Summer Series: Influences #1—"What Shall I Render to the Lord"

I've decided I'm going to do a series of posts over the summer about specific influences I recognize as having a large impact in shaping my outlook, behavior, or taste. Some will be musical examples, some will be book passages, some might be events. Some I will have realized their impact at the time, and others I will have only recognized the impact looking back.

I'm starting with "What Shall I Render to the Lord" by Richard Hillert. It is the Offertory from Divine Service Setting 1 in Lutheran Service Book. I wish I could find a good video that has good singing in it, but the organ-only video below is the best I can do. The text is below and is drawn from Psalm 116:

What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits to me?

I will offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call on the name of the Lord.

I will take the cup of salvation and will call on the name of the Lord.

I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all His people,in the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.

I grew up singing this in church roughly every other week. I always liked it, but I don't think I appreciated it as much as I should have until the churches I attend/work for stopped using it for various reasons. I've probably only sang it in services ten times or so in the last decade, and I miss singing it.

One great thing about the liturgy is that you memorize the texts since you sing them so regularly. I still have the text of this canticle memorized even though I rarely sing it anymore. I consider this a great thing because this text helped me properly value three ideas linked to three phrases in the canticle:

     

     1.  "I will offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving..."

         Many people talk about what we must give to God for Him to be pleased with us. They say belief and faith is all well and good, but it is nothing without some sort of additional work, or effort, or sacrifice. Contrast that with how Psalm 116 and, consequently, the canticle deal with the idea of a sacrifice in response to the benefits God gives to us. The sacrifice offered is thanksgiving. We have nothing to give to God. God is the one doing the giving. We receive and give thanks, recognizing that all good gifts come from God, and nothing we have is our own.

            

      2. "...and will call on the name of the Lord."

          This phrase being repeated twice in a short canticle really drives home the point that all times are the right time to call on the name of the Lord. God has created us, saved us, sustains us, protects us, does all things for us, and gives all things to us. There is never a bad time to call on the name of the One who holds the entire universe in His hands.

     
     3.  "I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all His people, in the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem."

          The ending of the canticle helped teach me to value attending church. Some people think they can do it on their own apart from attending church, but it is a huge gift to have the support and accountability of gathering corporately. It holds us accountable to ourselves in helping us realize when we are breaking the 1st commandment and valuing other things above God in our lives and in how we are using the gifts God has given us. It provides encouragement and witness to others within the Lord's house, while also giving us accountability with them to be faithful together. And it provides witness to the greater community around the church of our recognition that we are not our own—that we and our time, talents, and treasures belong to God. This means our priorities and behaviors might seem very strange to those outside the church, but having them notice and witness this "strangeness" is a great thing and an opportunity to provide further witness.

Another reason I'm starting with this canticle in this series is I've told multiple people that I blame this canticle and the liturgy setting it is from for why I'm a professional musician. I've also come to the realization that it had a huge impact on my musical taste and musicianship. First, It is very crafted music, and it has some difficulty to it. It is very difficult to hear once and have completely in your head. It is music that must be lived with. The melody requires vocal flexibility to sing, and the long phrases require good breath support and control to make it through.  I had to train myself to become a good musician to sing it properly, and I was singing this canticle long before I had any formal musical training.

Second, it blends new and old wonderfully. It has qualities of chant and modal writing indicative of centuries ago, but it also shows elements of a more modern harmonic approach indicative to 20th century classical music. It creates a sort of timeless sound. Much of my favorite music has this same sort of timeless quality and blend of old and new.

Lastly, it is thoughtful music. It helped teach me that music doesn't have to be flashy to be powerful—it doesn't have to be fast, it doesn't have to be loud, it doesn't have to be triumphant. Sometimes the most powerful music is the music that gives a sense of quiet resolve. There is power in music when there is recognition that some will miss the point or not understand, but it holds true to its underlying priorities of service to a text and the truth it conveys anyway. Thoughtful music is in it for the long game. Flash comes and goes, but the truth thoughtful music centers itself around will not.