When I choose choral music for Sunday, something that I always search for, is a compelling text and a well-crafted melody. Today’s offertory is a good example of an anthem that fits the bill.  My Spirit Longs for Thee, a text by John Byrom and music by Simon Lole, is a fine specimen of elegance and understated beauty.  Simon Lole is an English composer, organist, arranger, and broadcaster. He has held several prestigious organist’s posts, including a stint at Salisbury Cathedral (1997­–2005). I am a fan of his compositions. He has a gift of writing beautiful and tuneful melodies. That’s part of the reason why I chose to program it today.

This music is easy to understand. It’s easy to hear, and it’s simple, but not simplistic. The music peaks where the words peak, and the melody always helps the words find a place in the heart of the listener. Essentially, the melody and harmony help to unpack the meaning of the words, tenderly, and subtly. All artforms do that – they unpack meaning. This music sets you at ease, helps draw you inward in prayer, and gives you an awareness of God’s abiding love.

There’s one more interesting thing to ponder in the beauty of this anthem. John Byrom (1692­–1763), the author of the text, was not only a hymn writer, but the inventor and perfector of the system of shorthand. I suppose it’s a lost art, but it’s a way of quickly taking down dictation, or speeding up the process of writing longhand. Byrom essentially simplified words and letters, just like Simon Lole simplifies words by using melodies that are easy to hear and to understand. Incidentally, Byrom’s system of shorthand was posthumously published, and it was used by John and Charles Wesley, who recorded their self-examinations in coded diaries.

Good art always helps you make sense of the world. When it’s done simply, and elegantly, even better. If the music and words that you hear in the offertory this morning help you understand how to know God’s love in your life, then I’m happy that we’ve pointed you to the way.  Sometimes the message gets lost in our busy lives; but we just need a gentle nudge, a shorthand reminder that it’s not that complicated. Soli deo Gloria!