For those of you who might be interested in a foretaste of the Valley of Vision CD we’re releasing in August, you can listen to a few samples and watch a video trailer here. To download the trailer, don’t worry about choosing the format. Just click on the picture frame.
Here’s a portion of what I wrote on the website:
Someone might ask, "Why produce a CD inspired by the prayers of a bunch of dead guys?" That’s an easy one. Puritans like John Bunyan, Thomas Watson, Richard Baxter, and Isaac Watts knew their hearts, their Bibles, and their God much better than we do. Many of them wrote down their prayers not to be published, but to assess their own spiritual growth and to encourage themselves in times of spiritual dryness. These prayers reveal a personal, humble, passionate relationship with an awesome God, a living Savior, and an active Spirit. Reading their meditations inspires us to pursue the same level of reality as we worship God.
The songs on Valley of Vision draw from these prayers at various levels and in various ways. Some use a few phrases from a specific prayer, others develop a particular idea, and a few try to capture the original flow of thought, using many of the original words.
We ended up using six different songwriters on the project, although we received submissions from many more. Most of the songs were started or submitted at a songwriter’s retreat we held back in January. I sent out a letter saying that we were looking for songs inspired by prayers from the Valley of Vision, and we ended up reviewing about 30.
After I posted news of this project, someone e-mailed me that they had been thinking along similar lines. They may be releasing a CD that’s more classically influenced. I wrote back to them:
I think what you’re describing would be an excellent addition to projects based on the Valley of Vision. From my perspective, we can’t have too many. God has used that little green book (now beaten up and battered…) in my life for years to give me a clearer understanding of my sin, the Gospel, my glorious Savior, his sovereignty, and the power of His Spirit at work in my life.
Lord willing, we’ll release Valley of Vision in August at our WorshipGod conference.
