We Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God -- Steven Curtis Chapman

With a single verse in mind from an ancient poet-songwriter, perhaps not unlike himself, Steven Curtis Chapman wrote something about idols and the real God in 1994. From some idols that his ancient predecessor mentioned (including a chariot, symbol of military virility, shown here), Steven added two others to the list of false gods, ones that should speak to ancient and modern ears alike when he penned “We Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God”. You could probably add even more, if you’re honest with yourself. But, would your response to counter the influence of that idol be the same that the centuries-old poet and his 20^th Century brother voiced? And, would your reply be as consistent as these poets’ replies, when the lure of the idol seems so strong?

The 32-year old Steven Curtis Chapman’s precise reasons for writing ‘We Trust…’ are unknown, yet we can say with some certainty what one factor was. Steven was reading a bible, and focused on a verse from a very old song. The song is so old, that none of us know the matching tune for the accompanying words, but that didn’t seem to matter to Steven. Psalm 20, written by King David, has a pedigree that Steven thought was enough for him, and so he focused on verse 7’s words, using them as the centerpiece of his own first verse. Two idols, chariots and horses, occupy the opening line, while the title words about trusting instead in the ‘Lord Our God’ comprise the second half of the verse. That title encompasses the only response that Steven needed to cap his own song’s message. What did a chariot mean in David’s time? When one army might have relied upon foot soldiers, another had a faster, better-protected weapon for infantry assaults – the horse-drawn chariot. Want to successfully menace your poorer adversary, take some of his territory and enrich your own domain? Upgrade to chariots. It’s the military bully who might look across the border, and so make one people cower. That chariot is the bully’s lynchpin. That is, unless the other side has God in their corner. That was a reality for David and his minions, probably something to which this poet-king had grown accustomed after years of running and hiding, and then eventually taking on his enemies head-to-head. It was a pattern that Steven must have observed in his own bible study - -that God is a constant source of refuge, the reliable response to trouble. Or, especially when some might advise a leader to put stock in a chariot, one should trust that the supernatural Protector hasn’t lost His edge. Sure, He might provide you some better tools to use here on Earth, but don’t forget who the Provider is.

Do you and I trust in our vocations, or maybe our built-up wealth more than in His presence? That’s a blunt question that Steven might ask you and me, if you read the verses he penned and imagine a conversation with him. Steven and David say it’s a matter of ‘trust’. Who gave those military men the know-how to make a chariot? Who created the horse? Who made the world, where jobs are a part of most people’s daily lives to make the world function in an orderly way? Do you and I make money because we’re inherently wise and worthy of pay, or do we owe Him the credit for our minds and abilities? You and I know the answers to these questions, don’t we? Steven reminds me who’s at the root of everything good in my life. He’s not a secret, or at least He shouldn’t be. 

   

Read about the author of the song here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Curtis_Chapman

 

Almighty -- Wayne Watson

It was about obedience, in the face of an episode in which he felt a bit vacant. That’s how Wayne Watson really says he felt about the circumstances of “Almighty”, which he wrote as a 36-year old in 1990. How can a guy admit that he really wasn’t in the best of places when he wrote something that says God is supreme? Did he really mean it, especially when he relates what was going on in the background of his life? From what he says about how he regarded the song later on when talking to his professional associates, Wayne still was skeptical of this song’s pedigree. But perhaps the response of this author-composer in the face of less-than-optimum conditions – that he obeyed His God’s leading – says the most about what makes a musical invention flourish.

There were several hurdles that might have stopped Wayne Watson from writing and publishing the song ‘Almighty’ between its germination and its completion. And yet, there were other factors that overcame these impediments. Wayne shares that he and his family were grieving the death of a close friend, someone whose departure, by human standards, was premature. That she left four daughters might make someone question how a compassionate God could allow this. Frankly, that’s where Wayne and his family were, with a sense that prayers were being unheard. Nevertheless, Wayne’s conviction that God is sovereign compelled his obedience – and his response to this by writing the words and music of ‘Almighty’. Unlike what one might expect would be a difficult slog, Wayne relates that instead ‘Almighty’ emerged swiftly as he sat and composed at a piano. His submissive spirit created the words and music that Wayne says salved his deep hurt over the following days and weeks. Months later, however, he was reluctant to let two of his song publishing friends believe ‘Almighty’ was really suitable for broader use. He felt it was too different, and told them so. Despite this, they immediately responded upon hearing it that the song was a winner, and needed to be heard. Through their encouragement, and by using it in concerts and in other venues, Wayne Watson’s personal response to bereavement gained rapid and wide approval. You can hear Wayne pondering the situation in which he found himself in some of the words in verse 2 – ‘… a darkness has covered the earth’. It is a dark place when someone close dies. And yet, Wayne felt charged to offer his God what is His due – praise, even in the midst of gloom. The noises of the ‘beasts’, ‘birds’, and ‘rocks’ (v.1) would not be an adequate substitute for a man’s song to Him. Even the ‘hopeless’ (v.2) can look forward to a regenerated life, and have reason to ‘dance and sing’. It might not seem like it when death descends, but Wayne reasoned that He’s still ‘Almighty’.

Wayne had evidently concluded that God can work even in circumstances that that kill us mortals. That makes His power something special, unique, in fact supernatural. Miraculous is what you and I need most when it counts. I and others left behind to shed our tears, offer comfort to the family, and try to muddle through and pick up the pieces have ‘no choice’ (v. 1), as Wayne says, but to offer ourselves to this miraculous God. Does any other being make the promise that He does, backed up with a personal visit, sacrificial death, and renaissance to cement the pledge he bids you and I should accept? If it’s not true, but a hoax, where do I turn? No other place, in short. So, if He’s the only one who offers what I need, what else needs to be said? If He’s Almighty and Glorious, I win BIG if I believe and He’s true; if I don’t believe and He’s true, my loss is incalculable. If He’s fake and I believe Him, what have I lost in Eternity? Nothing, since no one else is offering what He does. If He’s fake and I don’t believe Him, what have I lost in the forever-world? Again, nothing, since I chose to take my stand on nothing. Do you see what Wayne and others who believe in Almighty are saying? Make your stand with the Glorious, Almighty. What have you got to lose when death calls your name?        

A source for the song story is the book “Celebrate Jesus: The Stories behind Your Favorite Praise and Worship Songs”, by Phil Christensen and Shari MacDonald, Kregel Publications, 2003.

See here for information about one of the author: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Watson