGN4EGOAE2AEBwgIIEAAYogQYiQWYAwCIBgGQBge6BgYIARABGBSSBwIyN6AHzbABsgcCMja4B9MLwgcENi4yMcgHKIAIAA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

See more comments about the song here: https://www.brightfm.com/shine/shine-daily/josh-baldwin-on-the-purpose-behind-made-for-more/ and here: https://worshipleader.com/worship-culture/made-for-more-josh-baldwin/

Read about one of the songwriters here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Baldwin

Read about a songwriting venture here in which the principal songwriter has been involved: Bethel Music - Wikipedia

See information on the image of the Redding seal here: File:Seal of Redding, California.png - Wikimedia Commons. This work was created by a government unit (including state, county, city, and municipal government agencies) that derives its powers from the laws of the State of California and is subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Government Code § 6250 et seq.). It is a public record that was not created by an agency which state law has allowed to claim copyright, and is therefore in the public domain in the United States. The image may be found inside this site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redding,_California