For All You've Done -- Reuben Morgan

 

Just celebrate. Or, with emphasis on a biblical word – Hallelujah! That was evidently what Reuben Morgan and the other members of the Hillsong Church were telling the worshippers to do in 2004 at that year’s conference at this Australian church in Sydney. (See the Hillsong Convention Center here.) And why? The reasons were clear in the few words they sang, summed up by saying “For All You’ve Done”, ‘we praise you and celebrate you, God’. It was a direct address to the One who made it all possible. He came, died, and rose again, with a great purpose to take everyone with Him to safety. It doesn’t take a lot more explanation than that, though all that He did and will do for believers is packed with meaning. The elemental nature of these few thoughts that Reuben wanted to convey was such that it couldn’t be contained in just one song, and perhaps why it was also the title song for that year’s album of 15 songs. How many more songs could also be tied to this idea, that He’s to be thanked for all He’s done? ‘Just keep writing them’, someone says to the songwriters!

 

No other details about the song or the album ‘For All You’ve Done’ are known, but it must have been a weighty discussion between Reuben and the other worship leaders (like Darlene Zshech) at Hillsong that led to 2004’s album by the same name. Fourteen other songs were recorded for that live album, and just seeing the titles of those songs tells one that they build upon the praise and celebration that ‘For All…’ begins. Perhaps you, like me, have never thought of being in a ‘miry clay’, but that’s how Reuben thought of his condition in his first verse’s lyrics. The rest of the song flows from the sense of being rescued by the One Reuben calls ‘Savior’, ‘Redeemer’, and ‘Almighty’ in the opening lines. Reuben felt transformed, and coaxed the rest of those hearing and singing --’the world’ -- ‘to ‘live again’. He came from the ‘everlasting’ to the ‘world we live (in)’ of His own choice, and we may never truly grasp why, except to say that He wants us and that we live more fully in the praise He inspires. His praise helps the emotionally downtrodden overcome. If you attended the live worship at which this album was recorded, you could probably testify to this, but it doesn’t take much imagination to say that the opening song spurred those present forward to worship with the following 14 melodies and lyrics that mingled to lift God’s name in a variety of ways. ‘Hallelujah’ offers Reuben, especially that ‘(He) lived…died…and rose again on high’, and then says something metaphorically: a door (Jesus) has ‘opened the way’ to a new existence. Those who join in the song that Reuben wrote can think about being saved, and of going to spend eternity in His presence. But, believers – like those who attended the Hillsong conference in 2004 -- can also get a bit of foretaste by joining in the ‘Hallelujah’ that we get to say now, by being assured that His promises are certain, and doing our celebrating with a crowd to imitate how it will be on the everlasting day. Doing it with others is great!

 

Many songs and hymns for centuries have vocalized the same thoughts as ‘For All…’, so what’s so different in Reuben Morgan’s version of the gospel? It’s really just another flavor of the same message, like a different spice added to food that creates a new taste experience. It may strike even just one or a few people in a novel, startling way, but that just says every song written for Him is noteworthy. After all, if all of the songs were the same, why would we want to sing them? Have you ever felt like you’re in a ‘miry clay’, as Reuben describes it? Maybe it’s felt like quicksand, or an unscalable mountain, or a prison for you. Evidently for Reuben, the metaphor of a miry clay meant he felt nearly immobilized, with a muck that stuck to him no matter how often he washed. Once Reuben got rid of that, the rest of his song is about God, and what He’s done. He’ll lift you out of that sloppy stuff. Just pay attention to Him, Reuben seems to say.  

 

Read here about the author-composer: Reuben Morgan - Wikipedia

 

See here for information on the song and the album on which it appears: For All You've Done - Wikipedia

 

See Hillsong Convention Centre image information here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hillsong_Convention_Centre.jpg   This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Tatie2189. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: Tatie2189 grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

Emmanuel (Hallowed Manger Ground) -- Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash

 

‘…the hallowed manger ground’. That’s the spot that Chris Tomlin and Ed Cash wanted Christmas celebrants to scrutinize as they themselves thought about the significance of the “Emmanuel”, the ‘God with us’, who occupied that unexpected place. (See that nativity scene here, as imagined in this masterpiece artwork, Adoration of the Shepherds, by the 17^th Century painter Gerard van Honthorst.) If we could place ourselves within that window of ancient history, how would we react to this most unusual event? Would we, if we were average Jewish villagers trying to scratch out day-to-day life, really be aware that it was something that scribes and other teachers of the Jewish law said we should anticipate? After all, hundreds of years had elapsed since the last prophet had spoken. And yet, there were whispers and reminders from some of the most learned men of the village where you and I might have lived. But in a manger? Even the old men teaching us seemed to be skeptical. But, just listen to those shepherds…what a story!

