Hello All
Well the Sons of Asaph have finally put together a few songs and have headed of on their first world cyber tour!
Come with us on a journey. It's not an easy journey and its not without cost for its a journey of discipleship. But we have His promise that He will be with us wherever life takes us and that as strangers and nomads in this world we have the promise of a place in the eternal city where He now dwells
This song was written back in 2006 and was designed to be more or less a commentary on life. There is no dominant theme in the lyrics to suggest a title so i settled for May 24th, the date the song idea was inspired. However the song could be about any day of any month of any year - the themes and sentiments behind each of the verses are common to all eras.
Verse 1/2 reflects on the common struggles of everyday life and our general sense of helplessness amid the drudgery of daily events.
Verse 3/4 move on to reflect on war, unrest, greed and the struggle for power. The cryptic reference to nations long gone conceals a reference to a modern day conflict but also reinforces the idea that war is not new and every generation faces the consequences of avarice and the struggle for power
Verse 5/6 reflect on the contrast between good fortune as exemplified by the man who wins the lottery and sails off into the sunset to live a life of ease and misfortune exemplified by the man whose pride and dignity have been sacrificed in the capitalist shrine on the altar of the profit god.
Finally the last verse reflects on the state of religion in this day and age. We ask for daily bread but only when it suits us, namely on a sunday and even then we are so immature we need someone to spoon feed us ('slice it with a knife'). This verse and refrain hold the key to all that has gone before. We are so preoccupied in the West with rationale, understanding and the explanation of events that we can't comprehend. In truth we seek in vain for knowledge is always incomplete. But faith can conquer where understanding fails.
Whatever the day of the year, God is on the throne in heaven and He will have the final say.
This song was written in 2004. Lyrically i count it among my better efforts. The song was designed as an allegory for life itself. I wanted to write a lyric that covered the journey from the proverbial cradle to the grave and the idea of using the passing of the seasons seemed to be a good vehicle to achieve this, using one verse per season.
SPRING - verse 1 is our childhood, carefree and full of joy, excitement and wonder
SUMMER - verse 2 are our prime years, full of beauty and strength but also pride. It is also the years of God's call in our lives and often he needs to 'roar' like thunder to be heard above all our ragings and arrogance
AUTUMN - verse 3 these are the mellowing years when we come to understand that all will eventually come to an end and the things we chased after and were so obsessed with in our youth were not so important after all.
WINTER - verse 4 Life was sweet, like a glass of warm mulled wine on a cold and frostly winter's evening. But life is brief and after a few sips it comes to an end and as the curtains are finally drawn we are prepared to be laid to in our final resting place and enter the sphere of the eternal
The lyrics behind this song are a paraphrase of Psalm 56. David, the Psalmist who would become king of Israel was throughout his life pursued by enemies who would have gladly seen him dead. Yet he is a
The lyrics behind this song are a paraphrase of Psalm 56. David, the Psalmist who would become king of Israel was throughout his life pursued by enemies who would have gladly seen him dead. Yet he is a peace loving man yearning for peace in his lifetime. He cries to God in his distress and time and time again God hears and rescues him from all his troubles.
I was particularly struck by the name of the original tune to which this psalm was sung, namely ‘Dove on distant oaks’ and this was also the inspiration behind the song title. The dove is the symbol of the Holy Spirit and the spirit of peace. I can picture David being pursued by his enemies through the forest when in hiding he hears the cooing sound in the distance and reflects to himself ‘peace is about as far way from here as that dove on a distant oak’
peace loving man yearning for peace in his lifetime. He cries to God in his distress and time and time again God hears and rescues him from all his troubles.
I was particularly struck by the name of the original tune to which this psalm was sung, namely ‘Dove on distant oaks’ and this was also the inspiration behind the song title. The dove is the symbol of the Holy Spirit and the spirit of peace. I can picture David being pursued by his enemies through the forest when in hiding he hears the cooing sound in the distance and reflects to himself ‘peace is about as far way from here as that dove on a distant oak’
Much of the lyrics in this song are drawn from chapter 38 and following in the book of Job in the Old Testament.
In verse 1 there is a cryptic reference to the mythological figure of Heracles (same as Roman Hercules) who saves Prometheus from having his liver eaten daily by Aquila the eagle! He uses an arrow to shoot the bird. The same drama is acted out each evening in the evening sky in the Northern hemisphere where you can see these mythological characters in the shape of the constellations Hercules, Aquila (the Eagle) and Sagitta (the arrow). Hercules has let loose his arrow and as it makes its way up underneath the Northern Cross will it ever reach its target? I fear not, certainly in my lifetime!
In the song verses 1 to 3 is God speaking and verse 4 is Job’s response. The book of Job is not easy reading. Job is having a hard time and nothing is going right for him. They say he was a very patient man but I guess at some point he lost it and vents his anger and frustration at God. When his anger is spent God comes to him and reveals his majesty and power through posing some very difficult questions to which Job has no answer. He recognizes God's sovereignty and that he amounts to nothing. It has a happy ending.
