The Crucifixion Now Is Past

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Roger E. Bruner

The crucifixion now is past,
And Christ is in His tomb at last,
And at the door the stone is fast.

The tumult and the shouting’s done.
His friends have left Him one by one;
To them He seemed a setting sun.

Despair-black is this evening’s light.
There is no star at Heaven’s height
As on an earlier holy night.

There are no angels in the sky.
There are no shepherds standing nigh.
There is no babe in crib to lie.

Just a body killed and torn
From some fishers now forlorn–
A Savior killed who once was born.

Once the Savior’s life was spent,
The temple veil in two was rent.
Darkness on the earth was sent.

About this Song:

Although I can only be sure I’d written the lyrics for this song sometime prior to 1972, when I used it in my rock opera, The Identity of Divinity, I can trace the tune back to the  fall of 1966. I had started taking a college course in 20th Century Poetry, and our first assignment was either to practice reading a particular poem aloud or, if we desired, to set it to music.

I opted for the second choice. I have no idea what the poem was, but fortunately I didn’t forget my tune and chord progression.

You can tell my lyrics are not recent by the way they rhyme. Although I rarely rhyme anymore, I also don’t use words like “nigh” and “forlorn.” Furthermore, since we know baby Jesus lay in a manger, I would’ve driven myself crazy trying to find a one-syllable synonym for manger. Although “trough” would be an accurate substitute, the very sound of that word would have destroyed the effectiveness of the two preceding lines.

The important thing is that this is a very slow and somber view of the situation following Jesus’s crucifixion and how different things were from the joy surrounding His birth. It’s also quite a contrast from the Palm Sunday song I shared last week: “Our King, Triumphant.”

Next week will feature an appropriate Easter song. Look for it next Wednesday. Better still, subscribe to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

        

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A Lamb Out of Every Crisis (w/Monologue Three)

Posted on December 13, 2017 by Roger E. Bruner

Monologue Three:
GIRL (continuing letter). . .

As she talked, I felt the excitement in me growing. Mom and Dad, a fleeting thought of you and home ran through my mind. But I quickly grew nervous. . .restless. Things weren’t right in me, and I knew it.

It must have shown. I don’t know how or why, but this new friend–oh! did she know me already–said, ‘Nothing but the love of Jesus can give you the peace you seek.’

Song:
God makes a lamb out of every crisis in your life
When you let Him become the keeper of your heart.
It is God who puts to pasture every care and worry.

God makes a lamb out of every crisis in your life
When you let Him become the keeper of your heart.

About this Song:
Although the lyrics for “A Lamb Out of Every Crisis” are barely longer than the song title, it’s one of my favorites. It gives me a calming effect similar to Jesus’ calming the storm at sea with “Peace! Be still.” Somehow, it also makes me imagine God as a lion tamer who converts a ferocious beast into a cat tame enough to make into a house pet.

At some point in the early 1970s, a close in-law left home unexpectedly, and no one knew where she had gone. Because she was at least eighteen, it wasn’t legally a matter of running away from home. Yet that’s what she’d done.

She ended up going from the Midwest to New York City and staying a few days before returning home. I don’t remember any of the specifics, and I wouldn’t want to embarrass her about something that happened more than forty years ago, but her search for. . .whatever was the inspiration for this song.

Look for me again next Wednesday. Better still, subscribe to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

                 

Links you might be interested in:

 

 

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Psalm 40 (Part Three)

Posted on August 30, 2017 by Roger E. Bruner

What can I offer You, Lord,
That You don’t already have?
What can I bring to You, Lord,
That’s not already Yours?

What would please You more
Than for me to read Your Word
And to listen for Your voice
And to answer, “Lord, I’m Yours”?

Your Word is all I need, Lord,
To teach me how to live.
Help me to understand what it means,
So I can obey.

What would please You more
Than for me to read Your Word
And to listen for Your voice
And to answer, “Lord, I’m Yours”?

