Land of the Living
Psalm 16:5-6
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
Psalm 27:13
I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living!
What is the inspiration or story behind the song?
For seven years I was on staff as an Intercessory Worship Leader at New Haven House of Prayer. One of the worship sets we would lead was called “Worship with the Word.” We would take a passage or passages from the word, read through them, pray through them, and then responsively/spontaneously sing through them. It’s like a singing seminary. You spent two straight hours singing and praying through a passage of scripture. You’re meditating, reflecting, and creating. It is a really beautiful expression.
My team went through a season of singing through these two particular Psalms, and we landed on SEVERAL different choruses, but there was something about this one that always resonated with people. Props to my Chorus Leader for all those years, Rachel Paulding. She sang this chorus one Tuesday night, and we never let it go.
I remember everyone telling me, “Please write that one into a song.” After a few weeks I went home one day, sat down with the intent to write a song around this chorus, and 15 minutes later I was done. This is why songwriting makes no sense. Psalm 16 (At Your right hand) took me a decade to write. Land of the Living, 15 minutes.
Is there a particularly meaningful portion of the song that really conveys the message you hope to get out?
The main thing about this song that I hope people grab onto when they are singing it is that they are essentially singing the scriptures back to the Lord.
You are my portion Lord / You are my great reward (Psalm 16)
The lines have been drawn for me in pleasant symmetry (Psalm 16)
Surely, I will look unto You and sing, my lot is full of Your beauty (Psalm 16)
In the Land of the living (Psalm 27)
You are my portion You are my cup (Psalm 16)
To me, there is nothing more beautiful than singing God’s word. What better lyrics do you need? As songwriters, a lot of times we get in our own way. We are trying to write something trendy, clever, or new when in reality God’s word is always fresh, always relevant, and always new. There are endless expressions found in the Word of God, and I have to believe that our Heavenly Father finds great delight in us singing His truth back to Him.
Why does Waypoint sing this song?
Land of the Living is one of many staple opening songs we sing here at Waypoint. The declarations in this song cause us to begin our service with thinking about how God impacts in our day to day lives. It also strongly reminds us that all we need is Him. We can search over and over and over trying to find ways to be satisfied outside of Christ, but Land of the Living causes us to remember and reflect upon the truth that God alone satisfies. The song gives poetic expression of our inward desire to live knowing that God is our inheritance, in whom we lack NOTHING.
As we think on such things, PRAISE rises in our hearts and our voices as we sing lyrics like…You are my portion, You are my cup, You are my reward! He truly fills our hearts and mouths with joy and praise as we respond to him with these profound truths.
Land of the Living
by Ronald Metting and Rachel Paulding
You are my portion Lord
You are my great reward
The lines have been drawn for me
In pleasant symmetry
Surely, I will look unto you and sing
My lot is full of Your beauty
In the land of the living
You are my portion
You are my cup
(4X)
You are my reward
All my days I will live to praise
Cause You are my great reward
You are my portion Lord