Songs & their Stories: "May the Peoples Praise You"

I thought I would put together a blog series sharing brief stories behind the songs recorded on the Defend the Orphan CD project... if for no one else other than my dear mom who would love to see the words as she listens... ;-)

A few years ago, I never imagined I would be boarding a plane that looked like this...

Or walking through a medina with such history, beauty and spiritual darkness...

Or enjoy such a rooftop view...

The mission of our brief stay in North Africa: pray while walking the land.

Quietly and safely behind the walls of our host home, we went to our knees... seeking to prepare our hearts before what was to be an undercover prayer walk through an ancient city. As we began to pray, you could hear the call to prayer go out across the city. As the speakers reverberated across the city, we closed our eyes asking the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come, to push back the darkness that covers the land. It was a haunting experience for me. When I returned home, the piano and the Bible became a place of solace. I could not get Psalm 67 out of my head. So I put it into a prayer set to music...

May the Peoples Praise You (Psalm 67)

Remove the veil by Your holy hand

Push back the darkness that covers the land

Open eyes that all may see

Jesus Christ, the Risen King

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

Lord of lords and King of kings

God of grace may You bless us

May Your face shine upon us

That Your saving power be known on the earth

Let the peoples praise You

May all the peoples praise You

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus

Lord of lords and King of kings

Worthy is He, whose blood was shed

Who paid our ransom the price on our head

Holy, holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty

Who was and is and is to come!

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus

Lord of lords and King of kings

(Here is a snippet from last April's Share & Sing at TBC's Global Gathering)