This song
that he wrote in his mid-30s could be summed up with just three words. If Otis
Skillings had wanted, he could have gone anywhere outside of his home turf (see
map indicating location of Winnebago County, Illinois, where the small city of
Rockford is situated, and where he may have been in the early 1970s) to promote
the music he wrote, probably. This potential would have included “Lord, We
Praise You” that he penned and which was published by 1972 when Otis was 37
years old. It has such a universally straightforward message that just about
anyone could learn it within moments, and that probably explains why it was one
of Otis’ most well-known compositions. The plurality of the noun he chose to
use in his poetry also indicates how Skillings viewed the song’s use – a group of
people, not just an individual, should join in on its recitation. That may
suggest there was a group of people which he was thinking had a common reason
for expressing what Otis indicated they needed to say. Do you have such a group
today? No one is an island, as someone has said…
Praise. Thank.
Love. Those were the verbs that Otis Skillings chose to urge a group of people
to express jointly. He had undoubtedly spent much time in church worship
services singing praises, seeing expressions of thanks routinely
on the lips of the people, and witnessing love acted out among the people
surrounding him. So, Otis had grasped something pretty fundamental, and his
musical talents often fused with his faith values to carry him to places far
and wide, including mission fields where he could hear this elemental composition
sung in unfamiliar tongues. It was likely a church group, unsurprisingly, that
he probably intended should vocalize the various compositions that he put down
on paper. His father had been a minister, and Otis was often the piano player
where he grew up in Hamilton, Ohio, north of Cincinnati. It was further north
of there, in Dayton, where Otis reportedly saw a turning point in his life as a
teenager, playing piano for a Youth for Christ gathering. That was apparently a
stepping stone for Otis’ musical career, one which would take his music into
multiple avenues for the rest of his life. His music career evidently started
with youth musicals “Life” and “Love”, and spread into writing and arranging
music for at least ten different musical enterprises and churches. ‘Lord, We
Praise You’ may not have a background story or particular circumstance that we
know of, but its few words tell us the imperatives that Otis probably saw operating
no matter where he travelled. The three verb words he used – praise, thank, and
love – were action words best employed by people gathered together. And, ‘we’
was a key part of what he included in the song’s lines. Every praise, articulation
of thanks, and act of love was a group effort. Otis’ ‘we’ did not remain in a
room with pews. In the last years of his life, Otis was apparently involved
with Barnabas International, a group that provides a wide variety of support to
worldwide missions’ work. By its nature, this is not a one-man operation. Otis had
learned long ago when he wrote ‘Lord, We Praise You’ that the Christian life was
best lived – and not just sung – with the ‘we’ in mind.
A blunt
question may have been how Otis’ father at least occasionally ended a sermon,
if he was like other ministers who spoke often. Do you expect to get where you’re
going eternally by yourself? Oh sure, no one can bring another person along to
the afterlife just by association. But, ask yourself this: Do I discover what God
wants of me all by myself, or do I find out how to go with advice and
encouragement? And, a model for how to do what otherwise is impossible is a
good idea, too, right? Look around, and see that each of us needs each other.
Not perfect models, or bastions of encouragement, are we? Luckily – no,
providentially – we have the model, the counselor, the intermediary. He’s already
there, waiting for you and me. Praise, thanks, and love. Those are the vehicles
He gives to transport us, as Otis correctly saw.
See this
site for some very brief information on the author/composer: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/s/k/i/l/skillings_o.htm
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