Het lied "Eert God" = The Song "Honor God", 1966 - 1978

First published in 1966 by Gooi en Sicht in Psalmen en Gezangen - Psalms and Songs, this strophic song of praise went beyond a transliteration of rendition of the Gloria, but retained its hypostatic nature, though without adding a doxological epiklesis at the end. This is a pre-Nicean liturgical texty, before any dogma of Trinity introduced the Holy Spirit as a separate Person or entity into the liturgical canon.

Until Gooi en Sticht began publishing the Huijbers-Oosterhuis collections, the Amsterdam Werkgroep voor volkstaalliturgie - the Workgroup for Veranculary Liturgy formed in 1960 in the Igatious College Studenteneklesia printed songs as they appeared in hand-written manuscripts on their copy machines without assigning publication dates to them.

The text is minimal, and literal. It doesn't provoke the imagination. The words mean exatly what they say, no more, no less. Thomas Aquinas' 'doctrine of analogy' allows to us speak about the ineffable, using words which are themselves definitions and therefore of restrictive value. Their sounds evoke images which can be understood by all who share that common language. This is in keeping with the essence of the Bible, which is regarded as the words of God in human tongue. But other than that, they can go no further, and in some sense may be regarded as meaningless since the divine mystery is beyond comprehension and may not be contained in, or restricted by, vocabulary. The genius of the poet is daring to do the unthinkable by crafting texts whichmay shared by others, and which go beyond and behind the literal, to speak in that second language which is closer to intuition than to any known dictionary

While Hujbers wrote this piece in 3:4 tempo, already his thoughts were transcending measure lines, where syncopations would soon establish texts rhymns independently of music pulse. Scanning this piece would indicate the first and fifth measures as being in 4:4 tempo, while the second and sixth in 2:4. However, the tension os preserved by honoring 3:4 thoughout. - Tony Barr