The story of Job is just as relevant today as it was in his time and in the face of all the troubles of this world and our everyday lives his response is equally as appropriate
This song was written some three years after 9/11. I had often though about writing some lyrics about the events of that day but found it difficult to put thoughts clearly into words.
In the end I wrote the song with a broader scope and it is dedicated to all men and women everywhere who have paid the ultimate sacrifice with their lives in the service of God and mankind
This song was inspired by the incident recorded in the New Testament gospels where Mary breaks open a jar of expensive perfume and anoints Jesus head and feet with oil in an act of love and worship. It contrasts her attitude to her Master, Jesus with that of Judas Iscariot who on seeing the events unfold considered it a terrible waste of money, his argument being that the ointment, allegedly worth a year’s salary in those days, could have been sold and given to the poor. Not that he had any real concern for the poor but rather he carried the purse and dipped his hands into it from time to time for his own personal use.
In reading the passage it seems to me that this was not a spur of the moment action by Mary but rather calculated and considered in advance. Given the value of the perfume, a very rare spikenard ointment only available from remote parts of India, it is not likely she would have taken such action without some thought of the consequences. Jesus had often talked with the disciples about the events that would follow, namely his death, but it seems his disciples simply did not grasp nor understand what he was saying. Perhaps Mary with her woman’s intuition understood and wanted to be sure of performing her gesture of love before it was too late.
Costly acts of love towards our Lord do not go un-noticed. When Mary broke open that jar of ointment Jesus did not stop her. ‘Let her be’ was what he said to the indignant and outraged onlookers. To this day her story of love and devotion is her memorial
In the final verse of the song there is an encouragement for us to take the time and effort to follow Mary’s example when the opportunity presents itself. It ends with a paradoxical quotation from an unknown ‘would be’ song writer:
“Those who have made the biggest impression in this life are the ones who have trodden lightest through the sands of time”
Which example will you follow? That of Judas or that Mary?
If you want to make an imprint in this world then go and do something beautiful with your life and in your time
I had just written a lyric about the love and devotion of Mary Magdalene to her Lord and Master Jesus called ‘Something Beautiful’. However I felt I still had not exhausted all that could be taken from the incident, but was rather only scratching the surface so to speak.
The lyrics of this song reflect on the fact that Mary in order to anoint the feet of Jesus must have been on her knees or probably more likely prostrate on the ground. It spoke to me of her humility in the middle of a scent filled room full of people who did not see Jesus in the same light that she did. It must have been very lonely for her down there as she wiped his feet and shed her tears.
To follow her example is a lonely journey with little in the way of company. With your face so close to the ground expect to get a mouthful of dust and dirt on the way, but as you swallow it along with your pride be surprised at how it then yields the sweet taste of the forgiveness and peace of God that comes in Christ.
This lyric was inspired by the parable Jesus recounted of the prodigal son. This is the one where the young man takes his inheritance in cash and goes off to the city where he squanders it in riotous living. When he finally comes to his senses he decides to go back home to receive an warm welcome from a family who have missed him so much
I wanted to see if i could tell the same story and re-tell it in a modern day setting. Taking a little bit of artistic license the prodigal in my song comes from Oaklahoma.
Apologies if i got the geography wrong but I'm sure i read somewhere that Oaklhoma is in the mid western and part of the great plains. In any case the name of the state has a homophonus sound with the word 'home' which fitted the song nicely.
I often wondered if I should have added a verse to reflect on the time the prodigal spent wallowing in the pig swill, but I decided in the end to leave that to the listeners imagination. The focus of the song is the home coming and the welcome the young man receives from friends and family and the deeper underlying meaning of the man or woman who has strayed away from God and comes back repentant into the arms of the loving Father's who has been watching daily for His return
There was a pool in Jeruslam in the time of Jesus which had five porticoes. It must have been a bit like modern day Lourdes because rumour had it that every now and then an angel came down from heaven, stirred up the water and the first in the pool thereafter got healed from whatever disease they suffered from. Naturally there was always a large crowd people waiting for the moment and it must have been chaos once there was the slightest ripple on the surface of the water. Tough however if you were a paralytic and crippled in both legs, you're never going to get a look in!
So it was with a man who been paralysed for 38 years. Yet Jesus came into the pool singled him out and healed him. The man went home that day jubliant and a changed man.
Later on Jesus came across him in the temple, no doubt giving thanks to God and learning how to pray. Jesus had a word of caution for him, 'See that you don't sin again lest something worse befall you". He got his second chance down by the entrance to Five Porticoes
Read the whole story in the gospel of John chapter 5.
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Spectrum GT's blogs, last updated : August 1, 2009
