"A Mighty Fortress" by Martin Luther - Mr. P. Sings Stuff - Ep. 07

 

It's been a little longer than intended since my last recording but I've had quite a bit going on, not the least of which includes home repairs and, well, being lazy about recording. Being lazy can take a lot of work.

In any case, I've been wanting to do an arrangement of "A Mighty Fortress" for a while now and only recently did I get around to actually transcibing out the music, arranging it, troubleshooting it, listening to it over and over again in my notation software, and then finally recording the vocals. What's fun is that no matter how many times I listened to it, I kept finding one or two notes in the middle of phrases that sort of clashed. I think I have it all worked out now. If not, oh well. I'm not re-doing it again.

Anyway, the lyrics to Martin Luther's classic hymn are a great reminder for Christians about the provision of God for us and the fact that no matter what happens, He will have victory. If you're like me, and like many Christians, I've sung through the song numerous times over the years but never really paid attention to the lyrics. For simplicity, I'm reproducing them here:

A mighty fortress is our God, 

a bulwark never failing;

our helper he, amid the flood

of mortal ills prevailing.

For still our ancient foe

does seek to work us woe;

his craft and power are great,

and armed with cruel hate,

on earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide,

our striving would be losing,

were not the right Man on our side,

the Man of God's own choosing.

You ask who that may be?

Christ Jesus, it is he;

Lord Sabaoth his name,

from age to age the same;

and he must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled,

should threaten to undo us,

we will not fear, for God has willed

his truth to triumph through us.

The prince of darkness grim,

we tremble not for him;

his rage we can endure,

for lo! his doom is sure;

one little word shall fell him.

That Word above all earthly powers

no thanks to them abideth;

the Spirit and the gifts are ours

through him who with us sideth.

Let goods and kindred go,

this mortal life also;

the body they may kill:

God's truth abideth still;

his kingdom is forever!

One thing I learned in high-school was that when it comes to poetry, it helps to never read it like a poem. A lot of times we get caught up in the rhyme scheme and when we read it out loud we're more focused on the cadence and flow of the words rather than the words themselves. This is especially unfortunate when dealing with hymns like this. So, I've decided to paraphrase the verses and write them as if they were a written devotional:

"Our God is like a mighty impregnable stronghold that will never be overthrown. Here, despite the overwhelming adversities of life on this mortal coil, He continues to prevail no matter what the enemy brings against it. Be certain, our adversary continues to seek to destroy us. Even though we have God as our fortress, Satan is not to be taken lightly. He is incredibly resilient, crafty, and commands great power among his cadre of fellow fallen angels. His is possessed of a malice and hatred for mankind that no mere mortal on earth could ever rival. If we were to rely on our own strength and seek to withstand him on our own, we would surely fail miserably. Fortunately for us, we have God's chosen Man who stands at our side and so long as we rely on Him, our striving against sin will never be in vain. Just who might this Man be you ask? None other than Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath Himself! From age to age, from the time He defeated Satan at the cross until now, He remains the same and he will win the battle!

This world is filled with evil and devils and it may at times feel as though we are going to be undone. However, we have no reason to fear because God has purposed in His children that His truth will triumph over evil. While we do not take that grim and terrible Prince of Darkness lightly, we also do not tremble because of him. Why should we? His doom is an absolute certainty! All it takes is one simple word from God to lay him low and defeat him for all time!

That in mind, never forget that the living Word, Christ, which rules above all earthly kings and authorities (no thanks to them for surely they continue to resist His kingship) continues to abide. Just as He promised the disciples in the upper room, through Him we have the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit as well. So, with all that God has done for us through Christ and the surety of victory that there will be against Satan, let all of our wealth and family leave us if they may. In fact, let us be willing to lose our lives for God's sake if necessary. Even if they kill us because of the gospel, God's truth will remain regardless because His kingdom is a glorious kingdom without end!"

Now, I could break this apart and cite numerous biblical passages which the lyrics to the song are based on and which would really fill out the ideas of the song even more. Suffice it to say, just as my paraphrase and expanded explanation of the lyrics shows, Christ's kingdom is current and active. There is no reason to look forward to some earthly kingdom at His return because He is ruling over the earth right now and bringing all things into subjection to Himself. It may not be fast enough for our tastes, but He will have the victory and no matter what happens, we can rest secure in God our fortress knowing that He has won the battle for us. We need but trust in Him.

God is our refuge and strength, A very ready help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth shakes And the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. (Psalms 46:1-3 NASB2020)

"I Saw Jesus in You" by Ron Hamilton - Mr. P. Sings Stuff - Ep. 06

Father's Day is upon us and I am once again reminded of the burden a Father has to lead and set an example for His family. This is no simple task, nor is it one to be taken lightly. Yet, there are numerous families that have no Father figure to lead by example or play a significant role in the lives of their children. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to have our Father's present may or may not have always had the best relationship with them, but we definitely learned from them one way or the other even if that lesson was simply how not to be a good father.

