Scriptures I Love - Liner Notes & Lyrics

This collection of songs represents nearly three years of work, from choosing the verses around which to build songs to writing the music to recording each part to mixing and mastering to final publication. Though it has taken a long time, it has been an enjoyable and joyous process. While each passage of scripture was already dear to me, I often reached a new level of appreciation for a passage while working on a song, and on a few occasions, I found myself shedding tears of amazement and gratitude at God’s beautiful nature and character, and His faithful promises. Truly, God is amazing, wonderful, powerful, and personal.

Some people prefer lots of instruments in songs (drums, bass, numerous guitars, etc.). Others prefer more simple instrumentation. Or a person may prefer one song with less and another with more. For this reason, I decided to release these songs both ways, a fully "produced" version with sometimes lots of instruments and a simpler version with only the base instrument and the lead vocal. I would enjoy hearing which you prefer for which songs. 

It has been humbling to recognize that every facet of this project, from the lyrics to the initial musical ideas, to the more fleshed out ideas, to every accent and adjustment that I made; were all given by God. Before every session, I prayed, asking the Lord to bless it and to give me ideas. He never failed to deliver, sometimes in quite surprising stylistic ways.

My prayer throughout each phase of this project has been, first and foremost, that God be pleased with it and glorified by it; and second, that God’s people, His Church, would be blessed, edified, and encouraged by it. That remains my prayer today, as I release this work from my hands into the ears of others.

Braden McDonald

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

September, 2024


Braden welcomes contact from listeners via contact@lastlamb.com.


Credits:

Written, performed, recorded, mixed, mastered, and produced by Braden McDonald

Production assistance by Brent McDonald

©℗ 2024 Braden McDonald / Last Lamb Music (BMI)


Songs:

(1) I Sought the Lord
(2) But As For Me
(3) If a Man Keeps Himself
(4) At One Time
(5) I Will Ponder the Way
(6) We Know That

(7) No One Will Be Able

(8) Those Who Live

(9) Why Spend Money

(10) If You Have Any

(11) In the Past

(12) Praise Be To You


Lyrics:

(1) Psalm 34:4-11 (ESV)

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me
    and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant,
    and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
    and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps
    around those who fear him, and delivers them.

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
    Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
    for those who fear him have no lack!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

11 Come, O children, listen to me;
    I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

 

(2) Psalm 59: 16-17 (NASB), Psalm 68:19 (NIV), Psalm 107:8-9 (NKJV)

16 But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength;
Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For You have been my stronghold
And a refuge in the day of my distress.
17 O my strength, I will sing praises to You;
For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.

19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
    who daily bears our burdens.

8 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.

 

(3) 2 Timothy 2:21 (Phillips), 2 Timothy 2:24-25 (NKJV) & (NIV); Psalm 86:11 (NIV)

21 If a man keeps himself clean from the contaminations of evil, he will be a vessel used for honorable purposes, dedicated and serviceable for the use of the master of the household, all ready, in fact, for any good purpose.

24 And the Lord’s slave must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who oppose, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.

11 Teach me your way, O LORD, I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

 

(4) Titus 3:3-7 (NIV)

3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

 

(5) Psalm 101:2 (ESV), Psalm 84:5 (NIV); Lamentations 3:25 (ESV); Psalm 63:3-5 (NKJV) & (NIV)

2 I will ponder the way that is blameless.

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
    to the soul who seeks him.

3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips will praise You.
4 Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods,
And my mouth will praise You with joyful lips.

 

(6) Romans 6:9-12 (NIV) & (NKJV); Nahum 1:3, 7 (ESV)

9 We know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, reckon yourselves also dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.

3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
    and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.
His way is in whirlwind and storm,
    and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

7 The Lord is good,
    a stronghold in the day of trouble;
he knows those who take refuge in him.

 

(7) Joshua 1:5, 9 (NIV); 2 Peter 1:3-4 (NIV) & (NKJV)

5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. … I will never leave you nor forsake you.

 

9 …Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, according to the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 by these he has given us great and precious promises, so that through them we may partake of the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world through lust.


(8) Romans 8:5-13 (ESV)

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

 

(9) Colossians 3:1-3 (ESV); Isaiah 55:2 (NIV), Isaiah 58:11 (NIV); Hosea 14:8 (NLT); Romans 15:13 (NIV)

2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
    and you will delight in the richest of fare.

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

8 O Israel, stay away from idols!
    I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you.
I am like a tree that is always green;
    all your fruit comes from me.

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

(10) Philippians 2:1-4 (NIV); Galatians 5:22-24 (ESV)

1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

 

(11) Hebrews 1:1-3a (NIV) & (NKJV); Colossians 2:9-10a (NIV), Colossians 1:15-17 (NIV)

1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by the word of his power.

9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.

15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

 

(12) 1 Chronicles 29:10-13 (NIV)

10 …“Praise be to you, Lord,
    the God of our father Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.
11 Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power
    and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
    for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
    you are exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor come from you;
    you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
    to exalt and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
    and praise your glorious name.

 

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (Phillips) are taken from The New Testament in Modern English, copyright © 1958, 1959, 1960 J.B. Phillips and 1947, 1952, 1955, 1957 The Macmillian Company, New York. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.