They tell me an ancestor, William C. Kirkland, came over to the United States from Scotland in 1805. Perhaps that explains why I have suddely written a Scottish-sounding song.
My desire was to write a worship song using the names of Jesus found in scripture as well as talking about the redemption. It is a tremendous blessing that this lyric is so full of phrases from scripture.
The lyric was originally written for another tune, one that could not be remembered after the lapse of time it took to get it written down, therefore, this tune was written to fit the lyric. This melody is much more majestic and fitting for the lyric anyway, so all things worked together for good.
It is intended that this piece be done with a worship band consisting of a synthesizer, guitars, and drum. Real strings and an oboe or bagpipe would be a wonderful substitute for the synthesizer. It could also be done with just guitar, but the transition leads from the key of D into the key of F for the last stanza. The key of F being among the most hated by guitar players, it may be best, if done with just guitar, to cut out the transition and do all three stanzas in D. Capo 1 chords are included in the lead sheet for the last half of the transition and the third stanza in the key of E, but the trick will be to figure out when to put the capo on.
A harmony part is written for the third stanza that is in a good range for either tenors or altos, or both.
Transitioning to the key of F also makes the highest note of the melody an F, which is probably too high for a congregation. It may also be best in the case of congregational singing to leave out the transition and do all three stanzas in D.
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Jesus, Name of matchless worth,
You are Lord indeed,
Ruler of the universe,
Everything we need.
Jesus high above the earth,
Present here; we sing:
Jesus, Name of matchless worth,
Lord of everything.
Jesus, Name of matchless worth,
Humbly bled and died,
Then You rose up from the earth,
In beauty glorified.
As in Adam all men died,
So in You we live.
Jesus, Savior, crucified,
Praise to You we give.
King of Kings!
Lord of Lords!
Mighty God!
Counselor!
Prince of Peace!
Our best Friend!
Alpha, Omega!
Beginning and End!
Jesus, Name of matchless worth,
We give You all the praise,
Set Your throne upon the earth,
Our voices now we raise.
Jesus, high exalted One,
We humbly bring our song:
Jesus, You're the only one
To Whom our hearts belong.
Jesus, You're the only one
To Whom our hearts belong.
JESUS NAME OF MATCHLESS WORTH, worship song by Tom Kirkland, comes in a pdf file of 774K, with a six-page-page score and a two-page lead sheet, plus a license page, nine pages in all. Performance time should be about three minutes.