Eine kleine Musik am Sonntag

On the Friday prior to Trinity Sunday I found myself called early in the morning to sit with a patient who was actively dying. She was sleeping soundly, a sleep from which she would never wake. After reading Scripture to her and praying for her for about an hour, I felt as though there was nothing else I could do but to simply sit and wait. Having “nothing else to do,” I meditated upon the Holy Trinity and wanted to sing to God. I did. “Holy, Holy, Holy” and other such hymns. An impulse from within reverberated with a desire to praise God with my own words, so I began to compose lyrics and a tune.

I’m far from the likes of Watts or Toplady, to say the least. Nonetheless, my good friends, Dr. Richard & Lennie B. Knight, graciously listened to the tune I had in my head (over the telephone, no less) and wrote down the music. They got it just right, and I thank them for it. The pastor requested that the song go in our revised song book, which both humbles and scares me. I wanted to share the lyrics with you, not so much because I wrote it, but because I hope that the words honor our Lord and make you think about worshiping God with your own words.

Here are the lyrics:

“Every Tribe and Tongue and Land”

Blessed be God the Father,
Who before time and earth began
Chose to bring salvation
To every tribe and tongue and land.

Blessed be the God the Son,
Who in time became a Man
And died on earth for rebels
From every tribe and tongue and land.

Blessed be God the Spirit,
Who strengthens our hearts and hands
And seals us for redemption
From every tribe and tongue and land.

Blessed be God the Trinity,
By ev’ry child, woman and man,
Sing loud for joy and praise Him
From every tribe and tongue and land.

Copyright 2007, James W. Galyon

3 Comments

Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI