When a cry for help is a shout of praise

Seeing with eyes that can see

4th January 2009

After having introduced Andrew Peterson to you last time and quoted from my favourite song of his from his latest album, I thought you might enjoy finding out a bit more from Andrew himself about this song and how it came to be written and recorded.

I am struck by the concept of giving to God in worship. We're often told the consummer culture in which we live has led to a tendency to people coming to church to have their felt needs met. This, of course, is no way to approach the living God, as if he is just a bit of 'spirituality on tap', designed to serve us on our terms. In response, many have emphasised the need for us to come with a humble attitude, bringing our 'sacrifice of praise' (Heb 13:15) to God, giving him our heart-felt worship. We come to corporate worship to give to God, not to receive.

And I totally agree with the sentiment behind this. There's just one nagging question I have: what do we give the God who made everything, who sustains everything, who owns everything, who clearly needs nothing? As Paul stated in Acts 17:25 '(God) is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.'

Psalm 50 sheds some interesting light on this question. There are some things that this all-sufficient God commands his people to give to him.

50:9 I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills...
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it...

15 ... call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honour me."

God doesn't need anything from us, and yet calls us to give him our troubles. Why is this? Because in giving our need to God, we acknowledge him as the great Provider. We we cry to God for help, our cry recognises him as the great Saviour and is, simultaneously, a cry of praise to the One who alone is able to save us.

Here's Andrew discussing this concept and the other ideas behind the song.


This is a short clip showing Andrew and his band first working on the song in the studio.


Here's the string session from the studio. If you're interested in the process of recording, then you'll enjoy seeing how the strings are recorded and how they sit with the overall mix.


Alistair Hamill