Seek Me When I Wander
Dedicated to Steven Loomis
Luke 15:3-7
Preview:
| Choral score: | $25.00 US | |
| Accompaniment track: | $10.00 US |
Now and then I get to know someone well enough to write – really write – them into a song. Steve is one of those people, not just because he’s a great friend but also because his interests are so apparent. His vocational interest is in computers, and so his career is already established in that field.
Therefore, his interest is written into his song. The first word of each phrase in the chorus, “Seek… find… search… clear… put… set… draw…,” and the bridge, “protect… save… carry… hold…” are all computer terms. In addition, the first and fifth syllables of each verse, “Forgetting, I transgress…” and Passing up Your call…” form the names of computer languages.
The message of this song is the cry of a child of God who has lost his way and understands that he needs help to return home. The upwardly-addressed pleas in the text make the point very clearly.
The accompaniment is also interesting. Among other things, the introduction contains some wonderful parallel sevenths which were unplanned, but which sounded so nicely that it would have been a travesty to remove them.
Forgetting, I trangress against You,
I turn my heart away from Your command,
and when I quench the fire of Your Spirit’s leading flame,
A walk a desert path across a barren land.
Seek me when I wander, find me when I stray,
Search me out and lead me to the homeward way,
Clear the dark around me, put my doubt to flight,
Set Your hand upon me and draw me to Your light.
Passing up Your call upon my life,
I choose a freedom that enslaves,
And when I think I’m master and captain of my ship,
I find myself adrift on swelling ocean waves.
Protect me, Lord, and rescue me from harm,
Save me from the terrors of the storm,
Carry me to shelter in Your loving arms,
Hold me in Your embrace strong and warm.
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