This page is provided so that you can hear the tunes of items which we use in church. Mostly they are written by the vicar. Please note that they are copyright - we are very happy to give permission to you to use them, but we would like to hear about it. Please include any use on your Christian Copyright Licence returns.
Down this page:
- the words,
- the story,
- the sheet music,
- media player.
Balaam's song
How can I curse?
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How can I curse
those whom God has not cursed? Who can denounce those whom God has blessed first? | Numbers 23:8 |
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See how the Lord's people find rest:
in him they are eternally blessed. God is not man
| Numbers 23:19 |
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See how the Lord's people find rest:
in him they are eternally blessed. Beauty I see
| Numbers 24:5-6 |
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See how the Lord's people find rest:
in him they are eternally blessed. Blessings will flow
| Numbers 24:7 |
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See how the Lord's people find rest:
in him they are eternally blessed. I see a star
| Numbers 24:17 |
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See how the Lord's people find rest:
in him they are eternally blessed. We're insecure,
| Numbers 24:21-23 |
| Cleave to his Son who saves you from death. |
Words copyright © John Hartley 2006.
Suggested tune: Kenosis by Norman Warren.
Story behind the song
These words are a short attempt to put into meter the content of Balaam's words when Balak asked him (and later paid him) to curse Israel. Instead Balaam saw God's blessing on his people. He foresaw in the short term that Israel would conquer the land with God's help - but Christians have always interpreted the end of the prophecy (verse 5) as forseeing the coming of the Messiah, fulfilled in Christ who secures the eternal future for his people.
The suggested tune, Kenosis by Norman Warren, is one which is usually set to the words "Empty he came" (based on Phil 2:5-11) by Gavin Reid. The first part of it can be found on the web site of Jubilate Hymns at: www.jubilate.co.uk. For copyright reasons the tune is not displayed here, and the media player above is disabled.
John Hartley
Windows Media Player. When you click the left-hand "play" button your computer should have started to play the tune. If it didn't, you might be able to get the tune by clicking here, or by right-clicking the link, choosing "save target as", saving it onto your computer, and then opening it with a music-playing program.
Please remember that a midi file of a tune isn't supposed to be a state-of-the-art musical arrangement - it is only supposed to give a basic idea of how the tune goes. Any reasonable organist / keyboard player / music group could make it sound far better.