Eternal Beauty Album – Song Stories

November 20, 2025 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

As we take this cinematic journey through Psalms together, I encourage you to listen to the album and each song on your favorite music streaming service first, for pure enjoyment and also to see how God may speak to you through the music. If you want to go deeper the track order and song story links are down below. You can also read and reflect on the spiritual and musical inspirations behind each song while you listen or in silence as a quiet devotional. Wishing you God’s grace and peace, Stanton

Day and Night (Psalm 1)

November 20, 2025 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

As we take this cinematic journey through Psalms together, I encourage you to listen to the album and each song on your favorite music streaming service first, for pure enjoyment and also to see how God may speak to you through the music. If you want to go deeper Psalm 1 is down below. You can also read and reflect on the spiritual and musical inspirations behind each song while you listen or in silence as a quiet devotional. Wishing you God’s grace and peace, Stanton

My heart’s desire for the opening track of Eternal Beauty was to convey God’s strength and power from the very start. The introduction of Day and Night expresses these being available to me in my life and faith journey. God’s “I am available” is transformed to “I am with you” through His strength and power when I progress from seeking to be in His proximity to being fully surrendered to Him. The percussion rhythms symbolize God’s heartbeat for me as I put my trust in Him. I want to be in step, in rhythm as I wait, walk, and run with Him.

Blessed is the one, blessed is the one, blessed is the one, blessed is the one. After the introduction the musical notes repeat the main theme melody sixteen times, which was inspired by these four words. The main theme reappears throughout the song, with other secondary melodies interspersed along the way.

The secondary theme symbolizes the tension between my imperfect unholiness and God’s perfect holiness. The minor and major chords and notes reflect both the longing I have to meditate on God’s word day and night and, at the same time, the victories and struggles of living by faith. In the final minute and a half of the song, a third theme appears. As I composed I thought about how angels are watching over us even though we can’t see them. The Bible has many stories of the unseen becoming visible for a moment to a character in the story. By faith we can know that angels are watching over and singing over us with beauty and peace, just as God is singing over us with His strength and power.

One final musical and spiritual insight is from verse three. The “blessed one” whose delight is in God’s Word and who meditates on it “day and night” is described to be “like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.” I selected the wooden marimba from the orchestra percussion section to play from start to finish as inspiration for my life and faith journey to be like this “tree.” In researching the marimba I discovered that the use of rosewood is significant for marimbas due to its rich, warm, and resonant tone, making it the preferred “gold standard” for the instrument’s bars. The unique properties of rosewood create a warm, deep sound with a long sustain, and its quality, density, and grain are meticulously matched during the instrument’s construction to achieve a high level of performance. Amazingly these words could also describe a fruitful life in Christ: rich, warm, resonant, deep, sustaining, quality, density and depth, matched—in step with God, and, buy His life in us, achieving a high level of performance for His glory.

I hope you enjoy soaking in Day and Night again and again. I experienced God’s inspiration while composing it, and have encountered His presence while listening many times. Our Father reveals deep truths from Psalm 1 which enrich our private intimacy with Him, and then overflow into our public influence as we love and serve others for His glory.

How does Day and Night speak to you?

Psalm 1 (NIV) — DAY AND NIGHT

1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Streams from the Heavens (Psalm 8)

November 20, 2025 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

As we take this cinematic journey through Psalms together, I encourage you to listen to the album and each song on your favorite music streaming service first, for pure enjoyment and also to see how God may speak to you through the music. If you want to go deeper Psalm 8 is down below. You can also read and reflect on the spiritual and musical inspirations behind each song while you listen or in silence as a quiet devotional. Wishing you God’s grace and peace, Stanton

Track two on the Eternal Beauty album is all about God’s Glory. Verse 1 reads, “Yahweh, our Sovereign God, your glory streams from the heavens above, filling the earth with the majesty of your name!” This song demanded a huge and triumphant main theme as a testament to the magnitude of God’s glory and majesty.

The solo trumpet introduction is a reference to the “trumpet of heaven” which is mentioned several times in the Bible, including New Testament names loud trumpet, last trumpet, trumpet of God, and seven trumpets. The solo trumpet calls us to attention and its melody references the main theme we will soon hear throughout the piece.

The choir, harp, strings, organ, and woodwinds all sing together with long notes and a majestic melody to continue part two of the introduction. These sounds all have a sense of wonder, awe, and worship of God as the prelude to a glorious voyage. He is God of the universe, God of the cosmos, and worthy of our worship. “Look at the splendor of your skies, your creative genius glowing in the heavens. When I gaze at your moon and your stars, mounted like jewels in their settings, I know you are the fascinating artist who fashioned it all!” (verse 3).

At 1:30 in the song there is a secondary theme verse which repeats before the main theme appears. This secondary theme is singing the words “streams from the heavens” with notes that become a set up melody for the main theme melody. About thirty seconds later the main theme is finally introduced in its majesty with piano and orchestra. It is repeated once here and begins to build. I wanted to create a desire to hear this played again soon, even multiple times, to take it in fully over and over. The main theme pauses at the 2:31 mark, and the secondary theme verse appears a second time with new variations in instruments and percussion rhythms. This thirty second time window opens up the song, and increases the energy and anticipation for the main theme chorus to return soon.

At 3:00 the main theme reappears and is now bigger in instrumentation. Then it repeats a second time and is even bigger, and a third that is still bigger. The fourth and final presentation is the biggest of all. Each one of these four playings stretches out the song to get lost in the moment, for it to seem longer and grander with each listening. The trumpet from the introduction appears and grows to its full glory in the final repeat. As I experimented with endings, it was fitting to let the chorus carry the day to the finish, for God’s glory and majesty to be at the forefront as the song sends us on our way. I pray this track lifts your spirit and encourages you that you are seen and loved by your heavenly Father who is full of glory and majesty… “from the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise.” (Psalm 8:2, NIV).

How does Streams from the Heavens speak to you?

Psalm 8 (Passion) — STREAMS FROM THE HEAVENS

God’s Splendor, For the Pure and Shining One Set to the melody of “For the Feast of Harvest” by King David

God’s Majesty

1 Yahweh, our Sovereign God, your glory streams from the heavens above, filling the earth with the majesty of your name! 2 You have built a stronghold by the songs of children. Strength rises up with the chorus of infants. This kind of praise has power to shut Satan’s mouth. Childlike worship will silence the madness of those who oppose you.

Human Dignity

3 Look at the splendor of your skies, your creative genius glowing in the heavens. When I gaze at your moon and your stars, mounted like jewels in their settings, I know you are the fascinating artist who fashioned it all! 4 Why would you bother with puny, mortal man or care about human beings? 5 Yet what honor you have given to men, created only a little lower than Elohim, crowned with glory and magnificence. 6 You have delegated to them rulership over all you have made, with everything under their authority, placing earth itself under the feet of your image-bearers. 7-8 All the created order and every living thing of the earth, sky, and sea — the wildest beasts and all that move in the paths of the sea — everything is in submission to Adam’s sons. 9 Yahweh, our Sovereign God, your glory streams from the heavens above, filling the earth with the majesty of your name! People everywhere see your splendor!