Fortunately, in me and my brother's case, our Father was definitely present, active, and did his best to guide and direct us in life even if we didn't always agree with his opinion or how he handled it. Incidentally, even he doesn't agree with how he handled certain things so I'm glad we're all on the same page on that one, finally. However, even with the disagreements and butting of heads, neither one of us ever doubted his sincerity to do what he believed was the right thing to do. As a father myself, I have a much better understanding of what this is like, and I also fully realize that about 99% you second-guess yourself after doing just about anything when it comes to discipline. Was I too rash? Did I go overboard with the punishment? Did I really listen to my kid and did I have all the facts? Did my child really understand what he did wrong? Are my expectations too high for the ages of my kids? Am I expecting a level of understanding the kids just don't have at that age? On and on the list of questions goes. Yet, no matter how many times we may question ourselves, we should always examine ourselves to make sure it was done for the right reasons based on what we knew at the time. For a Christian father, the burden becomes even greater because we have to constantly assess whether or not what we have done has properly emulated the example of Christ. Even if we did everything right, if we didn't do it with a demonstration of the love of Christ, then it was meaningless. As Paul wrote to Corinth:

If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give away all my possessions to charity, and if I surrender my body so that I may glory, but do not have love, it does me no good. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NASB2020)

This passage is certainly true for all believers, but as a father, I feel this hit a bit more close to home since it has a direct impact on how my kids learn to behave. Have I been setting a good example for my own son? Does my son understand what it means to model Godly behavior as a man. Now, to be frank, I'm not convinced my son is even a Christian yet. Sure, he's been raised in a Christian milieu, but that's not the same thing as having embraced it on your own and having your own personal relationship with Christ. As someone once said, "a cat can give birth to kittens in an oven, that don't make 'em biscuits." So really, the question I have to ask myself is, is my behavior demonstrating anything to my son that would make him ever want to be saved?

Did I mention there is a lot of pressure on fathers? Huh. I probably should have mentioned it at some point. I'm sure if it becomes necessary I'll bring it up.

Now, the good thing is that, as Christians, we don't have to wonder what a proper relationship looks like. The life of Christ is a perfect example of reliance and dependence and obedience to the Father. If we wish to know how to set the example for our children, the objective is pretty clear:

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. (Ephesians 5:1-2 NASB2020)

This is obviously much more difficult in practice than on paper. I constantly fail in this area and am well aware of the numerous shortcomings I have. Yet, the goal should always be to fulfill this command. We see the same thing again in Hebrews 12:

Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3 NASB2020)

What was the consequence of Christ living such a perfect life in obedience to the Father? Well, Philippians 2 tells us very clearly:

For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11 NASB2020)

This sort of glory is unique to Christ as a member of the Trinity. Even if we live the rest of our lives in perfect obedience, we will never be exalted in this way. What then do we have to look forward to if we submit ourselves to Christ and His Lordship? Matthew 25:14-29 provides the parable of the talents (a weight of currency equivalent to roughly 6000 days or almost 16.5 years worth of wages). A master had three slaves that he entrusted with a vast amount of wealth. When he returned, only two of the slaves had done something with the money and given their master a return on his investment. The other did not. I'll let you read the passage for yourself, but it doesn't end well for the third slave. However, the other two are told the same thing because of their faithfulness.

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’ (Matthew 25:21 & 23 NASB2020)

Their obedience resulted in joy and blessings. As Christians, we understand this to be a reference to entering into eternity and experiencing the joy and blessings of not only being in the presence of God for eternity but the unbroken and perfect fellowship we will have with all believers throughout history. As daunting as living the Christian life can be, and as almost overwhelming as it may feel to have to model that to children as a Father, we know that if we are faithful, we will be rewarded by our Father in Heaven when the time comes.

As much as we long for the time when someone, especially our children, come to us and tell us that they saw Christ in us and that was what led them to faith, how much more should we long to have our Heavenly Father tell us that not only were we good and faithful, but that the evidence of that faithfulness was because even He saw Christ evident in our lives?

Anyway, happy Father's day to all of you who are, you know, fathers, and especially to my own father who I know always did his best for me and my brother to see Christ in him just as my grandfather did before. You have carried on a great legacy within our family, and I can only hope that I set the same sort of example for my kids as well. Happy Father's Day dad and thank you for doing your best for us to see Jesus in you.

