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.