Kingdom Rising by Seth Davey
While reflecting on the Parables of Christ during the last three years of writing devotionals for a monthly magazine, the realization of God's miraculous work in the often mundane, commonplace aspects of our lives of faith, a work that, just like the mustard seed in our Lord's parable, seems invisible at times, trampled on underfoot, rooting and sprouting and spreading in spiritual ways that are too high for our human eyes and at the same time too low, awakened new songs in my heart that needed sowing.
This earthy but expansive orchestration, full of cellos, violins and other stringed instruments, explores the wondrous paradoxical mystery of divine Incarnation into the crevices of our common lives. To speak of Incarnation is to speak of the singular, most epi-central event in human history upon which all other moments hinge, yet it also provides a symbol for the manner in which God continues to meet us. To think that the most Heavenly work has always been an earthly one! That the Hands holding the universe in place are calloused hands--the hands of a Sower as it were--sowing into the sin-cursed soil of our human existence a Seed of Redemption: Himself.
Ah, now there's a thought worth singing for all eternity!
Tracklist
| 1. | Prelude (a planting) | 1:21 |
| 2. | Love is the Higher Law | 4:47 |
| 3. | The Sower | 4:08 |
| 4. | In the Hearts of the Small | 4:48 |
| 5. | Broken, Beautiful | 3:14 |
| 6. | Fingerprints | 3:26 |
| 7. | To Be More Like You | 3:49 |
| 8. | Altars | 4:06 |
| 9. | Processions | 4:25 |
| 10. | Paradise in a Paradox | 6:56 |
| 11. | The Seed | 4:42 |
| 12. | Kingdom Rising | 7:47 |
Credits
Mixed and mastered by Andrew McLeod.
A special thank you to my jack-of-all-trades friend, Andrew McLeod, for excellent work as studio engineer/producer (mixing and mastering), as well as his stellar performance on drums, bass, and guitars throughout the album that have given 'Kingdom Rising' added dimensionality.
Thank you also to these special individuals who made Kingdom Rising possible:
Bill Stevens and Evan Richey at Ovation Sound in Winston Salem for letting me use the beautiful Bosendorfer grand piano.
Al Jacob at Warrior Sound Studio in Chapel Hill for stellar drum editing/mixing and for getting this project up and running by mixing and mastering the demo version of Love is the Higher Law.
Jeremy Fisher (guitars on 'Love is the Higher Law' and 'Broken, Beautiful'), Andy Brewster (violin on 'Altars'), Anna McLeod (violin on 'In the Hearts of the Small'), for adding their own unique strokes and strums to the arrangement.
My loving bride, Megan, for sacrificially striving with me throughout the production of this album (even while pregnant and raising two precious children) and encouraging me to press on, especially on those occasions when I felt like throwing in the towel. I love you with all my heart!
And King Jesus, the Sower and Seed of that ever rising, ever flourishing, ever enduring garden called redemption.
License
All rights reserved.
I'm a Christian songwriter and storyteller, inviting you to join me over at biblicalmeditationsbysethdavey.substack.com for a poetic, philosophic, and photographic plunge into the depths of Redemption's story, starting at the beginning.