SONGWRITING
SONGWRITING: SETTING THE PSALMS TO MELODY | Alex MacDougall
Joy to the World; the Lord is come! a great place to derive inspiration for new songs Martin Luther wrote, “I truly desire that all
Let earth receive her King! or tackle setting the existing text to rhyme and Christians would love and regard as worthy the
Let ev'ry heart prepare Him room, melody. lovely gift of music, which is a precious, worthy,
And Heaven and nature sing.
and costly treasure given to mankind by God. The
There are many attempts at this artform. Scottish riches of music are so excellent and so precious
Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns! artist and songwriter Ian White has been prolific that words fail me whenever I attempt to discuss
Let men their songs employ; over the years in his Psalm-song expressions. and describe them. Next to the Word of God, the
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.
noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the
In 1983, Maranatha! Music commissioned writers
world.
Tom Howard and Bill Batstone to collaborate and
No more let sins and sorrows grow, set Psalms to music for an untrained volunteer What an incredible and empowering affirmation
Nor thorns infest the ground; choir called “The Worship Community”. Psalms of your giftings! Writer’s Block? Not anymore.
He comes to make his blessings flow Alive is a milestone accomplishment and remains Now there’s no excuse. So, dive into the Book
Far as the curse is found. a valuable resource for church musicians of Psalms for your songwriting. You’re in good
everywhere. You can listen to the full album company.
He rules the world with truth and grace, here. Consider every Psalm, each perfectly set And makes the nations prove to music, with some alongside the narration of I will leave you with “40” (Psalm 40), written and
The glories of His righteousness, Calvary Chapel’s Pastor Chuck Smith. performed by U2. Bono has been highly vocal
And wonders of His love.
about the importance of the Psalms over the past
Years later, as the series continued behind the several years. The Word of God is here in song
In 1719, the great hymnwriter Isaac Watts efforts of producer, arranger, songwriter, and and performed for a mainstream audience. Isn’t
was inspired largely by Psalm 98 to write this musician extraordinaire Rob Mathes (Sting, Elton it wonderful?
exceptional Christmas hymn. The Book of Psalms, John, Panic at the Disco, Tony Bennett, Eric and to some extent the Odes of Solomon, were Clapton, Aretha Franklin, and countless others). “So shall My Word be that goes forth from My
the mainstay of worship expression in the early Rob’s take on Psalm 124:2, “If the Lord Had Not mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall
Christian church. In fact, until the Reformation, the Been Not Been on Our Side”, is a celebrative and accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in
Book of Psalms was often the only “hymnbook” exuberant song of praise, and just as joyful as David the thing for which I sent it.” (Isa 55:11, NKJV)
of the singing church and often sung verbatim as would have wanted in telling the story of God’s the only permissible song lyrics used within the faithfulness in delivering Israel from its enemies.
church. But the Reformation changed all of that. And Rob’s additional songs on this project are
absolutely superb. His interpretations are spot on.
Selah.
vital in content for the church. When exceptional So, what does all of this mean? It means that you theology and the struggles of our humanity marry can set the Psalms to music for yourself, for your a memorable melody, it has great impact upon all small group, or for your congregation. Learn to of us. And so, when faced with “writer’s block” or craft lyrics that have already been written for you. insecurity in worship songwriting, the Psalms are God has given them to you. Alex MacDougall
Former member of Daniel Amos (DA), Larry
Norman Band, Randy Stonehill Band, and the
Richie Furay Band. He’s also worked with Andrae
Crouch, Bob Bennett, Phil Keaggy, and hundreds
of additional artists and projects. He serves as an
Adjunct Professor, teaching in Music Business at
Dallas Baptist University and Trevecca Nazarene
University’s National Praise and Worship Institute, in
Nashville, TN. Alex is available for lecture, teaching,
and conference workshops.
[email protected]
Psalms Alive If the Lord Had Not Been on Our Side 40
Over 400 years later, the Book of Psalms remain
32
November 2019
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