Advent IV: God Has Done Great Things for Me
My Soul Gives Glory to My God
God Has Done Great Things
In theologian James Cone’s Spirituals and the Blues, he articulates how Spirituals and Black music that emerged out of the oppression of slavery are part of a living legacy of liberation. Rather than treat them as musical or historical artifacts, he sees them as a powerful affirmation of God-given dignity and creativity in the midst of inhumane treatment and systemic oppression.
“The spirituals are songs about black soul, “stretching out into the outskirts of God’s eternity” and affirming the divine reality which lets you know that you are a human being - no matter what white people say. Through the song, black people were able to affirm that Spirit who was continuous with their existence as free beings; and they created a new style of religious worship. They shouted and they prayed; they preached and they sang, because they had found something. They encountered a new reality; a new God not enshrined in white churches and religious gatherings.”
While Gospel music was a later musical development, it still carries the liberating spiritual DNA of Spirituals and the Blues.
The decision to pair this Gospel song with the Magnificat may seem straightforward, as the lyrics literally echo Luke 1:49: “for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” But if we look deeper we may find another resonance between Mary’s prophetic words (sung by a woman from a rural village in a country occupied by the Romans) and other marginalized or oppressed communities who have discovered the power of song to affirm or reclaim their God-given dignity.
In the context of Black Church worship, songs like this can be understood as an offering of praise as well as a form of creative spiritual resistance that has helped build resilience in face of systemic racism, Jim/Jane Crow-ism, and mass incarceration. The music gains power from repetition (sing it until you believe it), from textual improvisation that allows past and current circumstances to be named, and from a communal, embodied performance practice. And while the language of many Gospel songs is decidedly first person (me/I), there is a “we” within the me. The song is not just for the benefit of one person but includes all present.
In the interests of creating a more inclusive setting, I changed the masculine pronoun in the original song to “God.” But in faith communities exploring intersectional, expansive language, I have varied the pronouns to include “He,” “She,” and “They.”
Shirley M.K. Berkeley (b. 1929) is a distinguished pianist, choral conductor, and composer from Washington, D.C. She began playing piano for churches at a young age and then began directing choirs. She eventually became the director of the D.C. chapter of the Gospel Music Workshop, a national network of musicians who performed and recorded with James Cleveland, the driving force behind modern Gospel choral music.
Berkeley is the Minister of Music emeritus at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden and her compositions are included in five hymnals. She remains active on the board of the Gospel Music Workshop of America and records and directs choirs around the Washington, D.C. area.
Here is a recording of the song as it appears in the African American Heritage Hymnal.
Here’s a variation in more of a funk style by Gospel singer Jessy Dixon, showing the adaptability of this song (and so many others in this tradition) to a variety of tempos, musical styles, and contexts. Also notice the dynamic relationship between the soloist and the choir.