Many well-known Christian hymns are inspired by the Word of
God, and combined with music creates a powerful worship offering to God. That’s
what Crouch did.
Andraé Crouch is a name
most of us our familiar with. He was born in 1942 to Benjamin and Catherine
Crouch. His father was a minister in the Church of God in Christ and
pastored Christ Memorial Church of God in Christ in Pacoima, California. When
he was young, Crouch's parents owned and operated Crouch Cleaners, a
dry-cleaning business, as well as a restaurant business in Los Angeles,
California. In addition to running the family's businesses, Crouch's
parents also had a Christian street-preaching ministry and a hospital and
prison ministry.
When Crouch was 11, his father was invited to speak for
several weeks at a small church as a guest preacher. Crouch's father and the
church's congregation encouraged the young boy to play during the services. At
the piano, Crouch found the key in which the congregation was singing and
started to play. After this, Crouch honed his piano-playing skills and, in
time, wanted to write his own music. When he was 14 years old, he wrote his
first Gospel song.
Crouch went on to sing, write and record hymns sung by many
today, including “My Tribute,” and “Through It All.” He served as senior pastor
of the church founded by his parents and died in 2015 at age 72 following a
heart attack.
Crouch was an incredible, well-recognized influence in
gospel music. Among other honors, he won seven Grammy’s, six Dove Awards, an
Oscar nomination, inclusion in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. Crouch’s musical talent graced movies like “The
Color Purple” and “The Lion King.” He was a musical channel for
worship within the church and a bridge for Christ outside the church walls.
King David, in the second verse of Psalm 103, lists many benefits
including forgiveness for sin, healing from disease, redemption from
hell, love, mercy, goodness, and renewal of our youth “like the eagle’s.” David
praises God for working righteousness and justice for all the oppressed, making
Himself known, extending merciful grace, and remaining slow to anger and
steadfast in love. From this psalm, we understand that God removes our sins
from us as far as the east is from the west and that God is compassionate to us
as a father shows compassion to his children.
King David reflects on the fleeting nature of a single life.
Our “days are like grass” compared to God’s steadfast love that endures from “everlasting
to everlasting” and a righteousness that extends to the next generation. Psalm
103 is one of the much-loved Old Testament psalms about God's love and
compassion for his people.
Biblehub.com, Matthew Poole’s Commentary: Let us get and hold fast that gracious temper of soul, whereby they are made true, wise, believing, loving, humble, and obedient subjects to the laws of this Kingdom, and manifest it by worshipping, serving and walking with God in this world.
Studylight.org, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible: Blessed in every respect; his lot is a happy one; happy in Thy friendship; happy in being permitted to worship Thee; happy in the blessings which religion scatters along his path here; happy in Thy sustaining grace in times of trial; happy in the support given in the hour of death; happy in the eternity to which he is going. Oh, that all men would try it, and experience in their own souls the happiness - the real, genuine, deep, permanent joy - of trusting in God; of believing that there is a God; of confiding in His character; of leaning on Him in every situation in life; of relying on His mercy, His grace, and His faithfulness, in the hour of death!
Gill’s Exposition of the Whole Bible: Great things in creation, the nature and causes of which lie greatly out of the reach of man; and which he rather guesses at than knows, and still less comprehends. Great things in providence; in sustaining all creatures and providing for them; and in the government of the world, and in His dispensations in it; His judgments being unsearchable, and His ways past finding out: and great things in grace; as the salvation of sinners by Christ, and the conversion of their souls by His Spirit; and even what is known of them is known but in part and very imperfectly.
Enduringword.com, David Guzik: Elihu felt that Job needed a good dose of the greatness of God. It was good advice wrongly applied to Job’s situation. Elihu did rightly understand that the mighty sound of thunder seems to man to be the voice of God. “Nor is there a sound in nature more descriptive of, or more becoming, the Majesty of God, than that of thunder. We hear the breeze in its rustling, the rain in its pattering, the hail in its rattling, the wind in its hollow howlings, the cataract in its dash, the bull in his bellowing, the lion in his roar; but we hear God, the Almighty, the Omnipresent, in the continuous peal of thunder! This sound, and this sound only, becomes the majesty of Jehovah.” (Clarke) He does great things which we cannot comprehend: This is a repetition of Elihu’s theme that Job had transgressed the line that separates God and man, and that Job presumed to know more than he could or should know from God. In this, Elihu was partially correct.
Studylight.org, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible: In His work of creation; in His providence; in His manifested mercy toward His people. He had done things so great as to show that He could protect those who put their trust in Him.
Studylight.org, Gill’s Exposition of the Whole Bible: In nature, in forming the world out of nothing, and in upholding all creatures in their beings; in providence, in governing the world, and ordering all things in it for the best, and to answer the wisest purposes; in grace, in the salvation of lost sinners by Christ; in the justification of them by His righteousness; and in the atonement and pardon of their sins, through His blood and sacrifice; in the regeneration of them by His grace; in making and performing exceeding great and precious promises, and in giving them eternal life;
Enduringword.com, David Guzik: The psalmist considered the
greatness of God, first in that His righteousness was of a different
order than that of men, very high above that of men; and then, that
God is the one who has done great things, beyond what men can do. The
surpassing righteousness and power of God made him ask, O God,
who is like You?
