Two Songs for Pentecost

Pentecost, the Holy Day that celebrates the giving of the Holy Spirit and the real beginning of the New Testament church. We wanted to have some special songs to help us better remember and focus on this Holy Day. Here are two that we "created" from resources in the Workshop.

Both songs are based on scriptures that were originally set into metre by Isaac Watts. For music we used tunes that everyone was already familiar with so that we could focus on the meaning of what we were singing without having to learn a new tune.

Behold What Wonderous Love
The first song is "Behold What Wonderous Love." It is based on 1 Jn 3: 1-3 and Gal 4:6, and is about our adoption into God's family through the Holy Spirit in us. This song is in Short Metre and at first we thought we'd use the tune "Terra Beata" (the tune to "This Is My Father's World"), but eventually we used the Dwight Armstrong tune "To Thee I Lift My Soul," which has a meditative mood that fits these words very well. Here is the song, "Behold What Wonderous Love," as we sang it in the UCG Dallas South congregation on the Sabbath just before Pentecost. If you're interested, here are the original words by Isaac Watts.

How Filled With Honor Is the Place!
The second song is about the New Testament church. This song is based on Isa 26: 1-6, and the original words were once again by Isaac Watts. As you read over, or sing, these words, remember that in prophecy, Zion is often a type for the church. These words are in Common Metre and could have been sung with several of Dwight Armstrong's tunes, but the two that seemed best adapted for these words were from other songs that we wanted to use during that service, so we pressed another familiar tune into service, a tune named "Materna," which everyone knows best as the tune to "America the Beautiful." As much as we love this country, we think that the tune has found a better use here, singing about the beauty, honor and glory of Christ's church. The song is titled "How Filled With Honor Is the Place." We hope you like it. Here are Isaac Watts original words.

We are keenly interested in feedback on these songs. We worked closely with our pastor, and with other musically savvy members, including Roger Bryant's wife, to try to make these songs the kind of music everyone in the church could sing with joy and edification.

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Page last modified on: 07/29/2004