A song for David,
the choirmaster. To “Dives and Lazarus.”*
Sing praises to
the Three in One, the God of harmony,
Who makes the
universe ring out in varied unity
Join with the
music of the stars, the earth, the sea, the air,
For everywhere
that beauty shines, His handiwork is there.
Sing praises to
our saving Lord who led us through the sea
When waves of sin
and hatred raged in dark cacophony.
We sing to Him who
split the waves and led us on dry land,
And feeds us in
this wilderness with manna from His hand.
Sing praises to the God of love who died our lives to save,
Who tasted all
death’s bitterness, lay cold within the grave.
Who shattered
death, burst from the tomb. No pow’r could hold him there.
We shout with joy,
“He is alive!” The glad news we declare.
Sing praises to
the Lamb who rules the universe in might.
Who will return,
restore His world, set all creation right.
Though flesh may
fail and life may flee and death may close our eyes,
He will breathe
life into dead bones; our song again shall rise.
* David Spicer,
the choir director at the church I grew up in, passed away last week. He was a
genius, the musical equivalent of the architect of a Gothic cathedral in
Europe. He crafted the accompaniments of every hymn he played to convey the
message of the lyrics. On many Sundays he improvised incredible, intricate
medleys of every hymn and anthem we sang during the service, often using these
as an introduction to the Doxology. He conducted choirs with professionally
trained singers but also children’s choirs. In addition to teaching me music
theory and singing techniques, he encouraged me in my faith profoundly. He was
also the first person to ask me to write a hymn. He asked for words that could be
sung to a tune called “Dives and Lazarus.” I wrote a hymn to that tune then,
and he praised the result so much that I just kept writing hymns. Even after I
had moved away, he often asked me if I was still writing them. I can think of
no better way to honor Mr. Spicer than to write a hymn in his memory to the
first and only specific tune he requested lyrics for.
