Can you put yourself in this composer’s shoes, when examining the lyrics he wrote? Perhaps Brent Chambers’ mind could imagine the God who is way above all creation, and seeing things from His perspective as He looked down on the people and the world He created (as the photo here depicts, showing Napier and southern Hawke Bay on the North Island of New Zealand where Brent was born and may have been in 1977 when the song was conceived.) The setting where his words gestated had provided a spark, making Brent ponder the unity of his and others’ humanity. We might all come from different backgrounds, skin colors, experiences, habits, and beliefs, but are all those differences really that significant? Brent must have concluded that the fellow-man principle, and the Creator’s hand on himself and all the others in his vicinity one evening spoke the only reply he needed.
‘…great to the heavens’, and ‘…to the clouds’ – those were some of the words that emerged from Brent’s spirit as he reflected on his time one evening when he witnessed an ethnic music and dance event. That Brent composed a song in the wake of this experience suggests he had had a good time, perhaps reacquainting himself with a culture with which he was already somewhat familiar, or on the other hand maybe seeing it in a way that was new. Was it some of the Maori or Moriori ethnic dances and music that Brent saw that evening, something with a Polynesian flavor? Was it a group of Pakeha -- a mix of New Zealand and European culture -- that captured Brent’s attention? Something rich and meaningful evidently struck a chord in Brent’s spirit, and he might even have looked heavenward as he considered how such a group had come to inhabit the area. “Among the nations…’, Brent wrote, as he thought about and looked upon the people living in the same island nation where he’d grown up. This 29-year-old New Zealander would eventually write hundreds of songs, but that night Brent apparently turned to an ancient songbook – the Psalms – to borrow some others’ thoughts. Psalms 22 (v.3), 52 (v.9), and 145 (v.7) were potentially the origin of what Brent would write, as he thought about exalting God among other humans that He created, to celebrate His goodness and acknowledge His holy presence – His ‘glory…over all the earth’ (2nd verse of the song). It was a message about togetherness in diversity, and being under the same umbrella of Godly influence, that flowed from Brent’s pen and out through the music that accompanied the words. We can all address God personally, because we’re all equally His image-bearers and live in a place that He alone created for us.
Brent’s experience coaxes a certain attitude. It incorporates humility and understanding of each other here on planet Earth, because of Him who made us. Brent says God is ‘steadfast’ and ‘faithful’, worthy to be praised among the nations, without apparent favoritism for one nation over another. ‘All the earth’, Brent reminds us as he thought of God’s presence, so think about that the next time you grouse about not being able to understand someone else’s tongue, or maybe an accent that you have to decipher just to achieve communication with another person. He can help us all come together. No separation will hold sway when we gather in eternity, so it’s a good idea to get used to our commonalities, about sharing the same space. The heavens, the clouds, and the terra firma (earth) that we all live on are His. I do find myself having to ask sometimes, ‘Do I really believe that it’s all His’?
See the song’s story at this link: Be Exalted, O God | Hymnary.org
Read here about the rich culture of New Zealand: Culture of New Zealand - Wikipedia
See information on the photo here: File:Napier06.jpg - Wikimedia Commons …This image is in the public domain because it is a screenshot from NASA’s globe software World Wind using a public domain layer, such as Blue Marble, MODIS, Landsat, SRTM, USGS or GLOBE.
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