An Example Of "I Will Call Upon The Lord", The 1981 American Hymn That Inspired The Gospel Songs Entitled "Oh Magnify The Lord (For He Is Worthy To Be Praised)"

Cedarmont Kids, Sept. 23, 2015

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases a YouTube sound file of the 1981 praise hymn by Michael O'Shields entitled "I Will Call Upon The Lord". 

This post also showcases YouTube videos of two arrangements of the African American gospelized hymn "Oh Magnify The Lord (For He Is Worthy To Be Praised". Those arrangements and other arrangements of "Oh Magnify The Lord (For He Is Worthy To Be Praised) are based on Michael O'Shield's 1981 hymn. 

Information about Michael O'Shields is included in this post along with The lyrics for "I Will Call Upon The Lord" are included in this post. The basic lyrics for "Oh Magnify The Lord (For He His Worthy To Be Praised" are also included in this post. The tunes for these two songs are quite similar and some of their basic words are the same or vey similar.

The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Michael O'Shields, the composer of "I Will Call Upon The Lord", the source for or inspiration for the Gospel song "Oh Magnify The Lord (For He Is Worthy To Be Praised". 

Thanks to all those who are showcased in these videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube. 

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE HYMN "I WILL CALL UPON THE LORD"
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGfSEqIjWps&ab_channel=RixTillman (summary)

I Will Call Upon the Lord by Michael O'Shields (Tune: O'SHIELDS), published by Rix Tillman, June 14, 2019

"Written by Michael O'Shields in 1981 and this round/praise hymn is published in 16 hymnals. Michael O’Shields (1948- ) was a young minister traveling in Oklahoma and Texas in the 1970s. He was struggling to make ends meet, and it was especially tough when the contribution was pretty meager, so he was calling upon the Lord for very tangible, felt needs when he wrote “I Will Call Upon the Lord”. The song’s pace might make you think he was in a joyful, upbeat mood, but he was likely feeling the opposite deep down. Yet, O’Shields knew what to do – he used the words David wrote in Psalm 18 centuries earlier as praise to God when he had been saved from enemies."...
-snip-
My guess is that Michael O'Shields is a White American because there's no information about his race in the few online write-ups that I've found and "White" is usually considered to be the default for race in the USA and in other Western nations. (Needless to say, I believe that there shouldn't be any default races online or offline in multicultural societies.)
-snip- 
The hymn "I Will Call Upon The Lord" is based on three Biblical scriptures:

- Psalms 18:46- "The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted."

- Psalms 34:3 - "O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt HIS Name together." and

- 2 Samuel 22:4 - "I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies." Here's lyrics for this song from https://www.hymnlyrics.org/newlyrics_i/i_will_call_upon_the_lord.php "I will call upon the Lord, (I will call upon the Lord,)

Who is worthy to be praised, (Who is worthy to be praised)

So shall I be saved from mine enemies (So shall I be saved from mine enemies).

 
The Lord liveth, and blessed be the rock!

And may the God of my salvation be exalted!

The Lord liveth, and blessed be the rock!

And may the God of my salvation be exalted!"

-snip- Other lyrics are included in different arrangements of this song. -snip- Update: July 19, 2021: Here's some additional informtion about the song "I Will Call On The Lord" from https://thescottspot.wordpress.com/2016/11/12/i-will-call-upon-the-lord-written-in-1981/ "I WILL CALL UPON THE LORD"                                                    written in 1981

"The Story

Michael O’Shields (1948 – ) was a traveling Bible teacher in West Texas and Oklahoma. That is a lot of territory to cover, but the need to make a living and the meager offerings from his ministry required him to travel a lot.

His Bible studies were often conducted in homes, quite often in farmhouses in rural areas. People seemed to be hungry for good Bible teaching, and Michael was thrilled to be used by the Lord in this way, but he was newly married and he needed to bring home some money for groceries....

The long trips, though, gave Michael time to write some songs, which he sometimes introduced to those attending Bible studies. This song was one of those songs.

[...]

But this song served another purpose. It was intended to be sung with the men singing a line, and the women echoing that line. Some of the farmers to whom Michael introduced this song didn’t great singing voices, but Michael didn’t care. By having the men begin the song, they were taking leadership in worship. Soon this song became a favorite."...

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE GOSPEL SONG "O MAGNIFY THE LORD (FOR HE IS WORTHY TO BE PRAISED"

The song "O Magnify The Lord ("For He Is Worthy To Be Praised)" is an African American gospelized hymn that is based on (inspired by) Michael O'Shield's song "I Will Call Upon The Lord".  There are multiple arrangements of the Gospel song "O Magnify The Lord (For He Is Worthy To Be Praised". Many arrangements of this Gospel song include additional lyrics.

The basic lyrics for this Gospel song are:

"O magnify the Lord 

For He is worthy to be praised
O magnify the Lord
For He is worthy to be praised.

Hosannah! blessed be the Rock
Blessed be the Rock
Of my salvation.

Hosannah! blessed be the Rock
Blessed be the Rock
Of my salvation"
-snip-
All of these lyrics are sung in unison and are usually repeated in full a number of times. Additional lyrics may be added as verses.

Click https://www.google.com/search?q=jonathan+butler+o+magnify+the+lord+lyrics&oq=Jonathan+butler+oh+magnify+the+lord&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0i22i30l3j69i60l2.12851j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 for lyrics for an arrangement of this song that is sung by Jonathan Butler.

I don't know which Gospel singer or Gospel group was the first to perform this song and to record this song. However, I believe those performers were African American because that song has always been most closely associated with African Americans.

If you have information about this subject, please share it in the comment section below. 

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VIDEO #2: Ushers Day Celebration...and they Marched for Jesus

Brian Baker, May 3, 2010 Anointed One Ministries Ushers Day Celebration ... as the Ushers Strutted during offering. Services were held at Bethel AME Church in Cambridge, MD -snip- This video of an African American "Ushers Day" service shows ushers in a church procession during an "offering" (i.e. a collection of money to support the church and/or to support the usher's church ministry.) Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-history-and-purposes-of-african.html for a 2021 pancocojams post entitled "The History And Purposes Of African American Church Ushers (Video & Article Excerpts)". Other pancocojams post about African American church processions can be found by clicking that tag below.
**** VIDEO #3: "Oh Magnify the Lord Medley", Trinity Choir

Alfred Street Baptist Church, July 31, 2015 **** Thanks for visiting pancocojams. Visitor comments are welcome.