Over The Grave: The Hymns Of Isaac Watts, volume one

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In the midst of the Reformation in England, Isaac Watts recognized that people needed to see the gospel in the psalms and hymns of the church, and they needed to sing them in language and metaphors that they understood.  In this, he became not only the father of the modern hymn, but the pace-setter for contextualizing the gospel for the people of God.

As musicians, pastors and songwriters, our desire was to explore the hundreds of hymns that Watts wrote during his lifetime, to learn from the incredible range and depth of his lyrics, and to re-envision those songs with modern language and melodies.  In particular, we gravitated towards themes that seem unfortunately absent in modern worship — themes about God’s wrath and judgment, His righteousness, and a dramatic vision of the cross and atonement of Christ.

This CD is the first installment of the Isaac Watts Project: songs inspired by and adapted from his hymns.  The record was written and performed entirely by musicians from Sojourn Community Church — 35 in all.  It is our hope that this project, like Watts’s hymns, will point us beyond the music and lyrics to see the glorious Savior who inspires them.

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Over The Grave is a nice find … choruses that will ring out in the rafters” — Worship Leader magazine

Track List:

1. Warrior (inspired by “Psalm 21” by Isaac Watts)  view the chord sheet

2. Living Faith (adapted from “Hymn 140” by Isaac Watts)  view the chord sheet

3. How Long? (Psalm 13) (inspired by “Psalm 13”)  view the chord sheet

4. Only Your Blood Is Enough (adapted from “Psalm 51, pt 2”)  view the chord sheet

5. Reveal Your Love (inspired by “Psalm 90, pt. 2”)  view the chord sheet

6. Over Death (adapted from “Hymn 17”)  view the chord sheet

7. Alas And Did My Savior Bleed (adapted from “Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed”)  view the chord sheet

8. May Your Power Rest On Me (inspired by “Hymn 15”)  view the chord sheet

9. Refuge (adapted from “Psalm 31, pt. 1”)  view the chord sheet

10. We Are Changed (adapted from “Hymn 95”)  view the chord sheet

11. Savior King (adapted from “Hymn 10”)   view the chord sheet

Details You May Have Missed:

6/15  Hear A New Sojourn mp3: “Warrior,” A Most Unusual Worship Song

6/10/09  Sojourn Signs Record Deal For “Over The Grave”

6/9/09  Hear “May Your Power Rest On Me,” Another New Song From “Over The Grave”

6/2/09 Hear “How Long” Now, and Read The Story Behind This “Blues Song” From “Over The Grave”

5/26/09 Hear The First Full-Song Preview: “Only Your Blood Is Enough”

5/22/09 Details on the release date, release party and more

5/6/09 The Story Behind The Artwork For “Over The Grave”