Music of Advent: Psalm 24’s timeless call to worship

Spotify Playlist Link

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Up next, Music of Advent.

NICK EICHER, HOST: This Sunday marks the second week of Advent. Christians around the world are preparing for—and reflecting on—the coming of Christ.

“Music of Advent” has been a recent tradition here at The World and Everything in It …

Where on Fridays during this season, correspondent Bonnie Pritchett will guide us through a variety of Advent music.

MAST: And just a quick note, we’re creating a Spotify Playlist again this year.

We’ll update it throughout the month and we’ve included the link in today’s transcript at wng.org/podcasts:

MUSIC: [Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates]

We’ll update it throughout the month so you can find the music for your own enjoyment. We’ve included the link in today’s transcript at wng.org/podcasts.

SINGER: Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be lifted up, ye everlasting doors. And the King of Glory will come in…

BONNIE PRITCHETT: The musical and theological thread of the hymn “Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates” begins with King David, the author of Psalm 24. Bible scholars believe the psalm celebrates the arrival of the ark of the covenant – and God’s presence – into Jerusalem.

SINGER: And the King of Glory shall come in. Who is the King of Glory? Who is the King of Glory? Who is the King of Glory? The LORD of Hosts. The LORD of Hosts…

In 1741 George Frederick Handel composed “Messiah,” condensing the Biblical story arc of God’s promised messiah into the enduring musical masterpiece. The Toronto Symphony and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir provide this rendition.

SINGER: The Lord of Hosts.He is the King of Glory. The LORD of Hosts. He is the King

A century before Handel wrote “Messiah,” pastor Georg Weissel wrote the hymn “Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates.” The singer invites the King of Glory to sit on the throne of their heart.

One verse cries, “Redeemer, come, with us abide; our hearts to thee we open wide; let us thy inner presence feel; they grace and love in us reveal.”

Weissel served in what was then war-torn Konigsberg, Prussia where European nations and kingdoms were locked in the horrifically deadly 30-Year War. Millions died from conflict and famine.

It was into that world that Weissel invited the Redeemer to come.

MUSIC: [Make a Way]

In their song “Make a Way” the band The Porter’s Gate acknowledges sin and darkness clutter the path between us and God.

SINGER: Come, Son of God, and make us new. Light of the world, our hearts renew. Hope in our inner darkness lies. Oh, healing sun of justice rise…

Sin’s curse has held humanity captive since the Garden of Eden. But there is hope in the one who can set us free and open the gates of our hearts.

SINGER: Oh, make a way open wide the gates. O make a way through the sorrow and the pain. Oh, make a way, though the road is dark and winding. Oh, come, come…

King David’s psalm echoes through Weissel, Handel, and Nathan Clark George, a worship pastor in Matthews, North Carolina. From his 2009 album, this is George’s contribution to the psalm’s musical lineage.

MUSIC: [Psalm 24 - Live]

SINGER: So lift up your heads, O you gates. Be lifted up you ancient doors that the King of Glory may come in. Who is this glorious king…

While the psalmist’s melodies are lost to time God’s word is not – it endures forever. And, for three millennia his word has inspired musicians to offer praise and lead others to do likewise.

SINGER: Who is this glorious King? The Lord strong and mighty. The Lord mighty in battle…

For WORLD, I’m Bonnie Pritchett

SINGER:…And lift up your heads o ye gates. Be lifted up, you ancient doors that the King of Glory may come in. Who is this glorious king? Yahweh Almighty, he is the King…

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