It seems a bit odd to share new songs for 2026 when we are already 9 months through the year. But better late than never! Life has been quite full, and I am glad to finally get around to sharing music on my blog. This past May I graduated with my Doctor of Ministry from Westminster Theological Seminary and a few weeks ago returned from a mission trip to Croatia. With family and church life, this year has flown by faster than a flyover.
I was privileged to visit the Wilds Christian Camp again this summer and hear these songs sung live. It is such a joy to write words that are imbedded in the hearts of the next generation every summer. This is one of the reasons why I enjoy publishing with the Wilds so much; I know these songs will be sung by thousands of teens, and sung over and over again each week. They both are available on the Wild’s new album from this past summer, All Praise to Him (check it out here). I am grateful to collaborate with Matt Taylor, who always pushes me to write better lyrics, then pairs them with fitting music. Here’s some background for each song, and then a video/audio for you to listen.
O Give Me Eyes to See
I am constantly trying to grow as a writer. I don’t like reading a good book without applying it (that seems to me to be a waste of time), so this song grew out of a desire to apply a book from the Anglican poet Malcome Guite called Lifting the Veil: Imagination and the Kingdom of God. In it, Guite explains how through the centuries Christians have used the imagination as a means to lay hold of invisible realities. Art and poetry are a gift from God given to us to help us grasp what we cannot see. Now I certainly have my differences with Guite, but I found his explanation of the Christian use of imagination both compelling and enlightening. I felt challenged to write my lyrics in a way that made unseen spiritual realities tangible and real. This song was the result. In it, I pray that God would give me eyes to see his mercy in the sufferings of Christ on the cross, feel his love for me as he stumbles beneath the weight of wood on that calvary road, and for this love to be so impressed upon my heart that I give him my all. I pray it does the same for you.
Purchase choral sheet music or download the free hymn HERE.
My Prophet, Priest, and King
I’m not sure if it’s possible to overemphasize the importance of the fact that Jesus is our final Prophet, Priest, and King. During my doctoral research, I became aware of how this theme is truly imbedded in the Old Testament, then unfolded in all its richness and beauty through Christ in the New. If you are like me, you have probably heard these three offices linked together many times by Bible teachers. I think it is tempting for Christians to take for granted these three offices for their familiarity. But these three offices are so familiar because they are so basic and fundamental to our relationship with Christ, that we cannot have eternal life apart from them. In them, Christ is exalted, lifted up, and shown to be who he truly is–God in the flesh, worthy of our highest praise. I make a nod to that ancient prayer of Saint Patrick, a prayer that every believer ought to readily agree with in heart and mind. It is through Christ, our Prophet, Priest, and King, that we live out this prayer in our lives. Here’s the part of that prayer I think about most often, and inspired the lyrics of the chorus:
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who
thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who
speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I sang this with my family at church, and it has a lovely violin and cello obligato to go with it. Purchase choral sheet music HERE.
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