What can I give to You, Lord?
Here I am; I’m Yours.

About this Song:
Part Three of my songs from Psalm 40 is based on verses 6-8, probably from the Good News Version of the Bible, which I used most often during that period of time:

6 You do not want sacrifices and offerings;
      you do not ask for animals burned whole on the altar
      or for sacrifices to take away sins.
   Instead, you have given me ears to hear you,
    7 and so I answered,
         Here I am;
      your instructions for me are in the book of the Law.
 8 How I love to do your will, my God!
      I keep your teaching in my heart.

Verse 6 reminds me of another Scripture, Hosea 6:6.

I want your constant love, not your animal sacrifices. I would rather have my people know me than burn offerings to me.

Verse 7 reminds me of Isaiah’s response to God’s call in Isaiah 6:8.

8 Then I heard the Lord say,
         Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?

   I answered,
         I will go! Send me!

Next Wednesday will bring this series of songs from Psalm 40 to a close.

Comments are always welcome.

 

     

Links you might be interested in:

Look for me again next Wednesday. Better still, subscribe to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

 

Posted in God's Word(s), Obedience, Offering, Pleasing God, Psalm Forty, Psalms | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Selfless Love that Binds

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Roger E. Bruner

When we met and fell in love,
We married such very different points of view,
And we promised from the very start
Because we’d agreed to be a Family.

We’ve been growing our Family,
And it’s prospered from our special give and take
Till we reached the point where each of us wants his way;
Can love that like sustain a Family?

What will happen to the Family
As it suffers anguish from our tug of wills?
Is there not some way we can show them yet
That selfless love will bind a Family?

Is there not some way we can show them yet
The Selfless Love that will bind this Family?

About This Song:
“The Selfless Love that Binds” is a song I didn’t want to write. But I felt compelled to.

The last quarter of the twentieth century was a turbulent time among Southern Baptists. Conservatives believed that the liberals had gone too far, and they set out to restore the denomination to a more conservative path. Unfortunately, their methods were often less than ethical and loving, and the denomination appeared to be headed for a split.

As it turned out, many of the liberal churches formed the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship without necessarily leaving the Southern Baptist Convention totally–a number of churches align themselves with both groups–while the conservatives took over the leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention and its schools and agencies.

The political shenanigans were especially upsetting to those of us who have deep Southern Baptist roots.

I wrote this song as an appeal to both sides to be united in love, using marriage and family as a symbol of the relationship of Baptists having variant ideologies.

Conservatism and liberalism aren’t new. So I pointed out that the two sides came from “very different points of view” and “compromised from the very start.”

Then I noted that “our special give and take” had resulted in growth and prosperity within the denomination.

Finally, I emphasized the damage the “tug of wills” does to the “Family.”

But I couldn’t leave this song on a negative note. So I appealed to liberals and conservatives alike to do the Christlike thing: to let God’s perfect, selfless love bind them together once again.

I don’t hear much about those problems anymore, although they still exist. My wife and I belong to a very conservative church. So conservative that I feel slightly uncomfortable at times.

But I don’t mind compromising. At least to the extent that I’m able to accept the fact that I can’t claim to be the ultimate source of truth.

What about you? Have you seen the damage that can be done when people having polar-opposite viewpoints can’t or won’t compromise? Perhaps the political situation in the United States is a good example. If you have thoughts on this subject, please leave a comment.

~*~

Links you might be interested in:

I’ll be back again next Wednesday.

Best regards,
Roger

 

Posted in Compromise, Conservatives, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Family, Liberals, Marriage, Southern Baptist Convention, Southern Baptists | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Do Not Worry

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Roger E. Bruner

Do not worry about anything;
Pray instead about everything.
Tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank Him,
Thank Him for His answers.

God is your shelter and your strength,
A very present help in trouble.
There’s no need to fear, though the world fall about you.
Calm down and know that He is still the Lord,
Still the Lord.

