Category Archives: original worship songs

original worship songs.

Standing On the Promises Of God

Standing On the Promises Of God
©2018 Rough Harbor Music. Words by Russel Kelso Carter (1886) & Cameron Gray (2018). Music by Cameron Gray

Standing on the promises of Christ my King
Mountains will bow and the stones will sing
Let every nation their praises bring
Standing on the promises of God

Standing on the promises He spoke for me
Washed by His blood shed on Calvary
His tomb is empty and I am free
Standing on the promises of God

CHORUS:
Standing, O I am standing
Standing and I shall not be moved
Standing, O I am standing
Standing on the promises of God

Standing on the promises that cannot fail
Though storms of sin and fears assail
By the power of His Word I shall prevail
Standing on the promises of God

BRIDGE:
Oh, sweeter than honey
More precious than gold, pure gold
Oh, steadfast foundation
Standing on the solid rock of the Living Word

Standing on the promise of the Risen Lord
Come sons and daughters and weep no more
With all of Creation in one accord
Standing on the promises of God

Psalm 19:7-11

Psalm 22

Psalm 22
Words & Music by Cameron Gray © 2017 Rough Harbor Music

My God, my God,
Why have you forsaken me?
My God, my God,
Darkness overtaking me
My God, my God,
Dried up like shards of clay,
Poured out in tears by night,
Melted like wax by day

My God, my God,
Calling from the lion’s mouth,
My God, my God,
Scoffers mock and thieves surround,
My God, my God,
Saints before have trusted You,
But You have left me here,
And I am piercéd through

Oh God, my God, my—

My God, my God,
Why are You so far from me?
My God, my God,
Why have You abandoned me?
My God, my God,
You raised me from my mother’s womb
Now raise me up again,
Up from my lonesome tomb

Oh God, my God, my God, my God, my God.

God Has Spoken

God Has Spoken
Words © The Hymn Society, by George Wallace Briggs 1953, adapted by Cameron Gray, 2015. Music by Cameron Gray, 2015.

God has spoken by His prophets,
Spoken His unchanging Word,
Each from age to age proclaiming,
God, You are the righteous Lord!
In the world’s despair and turmoil,
One firm anchor holds us fast,
God is King and His throne is eternal,
God the first, and God the last!

God has spoken by Christ Jesus,
Christ the everlasting Son,
Brightness of the Father’s glory,
With the Father ever one,
Ransomed by the Word Incarnate,
Sinners saved by love so vast,
Christ the Lord over all is ascended,
God the first, and God the last!

God still speaks now by His Spirit,
Speaking to our hearts again,
By the ageless Word expounding
God’s own message, now as then,
Through the rise and fall of nations,
Every promise standing fast,
Spirit, lead us by Thy Word unchanging
God the first, and God the last!

A Refuge Strong And Sure (Psalter 46)

A Refuge Strong And Sure (Psalter 46)
Words: Psalter 46, God Is Our Refuge And Our Strength, arr Cameron Gray, 2015. Music: Cameron Gray ©2015 Rough Harbor Music

Be still and know that I am God
O’er all exalted high,
The subject nations of the earth
My Name shall magnify;
The Lord of Hosts is on our side,
Our safety to secure,
The God of Jacob is for us
A refuge strong and sure

REFRAIN:
I will be still,
I will be still

God is our refuge and our strength,
Our ever-present aid,
And therefore though the earth remove
We will not be afraid;
Though hills amidst the seas be cast,
Though foaming waters roar,
Yea, though the mighty billows shake
The mountains on the shore
(REFRAIN)

The nations raged, the kingdoms moved,
But when His voice was heard,
The troubled earth was stilled to peace,
Before His mighty word;
The Lord of Hosts is on our side,
Our safety to secure,
The God of Jacob is for us
A refuge strong and sure

The Lord of Hosts is on our side
Our safety to secure
The God of Jacob is for us
A refuge strong and sure
(REFRAIN)

—–

A river flows whose steams make glad
The city of our God,
The holy place wherein the Lord
Most high has His abode;
Since God is in the midst of her
Unmoved her walls shall stand,
For God will be her early help
When trouble is at hand

Scripture:
Psalm 46

Even In This Place

Even In This Place
Words & Music by Cameron Gray. ©2015 Rough Harbor Music

Where the stone breaks the plow,
Where the thorn chokes the wheat,
Where the sweat burns my brow,
Where there’s wolves among the sheep

PRE-CHORUS:
Even in this place,
Even in this place—

CHORUS A:
Our God is in this place,
Our God is in this place,
Emmanuel with the saints
Our God is here,
Even in this place.

In darkness deep, where sorrows low
Stack like stones ‘neath my head
Your Promise keeps where’re I go
A Kingdom calling in the wilderness
(PRE-CHORUS & CHORUS A)

CHORUS B:
Our God is in this place,
Our God is in this place,
Spirit, awaken the saints
Groaning creation awaits—

BRIDGE:
Daughters and sons bringing Your kingdom come,
Hope ringing true through the work that they do,
Righteousness reigns as they walk in Your way,
A City made glad will shout out on that Day—
(CHORUS)

Scripture:
Gen 28:10-17; Gen 3:17; Matt 13:7; Matt 7:15; Isaiah 7:14; Matt 1:23; Prov 11:10; Phil 2:12; 1 Peter 2:9; John 4:23-24; Matt 12:6; Eph 2:21; Rev 21:3; Psalm 46:4

A Work Song.
Christians are in the same situation as everybody: Our work is difficult and broken and frustrating—the same as everyone else. But with one huge difference—we are actually part of God’s solution to the brokenness of work.

One day He will return and make all things new, including work. But until that day comes, He has chosen to put His Spirit in us and send us out to sweat and to groan and to work alongside our neighbors. By His Spirit, we bring His presence with us into our broken workplaces, where He works in us and through us to multiply His goodness and to bear fruit for His kingdom.

Emmanuel means God With Us—even in the wilderness of our work.

Stand Up My Soul

Stand Up My Soul
©2014 Rough Harbor Music. Words by Isaac Watts. 1707. Music by Cameron Gray, 2014

Stand up, my soul, shake off thy fears,
And gird thy Gospel armor on,
March to the gates of endless joy,
Where thy great Captain-Savior’s gone.
Hell and thy sins resist thy course,
But hell and sin are vanquished foes;
My Jesus nailed them to the cross,
And sung the triumph when He rose.

What though the prince of darkness rage,
To waste the fury of his spite?
Eternal chains confine him down
To fiery deep and endless night.
What though thine inward lusts rebel?
’Tis but a struggling gasp for life;
The weapons of victorious grace
Shall slay thy sin, and end the strife.

CHORUS:
Stand up, my soul, shake off thy fears,
And gird thy Gospel armor on,
March to the gates of endless joy,
Where thy great Captain-Savior’s gone.

So let my soul march boldly on,
Press forward to the heav’nly gate;
There peace and joy eternal reign,
And glitt’ring robes for conqu’rors wait.
There shall I wear a starry crown,
And triumph in almighty grace,
While all the armies of the sky
Join in my glorious Captain’s praise.
(Chorus)

Psalm 13 (How Long, O Lord?)

Psalm 13 (How Long O Lord?)
©2014 Rough Harbor Music. Words & Music by Cameron Gray

How long, O Lord?
Will You hide Your face forever?
How long, O Lord?
Shall my enemy prevail?
How long, O Lord?
With sorrow in my heart,
How long, O Lord?
How long, O Lord?

How long, O Lord?
Look on me and answer,
How long, O Lord?
O God my Savior,
How long, O Lord?
Shall all my foes rejoice?
How long, O Lord?
How long, O Lord?
How long, O Lord?
How long, O Lord?

Yet I trust
In Your love,
Praise lift up,
For Your love.

Scripture:
Psalm 13

To Us A Child Of Hope Is Born

To Us A Child Of Hope Is Born
©2013 Rough Harbor Music. Words & Music by Cameron Gray, 2013 (based on John Mor­ris­on’s hymn, 1781).

To us a Child of hope is born,
To us a Son is giv’n,
Our praise His advent to adorn,
With all the host of heav’n;

For every valley shall be raised,
And every mount made low,
Prepare His path, make straight His way,
Salvation to make known

CHORUS:
Hosanna! His praise shall never cease
Hosanna! Hosanna, Prince of Peace

To us the King of kings has come,
His reign no end shall know,
Love the foundation of His throne,
Justice the cornerstone;

Almighty God, Immanuel,
The great and mighty LORD,
The Wonderful, the Counselor,
The Everlasting Word
(Chorus)

BRIDGE:
Through darkness deep, the brightest beam
of Heaven’s light has shown,
To bring us peace, He bore our grief,
His wounds have made us whole
(Chorus)

Scripture References:
Isaiah 9:6; Luke 2:13-20; Luke 3:4-6; Isaiah 40:3-5; John 12:13; Isaiah 9:7; Rev 19:16; Ps 106:48; Ps 89:14; Ps 97:2; Isaiah 7:14; John 1:1-2; Luke 1:78-79; Isaiah 53:4-6

Lead On, O King Eternal

Medley with “God of This City”:
mp3 | chart

Lead On, O King Eternal
Words by Ernest Shurtleff, 1887. Music & Chorus by Cameron Gray, 2014. ©2014 Rough Harbor Music.

Lead on, O King eternal,
The day of march has come;
Henceforth in fields of conquest
Your tents shall be our home.
Through days of preparation
The weak by grace made strong;
And now, O King eternal,
We lift our battle song.

CHORUS:
Lead on! Lead on, O King eternal
Lead on! Lead on, O King eternal

Lead on, O King eternal,
’Til sin’s fierce war shall cease,
And holiness shall whisper
The sweet Amen of peace.
For not with sword’s loud clashing,
Nor roll of stirring drums;
With deeds of love and mercy
Your heavenly kingdom comes.
(Chorus)

Lead on, O King eternal,
We follow, not with fears,
For gladness breaks like morning
Where’er Your face appears.
Your cross is lifted over us,
We journey in its light;
The crown awaits the conquest;
Lead on, O God of might.
(Chorus)

The Lord is Risen

The Lord is Risen
Words: Author Unknown, from Edward MacHugh’s Treasury of Gospel Hymns and Poems, 1938, altered and additional by Cameron Gray. Music by Cameron Gray ©2012 Rough Harbor Music

Sing, O my soul, this day of all days
Alleluia— the Lord is risen!
Toward the sunrise, with joy set thy face
Alleluia— the Lord is risen!
Behold! He giveth strength and grace;
For darkness, light; for mourning, praise,
For conflict, peace; For sin, His holiness,
Alleluia— the Lord is risen!

Rise, O my soul, and look to His face,
Alleluia— the Lord is risen!
Forsake the tomb of dark yesterdays,
Alleluia— the Lord is risen!
For thou from bondage art set free,
Thou sharest in His victory,
And fullest life is thine eternally,
Alleluia— the Lord is risen!

BRIDGE:
Rise, Arise! O my soul, arise!
My Jesus bids me rise, My Jesus bids me rise,
Cast off this shroud of doubt —Arise!
My sin is crucified, His righteousness is mine

Original Text:
Sing, soul of mine, this day of days,
The Lord is risen.
Toward the sun-rising set thy face,
The Lord is risen.
Behold He giveth strength and grace;
For darkness, light; for mourning, praise;
For sin, His holiness; for conflict, peace.

Arise, O soul, this Easter Day!
Forget the tomb of yesterday,
For thou from bondage art set free;
Thou sharest in His victory
And life eternal is for thee,
Because the Lord is risen.

-Author Unknown