"Wings as Eagles" by Ron Hamilton - Mr. P. Sings Stuff - Ep. 05

 

If I hadn't made it clear by now, I've been heavily influenced by Ron Hamilton over the years as far as musical tastes are concerned. I've been slowly introducing his music to my church over the years and it's time for me to do so yet again. Well, not really "again" in this case since I've performed the song once before. If my records are correct, I purchased the backing tracks for this particular album back in March of 2021, so it's been close to two years since I first started. I've only been able to do a few of them given the special music rotation and I haven't done that many specials since purchasing this selection of tracks as well as another album. Anyway, I digress. This is probably another of the most famous of Ron's works among those who are familiar with his ministry. This and "Rejoice in the Lord" also feature in the same audio drama, "The Misterslippi River Race".

The song itself is based off of two key passages. The name of the song comes directly from Isaiah 40:

Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. (Isaiah 40:30-31 NASB2020)

Those who are true followers of God, those in whom He has placed His spirit, are frequently subjected to numerous trials in life, many times at our own doing. Often we bring trouble on ourselves because of our propensity to sin and do the opposite of what God directs us to do through His word (James 1:13-15). However, there are those times when God puts us through trials and testing, not to punish us but to purify us and to strengthen our faith by forcing us to realize that there is a reason we need to rely on Him in the first place. Again, this is something James writes about in his epistle, directly before the above referenced passage:

Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4 NASB2020)

Incidentally, Paul says something very similar in his letter to Rome:

And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:3-5 NASB2020)

So, the idea is that there are things that we go through in life that cause us to become worn out. We want to throw in the towel and give up. However, it is when we throw ourselves onto the goodness of God and rely on Him, that He enables us to persevere with a strength that does not come from ourselves. Not by coincidence does this perfectly dovetail into the second passage upon which this song is based:

Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB2020)

What else did Christ do but live the human life for us by relying solely on the Father? Christ said as much in the book of John:

I can do nothing on My own. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of Him who sent Me. (John 5:30 NASB2020)

So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and I do nothing on My own, but I say these things as the Father instructed Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him. (John 8:28-29 NASB2020)

Christ's doing nothing on His own was not because He lacked the ability to do anything in and of Himself. He was, in fact, the God-man, God incarnate. Christ lost none of His divinity when He inhabited human flesh. Instead, He laid aside the voluntary use of His divine attributes, submitting Himself entirely to the will of the Father. This is what Paul spoke of in Philippians 2 when he wrote to Philippi and discussed Christ's voluntary humiliation (Philippians 2:5-11). So, if we ever feel run down or burnt out when it comes to following in obedience or that the costs aren't worth the rewards, we mustn't forget the words of Isaiah or the apostles, and certainly not the example of Christ our Lord. He modeled the behavior for us so if we ever need to know how to handle a situation, we need look nowhere else but to His perfect example for us. In doing so, we find that the only option is to rely on God who will give us the strength to persevere, lifting us up on wings as eagles.

"Rejoice in the Lord" by Ron Hamilton - Mr. P. Sings Stuff - Ep. 04

 

Ron Hamilton (a.k.a. Patch the Pirate) probably did more to shape my musical tastes than any musician I've ever listened to. As much as I love the works of Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda, Masayoshi Soken, numerous other Japanese composers for video games, and even bands like Metallica, Pink Floyd, and Foreigner, none of them hold anywhere near as special place in my heart as this one individual. I remember when I was still a little kid sitting in the dining room in front of our record player next to my brother and listening to Patch the Pirate records over and over again. For you Gen Z people, a record is like a giant oversized cd...then again, I may need to explain what a cd is...uh...it was a metal round thing that had music recorded on it and, before the days of mp3's, you had to figure out some way of hooking a cd player up to a cassette player to record your favorite songs onto a separate piece of hardware called a cassette tape, which was like a small VHS tape...ugh. Nevermind. It was the dark ages of having music recordings and it was awesome! We liked it! We liked it just fine! We didn't have this "technology" stuff.

Anyway, grumpy old man ramblings aside, Ron Hamilton produced numerous audio dramas for kids, beginning as something he was doing for his home church shortly after losing his left eye to cancer. Over time, it became more and more popular and he and his family (the main cast) as well as other voice actors got together to produce new family friendly stories complete with sound effects and musical numbers that ranged from teaching kids about the importance of manners to deeper songs dealing with theology and even the realities of life, such as encouraging parents to treasure the times they have with their children before they grow up. Each adventure had its own moral lesson it was trying to teach and it was always done in a fun and entertaining way for kids. Nowadays it may not have quite the same appeal since you have to use your imagination to picture the characters and settings, but for those of us who grew up on it and have imaginations, it's very well done.

Incidentally, this is what got me into my love of audio drama and audio production. If you listened to the first two Lovecraft stories I recorded, especially the first, you'll notice how I tried to incorporate sound effects and background music into them. That all stems from my exposure to that sort of thing because of Mr. Hamilton.

