#SHEPHERDS HASTEN TO HIS THRONE PLUS#

“So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel ,’ which is translated, ‘ God with us.

For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…”-Isaiah 43:2-3 (emphasis added) When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

The name, Immanuel, first appeared in Isaiah and again in Matthew when the prophecy of His coming was fulfilled.

Immanuel means “God with us.” Yeshua, the Lord Himself, left the throne above and came to be with you… He came to be with us. God is with you today, and He will be with you tomorrow. No matter the challenges of the season, He is with you and He is for you. No matter what the day brings, He is there. “‘…teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.” “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” But what do these names mean? How do you apply them to your life? There are important primary and secondary cadence points on the significant words: 'Lord,' 'cry,' 'groan,' 'live' and 'rise.' Note the marvelous contrary effect in the last phrase, 'I'll hasten to his throne,' in which Smallwood actually delays rather than hastens the final cadence by using an extended harmonic and melodic elaboration on the usually insignificant word, 'to.Jesus, or Yeshua in Hebrew, is referred to as Immanuel, Light of the World, and Good Shepherd. It opens with a short four-note sequence that is repeated, eventually winding its way harmonically through the Circle of Fifths to the final tonic. The second phrase also begins ('Long as I live') and ends ('throne') in C, and likewise is harmonically rich. The harmony is rich, and the progression is spun out.

#SHEPHERDS HASTEN TO HIS THRONE PLUS#

The first main phrase begins in C ('I love the Lord') and ends in C ('groan'), but in between makes use of every diatonic chord in the key plus the secondary dominant on D. Smallwood's setting is largely centered in the tonic harmony with frequent chord changes filling out the progressions and rhythms of the text. As long as we pray, God will take our grief and despair. Watts's Psalm is titled 'Recovery from Sickness,' and proclaims that when we cry out to the Lord, God hears our cries and groans, and that throughout our lives when we are troubled, our response is to pray. The words of 'I Love the Lord' closely follow those of Isaac Watts' rendering of Psalm 116: The original soundtrack album is the best-selling gospel album of all time and remained number one on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums Chart for twenty-six weeks. 'I Love the Lord' was sung by Whitney Houston as the closing song of the 1996 movie, The Preacher's Wife. He was elected to the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2006. Smallwood has remained popular throughout his career, writing 'Center of My Joy' with Bill and Gloria Gaither in 1984, and later such hits as 'Total Praise,' 'Angels,' 'Healing,' 'Anthem of Praise,' and 'Bless the Lord.' To date, Smallwood has recorded fifteen albums, and he produced the Grammy- and Dove-Award-winning Quincy Jones recording of Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration. Their first album in 1982, The Richard Smallwood Singers, spent 87 weeks at no. After college, he taught music at the University of Maryland then in 1977, he formed the Richard Smallwood Singers. His father was the pastor of the historic Union Temple in Washington, D.C., and his mother strongly encouraged his musical talent. He earned a Masters of Divinity from Howard University in 2004.

He earned degrees in vocal performance and piano performance from Howard University, with additional graduate work in ethnomusicology. TOPICS: breath/breathe cry out groan haste/hasten healing heart love for God prayer throne trouble worshipĬomposer, arranger, pianist, and music director Richard Smallwood was born November 30, 1948, in Atlanta, Georgia.

COMPOSER: African American Spiritual arr.

Shepherds hasten to his throne