As We Gather

The Maranatha Singers' “As We Gather” is a short opening song for a church gathering. It asks for the Spirit's help in the room: “As we gather, may Your Spirit work within us, as we gather, may we glorify Your name.” The confidence in the next lines is that worship pays back the person who shows up, “we'll be blessed because we came,” repeated for emphasis.

The second half moves from the gathering to the reason for it, the faithfulness of God. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning.” The song closes on “Great is Thy faithfulness,” which echoes the hymn of the same name. With only a handful of lines, the piece works well as a call to worship, setting expectations before the rest of a service begins.

The middle lines come from Lamentations 3:22-23. The gathering to glorify God fits Psalm 100:4, which invites worshippers to enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.