Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Personalities

Psalm 39[a]

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

1 I said, “I will watch my ways
     and keep my tongue from sin;
 I will put a muzzle on my mouth
     while in the presence of the wicked.”

2 So I remained utterly silent,
     not even saying anything good.
 But my anguish increased;

3     my heart grew hot within me.
 While I meditated, the fire burned;
     then I spoke with my tongue:

4 “Show me, Lord, my life's end
     and the number of my days;
     let me know how fleeting my life is.

5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
     the span of my years is as nothing before you.
 Everyone is but a breath,
     even those who seem secure.[b]

6 “Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom;
     in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth
     without knowing whose it will finally be.

7 “But now, Lord, what do I look for?
     My hope is in you.

8 Save me from all my transgressions;
     do not make me the scorn of fools.

9 I was silent; I would not open my mouth,
     for you are the one who has done this.

10 Remove your scourge from me;
     I am overcome by the blow of your hand.

11 When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin,
     you consume their wealth like a moth—
     surely everyone is but a breath.

12 “Hear my prayer, Lord,
     listen to my cry for help;
     do not be deaf to my weeping.
 I dwell with you as a foreigner,
     a stranger, as all my ancestors were.

13 Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again
     before I depart and am no more.”

Footnotes:

* Psalm 39:1 In Hebrew texts 39:1-13 is numbered 39:2-14.
* Psalm 39:5 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 11.

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

________________________

I have a good excuse for the lateness of Today's Thread! I walked a familiar trail with Tippy this morning, knowing that it would loop around to a neighborhood near my house, connected by a footbridge. That would have made our morning walk about four miles, with a little rugged terrain in between, and I would have been home to start the thread much earlier. The trail had been recently serviced, and while a bit wet and slippery, was a nice walk. All along the trail, there were QR codes posted to guide the hikers, but I don't like them, and knew the trail anyway.

When I got to the footbridge, there was a huge tree that had come down, blocking the way completely. I had to turn around and retrace my steps all the way to the trailhead, and that added more than a mile to my walk. Who needs QR codes, when a Chainsaw will do the job better? Anyway, here I am.

The following story about Bach, Paul Simon, and a very old song came to my mind as I was walking through the woods:

One of the most poignant and lyrical songs by Paul Simon is on his "Rhymin' Simon" album. It's called "American Tune". While the Wikipedia Article on this song acknowledges that the tune was lifted from an Ancient Hymn, there was no indication in the original Album Liner notes stating this fact.

Imagine my surprise when, I listened to Bach's "St Matthew's Passion", and there was that Tune again!

I was so annoyed that Simon had not credited Bach for the melody that I penned this ditty: (Same melody!)

When Bach composed this music,
I'm sure he had no idea,
That two hundred years later,
The tune would reappear
On the Rhymin' Simon album.
I guess it was supposed,
That Johann couldn't sue them,
Because he's decomposed!

Then, I discovered in my own research on Bach's Chorales, that the melody was even older than Bach. It's an ancient hymn called "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded". Johann didn't actually steal it though. These hymns were already known and beloved by the congregation. Bach's job, as Kappelmeister (Minister of Music) was to arrange the hymns for every Sunday Morning and Feast Day. The way Bach handled this "job" was amazing. He arranged the already known hymns into new arrangements, wrote other music to surround the hymns, with solos, choral pieces, and even counterpoint surrounding the original hymn, turning it into a brand new piece. Many of "Bach's Greatest Hits" are these little pieces inserted in the middle of a Chorale written for a Sunday Morning. (My Favorite is from Chorale #140 Sleepers Awake!). So Bach and Paul Simon didn't actually steal the melody, they just reused it without attribution.

Perhaps, as a Songwriter, I was annoyed that Simon, a brilliant, MENSA-level songwriter who was perhaps one of the greatest of his generation, took the tune of a Christian Hymn without so much as a "Thank You" to the guy who wrote it, or to the Man the song was about in the first place. Oh Well/rant off.

As we read the Psalms as PRAYERS, we need to also remember that they are SONGS as well, and David Ben Jesse is the first "published" songwriter in History. I wish I knew the Melodies of these Psalms. I am sure they will be sung in Heaven (with proper attribution, of course!)

I'll call the Town Hall today and tell them about the tree. They may tell me to hang up and scan a QR code to register my complaint!

Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. (Mark 4:22)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem