Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.
(Ps 57:11)
Any song where God is exalted – that is, He is lifted up in praise by His people – is always going to be a song expressing my heart. One of my favourite worship songs from my early years as a believer is the song ‘Be Exalted O God’, by Brent Chambers. When sung from the heart – that is, when you mean the words you are singing – then God is indeed lifted up; how much more so, then, when eight thousand people in a giant cattle shed in Harrogate are using the song to lift up the Name of the Lord in worship! I’m talking, of course, about the Dales Bible Week…so here, then, is the 1979 Dales congregation singing this gorgeous song. I know the song sounds dated, but if you simply let your heart be lifted up by the worship, and in your turn lift up Jesus in your heart, the Spirit will make the song as fresh as the day it was written.
I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord among the people
I will sing praises to Thee among the nations
For Thy steadfast love is great, is great to the heavens
And Thy faithfulness, Thy faithfulness to the clouds
Be exalted O God above the heavens
Let Thy glory be over all the earth
Be exalted O God above the heavens
Let Thy glory be over all the earth
Track features Ian Frost on piano and David Matthew on the Hammond organ with twin Leslie speakers. David tells me that playing that organ was the musical equivalent of driving a tank; great fun! And a great sound too.
The track, along with all the other tracks from the original tape from the 1979 Dales Week, Songs of Triumph, can be found on my digitisation of the tape, by clicking the image of the cassette inlay card below.
Other songs from this era of worship can also be found at my website, Vintage Worship Tapes.
What a joy it was/(is) to be one of a group of worshippers and not just another ‘groupie’
My wife Pat went to the Dales bible weeks a few years later.