The Isaac Watts Project Is Almost Here: Details On The Just-Mastered CD

Last week, Sojourn producer Neil Robins and Worship & Arts Pastor Mike Cosper drove down I-65 to Nashville to finish mixing and mastering the first of two worship CDs we’re scheduled to release this year — new music based on, and inspired by, the hymns of Isaac Watts.  In the picture to the right, Neil is working on the mix with the very accomplished studio engineer Craig Alvin.  Now the boys are back in town, having completed the mission.  If you’ve seen the new page in the sojournmusic.com Music section, you know we’ve titled the record Over The Grave: The Hymns Of Isaac Watts, Volume One.

The tentative release date is Good Friday, April 10.  Of course on Good Friday, Christians celebrate the victory Christ won for us by His sacrificial death on the cross.  This is a major theme of Over The Grave, so we’ve decided that the release of this CD is a great way for the Sojourn community to end Holy Week and head into Easter.

You’ve heard or read that our fun “code name” for Over The Grave was “Hi Wattage,” because of the high-energy, aggressive indie-pop vibe, whereas we call our next project “Low Wattage,” enabling us to explore our more acoustic side.  But don’t assume each of these songs is the same.  If you’re familiar with Sojourn CDs like Before The Throne and These Things I Remember, you know that there is quite a bit of difference between those records, and between different songs on each of those records. And of course there are similarities, too.

Over The Grave is the same way.  Generally speaking, this album is “Hi Watts” but each song is distinct, with its own musical influences.  As a whole, Neil and the musicians explored a vast section of the musical landscape.

You’ll hear plenty of lyrical variety too.  Like the lament and questioning of “How Long” :

Would my tempter pursue me if he knew You near?

Would he boast of his power if he felt Your hand?

Oh Lord, will you make me wait? 

Oh Lord, how long?

to the assurance of “Refuge”:

I know my days are in Your hands

though I draw near to dust

You are the God in whom I trust -

You are my refuge.

and from the acknowledgment of the reality of judgment in “Warrior”:

Your hand shall find out every foe,

and as a fiery furnace glows,

with raging heat and living coals

they will feel Your wrath upon their souls

to the reality of grace in “Over Death”:

If sin be pardoned and secure

death has no sting beside.

The law gives sin its damning power

but Christ by ransom died.

And as Watts did so well, this album glories in the cross of Christ:

Alas, and did my savior bleed

and did my sovereign die.

Would He devote that sacred head

for sinners such as I?

and the daily presence of Christ in the lives of His people, as in “May Your Power Rest On Me”:

May Your power rest on me.

You are strong when I am weak

I can bear all things when temptation springs,

for You sustain me all my days.

In the coming weeks and months you’ll read more about the songs on this record.  We’ll also flesh out the new “Over The Grave” page in our music section.  Be sure to subscribe to our RSS Feed to keep up with further info, check out the album artwork, hear samples and more.