Psalm 50 puts humanity on trial. In the first section, God, the almighty Judge, calls heaven and earth as witnesses to hear a just verdict. In verses 7-15, God addresses the faithful. Essentially, God says, “You’re doing pretty well, but remember that I want your hearts, rather than just your sacrifices of bulls and goats.” In verses 16-21, the wicked do not fare as well. God sees their hypocrisy–that they know God’s word, but take every opportunity they have for theft, adultery, and deceit. The final two verses are a summary of the chapter.

Instead of getting lost in the specifics of the Psalm (when was the last time any of you offered a bull as your offering?), I wanted to translate the heart of the Psalm for today’s worshiper. My distilled version is something like this: 1. Court is in session, and you’d better listen! 2. Offerings are fine, but God really wants your heart. 3. Don’t be a hypocrite. 4. Offer God a sacrifice of love. All of this is wrapped in the refrain, “Hear the word of the Lord”; it’s a common refrain in the Psalms, but in this case it has legal overtones: “Hear ye, hear ye, the judge will now speak and you need to pay attention!”

Musically, the song has a bit of a Medieval vibe–an SATB hymn, but robust and energetic. The most interesting thing to me is that it is unclear what key the song is in, even to me! The key signature is two flats, and the song starts on a Bb chord, but various phrases center on different key areas: D, Gm, G, and Eb, with a final chord of C. It makes sense to my ear, but I’m not sure how I’d analyze it if I had to!

Hear the word of the Lord.
Come, hear the word of the Lord!

1. The mighty God of all,
has summoned heaven and earth;
has gathered all humanity
into the court of the Lord.
Come, hear the word of the Lord!

2. Do I, the God of all
need lavish sacrifice?
The only offerings I desire
are hearts that beat with love.
Come, hear the word of the Lord!

3. For I can see your hearts,
even when they hide deceit.
You know my law, but live your life
as if I don’t exist.
Come, hear the word of the Lord!

4. Salvation comes to those
who hear and do my word,
who offer pure and thankful hearts–
a sacrifice of love.
Come, hear the word of the Lord!

Two of my favorite pianists from Church of the Servant were planning to lead a service together, and they were looking for arrangements of congregational songs for four-handed piano. How could I say no?

If you take a gander over at my main website, you’ll find several arrangements of “Come, Holy Ghost/Be Not Afraid,” by Ray Mills and Bruce Benedict. But I didn’t recycle any of those for this arrangement. Instead, I wanted something entirely new, built from the ground up for two pianists at the same keyboard.

It is certainly a challenging arrangement, but I think it’s challenging in a good way.

You’ve already heard the recording, but I couldn’t resist posting this video that just came out. Moments like those captured in this video make me incredibly grateful to be able to be a musician, and grateful that I can be a small part of these children’s musical and spiritual formation.

Truth be told, I cried a little as I watched the video. But I wasn’t the only one! Go to 1:25 where you’ll see another man overcome with emotion. It’s kind of sweet.

I have had the good fortune of working with Wendell Kimbrough numerous times in the past decade. Our most recent collaboration dropped today. “It Is Good” is an artful musical portrayal of creation, with vocals shared by Wendell and Fernando Ortega.

I wrote the string arrangement, and I couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out!

I thought some of you might be interested in “how the sausage is made,” as it were. The string arrangement process began with Wendell connecting me with the producer, Dan Wheeler. Dan gave me all the files I needed (rough tracks, click, etc) and conveyed the style they were looking for and how it would complement the rest of the recording. In this case, we went through five drafts before we were all satisfied. You can hear version 5 in this mock-up I created, using Dorico/NotePerformer audio of the strings layered on top of Dan’s rough mix.

A multi-string player recorded all the orchestral parts, and then I waited for Fernando to contribute his vocals, Dan to work his mixing magic, and Wendell to release the song to the public. You’ll notice that the final version doesn’t include my awesome-sauce string introduction. Yes, I was sad it was left on the cutting room floor, but I was surprised Wendell went for it in the first place. And, frankly, the final release is much more radio-ready than what I envisioned. (Though I am still holding out hope that they’ll include it on an album release!)

Here in Blogsville, I’ve set many difficult Psalms to music. They’ve included Psalms of depression, rage, retribution, and acrostics. But Psalm 45 is difficult in a new way. It is a Psalm for a royal wedding.

It begins with an introduction, notable as the only Psalm to include the poet’s voice. (“I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.”) Next is a section extolling the king’s virtues (“You are the most excellent of men… All your robes are fragrant… Daughters of kings are among your honored women…”), followed by a section about the queen’s beauty and instructions on leaving her family behind. Finally, a concluding section anticipates this royal marriage leaving a lasting legacy.

While beautiful, it poses difficulty for the congregational songwriter. It is not really about God; it is music for a wedding ceremony. Additionally, it is a wedding from a culture that extols a man’s power and a woman’s beauty. Those ideals may make for a good wedding, but not a great hymn. Yes, one can turn the Psalm into an allegory for Christ and the Church, but that feels like a cop out.

