"The Lord your God...will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17
I'm the type of gal who wonders what that sounds like. You can argue that it's metaphorical if you like. But I think you're wrong. I'm a mom. I know what it is to gaze into the perfect face of one that has captivated you and feel song, unbidden, pour from your lips. Like love has grown so full it can no longer be contained. It becomes a vocal caress that sings its way deep inside the beloved.
There have been moments in my life when I was almost sure I could hear it. Him singing over me, I mean. Quieting me...with love.
This is what I think of when I listen to David Teems' new recording, Speak To Me.
God's own words, "sett forth gorgeously" in the poetry of the King James translation, wash over me. "I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."
The language is wed with the artistry of Phil Keaggy and Tom Hemby, two of the finest guitarists Nashville has ever known.
"...the music plays with an effortlessness that not only honors the Scripture, but that allows the rest of us to drift on the currents. 'There is a river,' it says, 'whose streams thereof shall make glad the city of God.'"
And just like I sang my love deep inside my babies, I feel the music carrying God's truth deep inside me.
Most of the music is original; the intimate outpouring of the player as he interacts with the words. Sometimes he includes bits of songs that echo the theme. One of my favorites is when God is wooing his faithless bride...Israel...me...imploring her to return...with the gentle strains of Softly and Tenderly underneath.
Each track collects passages around themes like Love, Wisdom, Seasons, Mercy. Many of my favorites are here. Yet, I find myself astonished by them, as though they were new. Exquisite morsels of manna. Feeding me. Healing me. Giving rest to my soul.
Beautiful post.
Posted by: Benita Teems | 12 February 2011 at 11:27 AM