About This Song:
This song is the original version of an extended version I’ll share next week (“Call Upon His Name”). It’s based on two Scriptures, Philippians 4:6:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
(NIV)

and Psalm 46:1-2:
1 God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.
(NIV)

I used to be responsible for the opening exercise in an adult Bible Study class, and sometimes I’d make up a song to use. This is one of them.

I don’t know about you, but I tend to be a worrier. I know worry is silly and unnecessary, though. After all, everything in the world–including the most minute parts of my life–are in God’s hands.

Could it be that my faith isn’t strong enough? Do I doubt God’s abilities regardless of how much I claim to trust Him? Or am I afraid He won’t provide the solution I want?

Whoops. I’ll bet I’m so set on getting my answer that I don’t trust Him to see things my way. Hmm. Not good. If, for example, God chooses death to heal someone who’s suffering from cancer, isn’t that really the best possible answer–even though I would prefer that God miraculously heal the patient?

You know the old saying “Father knows best”? Well, God is my heavenly Father, and sometimes I have to remind myself that He knows best. Why can’t I just be happy accepting that?

So I often sing this song or “Call Upon His Name” to remind myself Who’s really in control. And that line about thanking Him? So important. Remembering God’s kept promises is a real boost to our wavering faith.

Are you worried about something today? Let these lyrics and the Scriptures they’re based on help lift you to God’s throne of grace and give you the peace you need.

~*~

Links you might be interested in:

I’ll be back again next Wednesday.

Best regards,
Roger

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The Money Song

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Roger E. Bruner

Wealth is the rich man’s great advantage.
Poverty is the poor man’s great curse.
Righteous men spend money to help others.
Wicked men spend money on themselves.

About this Song:
Maybe you’ve noticed that some of my songs are shorter than others. Although this one is probably THE shortest, that doesn’t diminish the importance of its message.

The words are adapted from Proverbs 10:15-16. I’m including six translations here. . .

15 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city,
    but poverty is the ruin of the poor.
 16 The wages of the righteous is life,
    but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death.
(New International Version)

15 Great wealth can be a fortress,
    but poverty  is no protection at all.
 16 If you live right, the reward is a good life;
    if you are evil, all you have is sin.
(Contemporary English Bible)

15 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city;
The destruction of the poor is their poverty.
 16 The labor of the righteous leads to life,
The wages of the wicked to sin.
(New King James)

15 The wealth of the rich is their fortress;
    the poverty of the poor is their destruction.
 16 The earnings of the godly enhance their lives,
    but evil people squander their money on sin.
(New Living Translation)

15 The wealth of the rich is their bastion;
   the poverty of the indigent is their ruin.
 16 The wage of a good person is exuberant life;
   an evil person ends up with nothing but sin.
(The Message)

15 Wealth protects the rich; poverty destroys the poor.
 16 The reward for doing good is life, but sin leads only to more sin.
(GNT)

If I’m reading these Scriptures correctly, they agree that the rich depend upon their wealth. They hide in it. They take refuge in it. In my mind, that gives them a “great advantage.” The second part of verse fifteen seems to agree that “Poverty is the poor man’s great curse.”

Although these versions agree that money enables the rich to have “life,” “exuberant life,” and “a good life,” I chose to put a different spin on the first part of my parallel to verse sixteen. My wording goes along best with “The reward for doing good is life.” The rest of Scripture supports that. The rich–all of us, for that matter–ought to help those in need to whatever extent they can.

I chose not to deviate from the second half of verse sixteen, however. When wicked people squander their money on sin rather than using it to accomplish good, they end up getting exactly what they deserve.

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Please leave a comment if something in this post has spoken to you. I’ll be back again next Wednesday. If you’d like to receive my posts by email, just go to “Follow Blog via Email” at the bottom right.

I have free lead sheets (chords, notes, & words) for many of my songs. To see which ones and print or download any of them (including today’s), GO HERE.

“As I Come Singing” isn’t my only blog. If you’d like to see “On Aging Gracelessly,” CHECK IT OUT HERE.