 

Chris Tomlin and Ed Cash wanted to issue a miracle-reminder in 2009, and given the content of the lyrics and the song’s title, it seems obvious that they were in the midst of the Christmas holiday season, though we know no details of the song’s development. We can estimate that these two music collaborators were also at least glancing at a bible or some other ancient history resource, for they mention a ‘silent age’, a period of ‘400 years’ (v.2), to set the scene in which 1^st Century Jews lived. The prophet Micah had delivered his oracle sometime around 430 B.C., and then God’s people heard nothing more from any other prophets for a very long time. Perhaps enough had already been revealed, but that did not dim the curiosity of God-fearing folks, those who clung to the hope of God’s deliverance. Chris and Ed mention that that curiosity was translated into a ‘hope’ that sent some men on a ‘journey’ to find the ‘hallowed manger ground’. This hope is the first emotional reaction that Chris and Ed mention, one that propelled the shepherds to that special birthplace. Two other emotions arose from those first-look men, according to Chris and Ed: ‘Rejoic(ing)’ (v.2), and ‘prais(ing) (v.3). It was the first time, the first Christmas for those people, and for a people who thought God had maybe forgotten them, this bright star and the child it shone upon were signs that were undeniably supernatural. It was the cause for spontaneous wonder and  elation. That just might be what Chris and Ed were trying to recapture for us who are 20 centuries removed from that first time. That would be over 2,000 Christmases that have piled up since that unique child arrived in a village in Israel’s present-day West Bank, just south of Jerusalem. Just respond to the invitation, and put yourself in the period, looking upon the face of the infant-God, the One who came to save.

 

Chris and Ed don’t immediately tell all that the Christ-child would mean to humanity. Instead, they tell of the search and how the seekers must have felt as they followed ‘the light’ (v.1). The way was ‘long’, but they had ‘hope’ (as already mentioned above) of seeing a ‘King’ (v.1). They still could recall their ‘fear’ because God had grown so quiet, only to be jolted by the ‘baby’s cry’ (v.2). Could that have been like the electric charge one receives from an E-squad technician, as he or she places the paddles on one’s chest and flips a switch to zap your heart into a beat? Imagine that. And, think about how this baby’s heartbeat would be sacrificed one day, as a consequence of His body ‘bleed(ing)’ – even as a infant in that manger, He was ‘born to bleed’, to wear ‘thorns’ (v.2), and to bear scorn. Not your normal kind of baby, was He? Only one name fits, as the two songwriters remind us – Emmanuel.

 

  

Read here about one of the author-composers: Chris Tomlin - Wikipedia

 

Read here about one of the author-composers: Ed Cash - Wikipedia

 

See information here on the classic artwork: File:Gerard van Honthorst - Adoration of the Shepherds (1622).jpg - Wikipedia. The author died in 1656, 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, 1929.

Awesome -- Charles Jenkins

 

Charles Jenkins says that the day was so hectic, it was like the demands on him were trying to crowd out what he finally heard inside his head. He was trying to hear from and share with his Creator, but what kept coming through was that He’s “Awesome”, even in the hubbub of daily activities in the Chicago area where Charles was a minister. (See the seal of Chicago here.) This certainly wasn’t the first time that Charles had had a conversation with God, but it was unique in that he decided to preserve what emerged from it – his first musical endeavor in April 2012. He says it seemed like God was the ‘orchestrator’, so Charles took the hint that this divine discussion partner wanted him to take this conversation and let others know about it. Charles felt like he was the recorder, writing like never before and trying to get every thought and impression down on paper that God was communicating. What you and I can do is try to put ourselves in Charles’ shoes…and indeed we can, with what he penned about the Awesome.

 

The lyrics that Charles scribbled hurriedly in 2012 tell of a progression of his thoughts, and the many truths about the Almighty that kept building upon each other as he focused on His voice and how his spirit was meshing with His. Inside Charles’ house, following his busy day, he heard the word ‘awesome’. And then what followed in the next several minutes were the details of that one-word inspiration, giving Charles a multi-pronged answer, coming in three waves of poetry that only the great artist of the universe could really author. The 1^st verse answered the initial question, ‘Why’s He awesome?’ Picture Charles being captivated by this God and His mountains, valleys, and the rain, and that He provides ‘strength’ for each ‘broken’ person. It was then that Charles realized God is so much bigger than any one person’s life, and that’s how the 2^nd verse flowed from his pen; He’s the ‘whole world’s’ savior, the only author of ‘salvation’, by being the willing receiver of ‘stripes’ so that He could usher in a ‘forgiven’ world with His ‘grace’. The 3^rd wave of lyrics was all the reasons for God’s awesome nature that just crowded upon each other in Charles’ mind; and, the way Charles remembers it, these were one-word praises that responded to His roles as ‘holy’, as ‘great’, as ‘mighty’, as our ‘deliverer’, as our ‘provider’, and as our ‘protector’. So, when we sing the lyrics in the order that Charles wrote them, we’re reminding this composer and our God, too, about that one special conversation in 2012. How big is God, and how long has He been in this song-making business? Charles may have wondered the same thing.

 

Can anyone really count all of the songs that have ever been written for churches and the believers that inhabit them --- thousands upon thousands, even millions, and all the different dialogues that God has been having with us, His image-bearers, over the millennia? What about all of the ones that are still to be had? This God never tires of being creative, and of imparting that special quality to each of us. He really does want to be among us, and in spirit with each of us, and especially when we mimic His musical nature. That must be part of what’s going on inside of an artist when he/she creates something like ‘Awesome’, and why one keeps returning to that well of inspiration. Think about that when we sing and how you are connecting with Him, and with His body. Charles discovered that this God can talk to you and me, even at the end of an exhausting day, to refresh, lift, and mobilize your life to speak of Him. He can mesmerize, no matter what kind of day I’ve had.

 

 

Hear the song’s story here: The Story Behind The Song:My God Is Awesome

 

Read about the author-composer here: Charles Jenkins (American Gospel musician) - Wikipedia …and here: About Me – Charles Jenkins

 

See information on the seal of Chicago here: File:Seal of Chicago, Illinois.svg - 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, 1929, and if not then due to lack of notice or renewal.