Ron's testimony about the song which serves as the namesake for this article and the embedded video is one of taking Paul's words to the Philippians seriously:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4 NASB2020)

Paul's words weren't a recommendation as an apostle, but a command that we should always rejoice in God's provision and kindness to His children, even when circumstances would seem to dictate otherwise.

Unfortunately, Ron has been hit with early onset dementia and no longer writes music or records as far as I can tell. Fortunately, his legacy will long outlast him and live on through the countless children who grew up listening to the adventures of Patch the Pirate and his crew on the Jolly Roger and try to teach their own children the same values. I wanted to do my own recording of one of his most well known songs which also is probably the earliest one I remember hearing that blew me away as a kid.

Thanks for everything Patch.

Ron's Testimony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnq096XedJs Backing track purchased from Majesty Music: https://www.majestymusic.com/wings-as-eagles-pa-digital-download.html Song featured as part of the Misterslippi River Race story: https://www.majestymusic.com/misterslippi-river-race-digital-download.html

"Be Still My Soul" by Kathrina von Schlegel - Mr. P. Sings Stuff - Ep. 03

 About two weeks ago I woke up from a bizarre dream (the best kind to have) wherein at one point I was standing on a deck with a bunch of older British people. Hogwarts legacy had been in the news and perhaps that's where my brain went. Pretty sure Queen Elizabeth was there too, but no, I don't know what house she was sorted in. Anyway, for some reason everyone started singing "Be Still My Soul". The song was, as a result, stuck in my head all day, at least the tune that is. I never had all the lyrics memorized, though Lord knows I do now. I decided that this hymn would be my next project and that it would be an acapella arrangement. I've never done anything like this before since if I'm doing a cover or a song, it's usually based on an existing work that someone has already recorded or provided sheet music for. In this case, I decided to do everything from scratch, intentionally not listening to anyone else's rendition for the sake of not accidentally plagiarizing their work. Of course, I realize that there's always the possibility that I've unintentionally imitated someone else's recording without intending to. There's only so many ways you can write chord structures for pre-existing songs, and I'm no composer. There's also the probability that my exposure to the song years ago and my tendency to remember tenor parts probably shaped part of how I arranged this, but if so, it was all subconscious.  I'll probably upload a video breaking down exactly what I did because it was certainly an ordeal, but definitely a learning experience.

The song itself started showing up around 1752, translated into English in 1855, and the music is composed by Jean Sibelius (the tune also being known as Finlandia). There is quite a bit of scriptural truth to the song, the most important message being that regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in, they do not undermine the fact that God is on His throne and is in control of all that occurs. We trust God "to order and provide" and that "through thorny ways" He will lead us to a goal that is joyful and beneficial to us. We trust that He will "guide the future as He has the past" which, as someone who identifies as Reformed (usually referred to as a Calvinist), this takes on particular importance as someone who affirms the Reformed doctrine of Predestination and election. As for the lyrics "all now mysterious shall be bright at last", I don't think this just means that we are eventually told why certain things happen to us. Rather, I am reminded of Paul's words concerning the full revelation of Christ, the gospel, and the bringing in of the Gentiles to the New Covenant along with believing Jews:

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— if indeed you have heard of the administration of God’s grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before briefly. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to mankind, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to enlighten all people as to what the plan of the mystery is which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; so that the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 3:1-10 NASB2020)

The same idea is repeated over in Colossians (sort of a parallel epistle to Ephesians):

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am supplementing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions in behalf of His body, which is the church. I was made a minister of this church according to the commission from God granted to me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which had been hidden from the past ages and generations, but now has been revealed to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles is, the mystery that is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:24-27 NASB2020)

It would take quite some time to go through all of the lyrics and demonstrate the Biblical concepts underlying not only each verse but almost every line of the song is steeped in Biblical principles. The song concludes with the hope of the resurrection and being reunited not only with our Lord but with those departed saints who have gone on before. There is a tendency when singing songs or even reading lyrics to almost itemize them line by line and miss the point of what the song is saying because we don't think through the words. So, in conclusion, let me transcribe the lyrics of the last verse and with it remind you, as does the songwriter, to "be still" (or cease striving in modern translations) and let God be God because in Him is our hope for salvation and eternity. In the end, when we are reunited, there will be no more need for suffering or hardship. All of the changes in life will be done with, and we will rest in the glory of our God and enjoy perfect fellowship not only with each other, but most importantly with Him in whom only true peace can be found:

"Be still, my soul, the hour is hast'ning on when we shall be forever with the Lord, when disappointment, grief, and fear are gone, sorrow forgot, loves purest joys restored! Be still my soul! When change and tears are past, all safe and blessed, we shall meet at last."