I decided to cast this as the wedding of heaven and earth, as it were. The king of Psalm 45 is certainly a foreshadowing of the Messiah, who will come to usher in a new age of heaven on earth. The queen could be interpreted as the earth and all its treasures. And their wedding could be seen as the consummation of a new age of lasting peace and justice. Yes, that is a lot of poetic license, but it allowed me to remain faithful to the Psalm (with a verse for each section of Psalm 45–introduction, king, queen, legacy), while creating a song that could be sung in a worship context.

Behold the majesty
of God’s redeeming reign!

1. My heart is stirred by a noble theme;
my pen prepares its verse.
My lungs are full, my tongue will sing
the king of heav’n and queen of earth.
Let all the people sing: Chorus

2. The nations fall before your throne,
your splendored majesty.
Anoint your realm with peace and joy;
may justice claim the victory.
Let all the people sing: Chorus

3. May all the beauty of this world
be offered to your reign,
to weave a cloth of heav’n and earth
that flows into eternity.
Let all the people sing: Chorus

4. Oh, may this union never end,
expand from land to sea.
May justice, joy, and righteousness
remain this kingdom’s legacy.
Let all the people sing: Chorus

Carlos Colón has been a big supporter of my music over the years, as well as a good friend. For a recent concert, he commissioned an arrangement of Wendell Kimbrough’s “Mary’s Song” for 2-part children’s choir, piano, string quintet, and oboe. It turned out beautifully, as you can hear from this recording.

I began going to a yoga class this year. As you probably know, breathing is an important aspect of yoga. It’s amazing how disconnected we modern humans have become from our breath and our bodies. So I often take a few minutes during the day to concentrate on the rhythm of my inhalations and exhalations, trying to be in the moment and simply be.

Musing on how fundamental our breathing is to our being led me to compose a piece for string orchestra called “Breathe.” It is based on a repeating 20-measure chord sequence over a spoken incantation of “Breathe in. Breathe out.” It is written in the lineage of compositions like Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” and Max Richter’s “On the Nature of Daylight”–pieces that are based not on melodic theme or harmonic movement, but on the shape and intensity of the instrumental timbres. It is not at all as easy as it sounds–it’s more like sculpting than traditional composing.

Expect to hear it played by St. Sinner Orchestra in the near future. For now, listen to the demo above or Max Richter’s “On the Nature of Daylight” below

“The Dungeon” might sound a little dark for a jazz song. Fear not! It is simply the name of a restaurant we played at last week, an inaugural performance which I commemorated with a new tune. Unfortunately, I didn’t capture the premiere performance on video. Fear not! We played the following Wednesday at Tulip City Bar & Grill in Holland, and my wife recorded it.

Enjoy Outside Pocket (Gary Mccourry on sax, Steve Talaga on piano, Evan Follmar on drums, and me on bass) performing “The Dungeon.”

A few years ago, I was asked to arrange Wendell Kimbrough’s song, “O Rejoice in All Your Works,” for wind ensemble for use at Calvin University’s commencement. It was used again this year, and the sound and videography are top-notch.

What’s that? You have a wind ensemble and would like to include the song in your university’s commencement service? Well, just saunter over to www.gregscheer.com, where you can download it for a mere $35!

For this song, I teamed up with long-time collaborator Kate Bluett. Psalm 22 is one of the most poignant of all the Psalms, in part because Jesus cried it from the cross. Because of this, most settings of the Psalm are sung from the perspective of Christ’s passion. (Which works incredibly well for a text that was written centuries before him.)

But when I proposed the collaboration to Kate, I explained that I was looking for something different: I wanted it to be sung from the perspective of someone who has suffered abuse. The thing about the Psalms is that they can give voice to emotions too difficult for us to articulate. As the country learns how a club of powerful men systematically abused vulnerable young women for decades, it seems a fitting Psalm to give voice to the voiceless.

1. My God, have you abandoned me,
or don’t you hear me call?
I bear what no one seems to see,
but don’t you see it all?
Then why do you sit silently?
O you who heard your people’s plea
and in their anguish set them free,
now let your mercy fall!

2. For I am trampled as a worm,
rejected and despised,
but though my foes hold me in scorn,
on you I have relied
You held me first when I was born
and kept me safe in days before.
Oh, do not leave me so forlorn–
draw near and save my life!

3. My enemies surround me now
and here I stand alone.
Where were you when they stripped me down
and numbered all my bones?
My heart sinks down into the ground–
My God, where can your help be found?
Someday the powerful will bow,
but now they stand like stones.

4. My foes are wolves, and I’m the deer
who’s hunted by their horde.
Do not forsake me, but draw near
to me and all the poor.
O God, be with us in our fear,
and show your power for us here.
Someday our children yet shall hear
the kindness of the Lord.