My new novel, The Devil and Pastor Gus, is out now. If you’re interested, please check it out at Amazon.

Best regards,
Roger

 

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We’ve Been Travelin’

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Roger E. Bruner

We’ve been travelin’ all over this land
From the flat land country to the mountains grand,
From the humdrum of the city to the wildness of the sea.
O blessed land where we all are free.

We hear folks singing with all their might;
We hear them singing of freedom’s fight:
The worth of human life and the lives that have been lost-
The price of freedom, high is the cost.

We’ve been travelin’;
We’ve been praying
That by God’s grace,
We may remain forever free.

About this Song:
I  reached WAY back in my notebook of songs for this one…the first song I ever wrote. Also my only patriotic song.

The words speak for themselves, but let me share a little background.

I wrote this song–probably in 1963 as a high school junior. I had started playing guitar less than a year before, and I was playing around with the chords to “Greensleeves.” In the key of Em, most people would play a progression of Em-D-C-B7. But I switched the sequence to Em-D-B7-C, and that–as Robert Frost has said–made all the difference.

I don’t recall anything about the process of writing the words.

At that time, I belonged to a folk trio of guys from church. The Flatlanders (appropriate for people living in Norfolk, VA) consisted of Will Robertson, Bobby Hetherington, and–of course–me. We all played guitar and sang and just generally enjoyed ourselves. I’m sure I was a little shy about sharing my song with them, but they loved it and chose to use it as our theme song. No telling how many times we sang it.

Once I graduated from high school and moved to western Maryland–far away from the Flatlanders–I was forced into becoming a soloist. “We’ve Been Travelin'” didn’t quite fit with “I,” so I ignored it for a number of years.

Then around 1971 I wrote a musical drama called Escape Velocity. “We’ve Been Travelin'” fit in perfectly–but not with the folk sound it had during the 1960s. So I changed it to a major key and turned it from 4/4 time to 6/8. Those changes affected the melody, of course.

A year or two  back I sang the original version at my church’s weekly nursing home ministry–the first time I’d done it publicly since Flatlander days. I’ve added a recording of that performance to the Listen page of my website. Go to the Voice & Guitar 1 drop down box to find “We’ve Been Travelin’.”

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Please leave a comment if something in this post has spoken to you. I’ll be back again on Wednesday. If you’d like to receive my posts by email, just go to “Follow Blog via Email” at the bottom right.

I have free lead sheets (chords, notes, & words) for many of my songs. To see which ones and print or download any of them (including today’s), GO HERE.

“As I Come Singing” isn’t my only blog. If you’d like to see “On Aging Gracelessly,” CHECK IT OUT HERE.

Best regards,
Roger

 

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Night Sounds

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Roger E. Bruner

I listen to the night winds sigh
Because they know you’re not with me.
I listen to the night winds sigh
Because they know you’re not with me.
And I reach out for you,
But you’re not there.

I listen to the crickets chirpin’
As they wonder where you are.
I listen to the crickets chirpin’
As they wonder where you are.
And I reach out for you,
But you’re not there.

I listen to the night birds singing
As they call out your name.
I listen to the night birds singing
As they call out your name.
And I reach out for you,
But you’re not there.

I listen to the running footsteps
As the moon lights up the path.
I listen to the running footsteps
As the moon lights up the path.
And I reach out for you,
And you take my hand,
And the night’s like the day.

About this Song:
This is the only purely secular song I’ve ever written, and it dates back to the mid-seventies, when my first wife and I were still relatively newly-weds. Her family was visiting, and I had gone to bed while she stayed up talking with them. As I lay in bed, not altogether happy at her not being there, the idea came to mind.

Professional singers Mike and Sally Hendon (they performed together for years as Two’s Company–you may have seen them at the Trappe Family Lodge in Stowe, VT–but are no longer together) later sent me a recording they had made of this song. One thing they had added to the “as they call out your name” line was a plaintive echo of “Debbie, Debbie, Debbie.”

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Please leave a comment if something in this post has spoken to you. I’ll be back again next Wednesday. If you’d like to receive my posts by email, just go to “Follow Blog via Email” at the bottom right.

I have free lead sheets (music, lyrics, & chords) for many of these songs. “Night Sounds” is one of them. Look for it in this drop-down box.

“As I Come Singing” isn’t my only blog. If you’d like to see “On Aging Gracelessly,” check it out here.

Best regards,
Roger

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As I Come Singing

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Roger E. Bruner

As I come singing, I sing to praise the Lord;
With a song in my heart, I come to proclaim God’s Word,
To proclaim God’s Word. La, la la la la.
The melody may seem compelling as the rhythm moves right along,
But if my life’s not full of God’s love, then the message will come out wrong,
Will come out wrong. La, la la la la.

As I come singing, I sing to preach God’s Word
To each believer and to those who have never heard,
Who’ve never heard.
The song itself is simple, and the words used are quite plain,
But if my life’s not in tune with my song, then the message will come out vain,
Will come out vain. La, la la la la.

As I come singing, I sing to praise the Lord;
May the song that my life sings be the one that He wants heard,
That God wants heard.
La, la la la la. La, la la la la. La la.

About this song:
During the days when I was presenting musical programs more frequently than now, I used this song as my theme song. I wanted to emphasize my role as a preacher of sorts–a conveyor of God’s Good News–and to help people realize that I wasn’t singing to entertain them.

I believe that so strongly that–to this day–I have trouble using the word “perform” in regard to doing a Christian song in public. “Present” works a little better, but “perform” definitely doesn’t preach!

You can tell that this is one of my older songs because it rhymes. Although a few of my most recent songs rhyme, most of them don’t.

You can find a free lead sheet for this song (tune, chords, & lyrics) on my website. Check here for all of my free lead sheets.

Stay tuned. I’ll post another song lyric next Sunday.

Best regards,
Roger

Posted in Good News, Preaching, Singing, Songs, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Take This Piece of Bread

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Roger E. Bruner

Take this piece of bread
As a symbol of my body.
When you eat it,
Think of me,
And remember who I am,
Who I am.

Take this cup of wine
As a symbol of my life’s blood.
When you drink it,
Think of me,
And remember who I am,
Who I am.

What we shared last night was close to perfect,
But where have they gone?
Don’t they know Who I Am?

About This Song:
The year was 1972. Jesus Christ Superstar was at the height of its popularity, and I loved the music as much as anyone. I just disagreed with some of its theology. Uh, a lot of it, actually.

So I wrote a one-hour Christian rock opera I called The Identity of Divinity–or ID for short. I used it to “straighten out” the bad theology of Superstar.

I was still teaching 9th grade English, and I arranged to use the gym/auditorium at my school one evening to present a single performance of The Identity of Divinity, using students, folks from church, and even people from the community at large.

I have fond memories of the multitude of rehearsals involved. Getting the nearly fifty people involved together at one time was a major accomplishment. Thankfully, most of the practices involved much smaller groups.

Although this song obviously refers to Jesus’ words when He served his disciples the commemorative meal we refer to as “The Lord’s Supper” or “Communion,” I use that one last bit of the song to indicate that Jesus was remembering that last meal with His disciples while dying on the cross. And that He was very conscious of how most of His disciples had deserted Him.

I’ve noticed on Facebook that a number of my former students are Christians. I would like to believe that The Identity of Divinity played a role in their spiritual growth. And that the songs I post on this blog are contributing to your spiritual growth as well.

You can find a free PDF lead sheet (chords, melody, & lyrics) for this song on my website. Check here for all available lead sheets. And don’t forget to check the archives for other songs that might be similar in theme to this one.

Please come back again on Wednesday for another song. Better yet, subscribe to receive each week’s two posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

Posted in Bread, Lord's Supper, The Identity of Divinity, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment