In the back of the book of Hiding Baby Moses is the notation for the song Moses’ mother sings as she and Miriam walk through the marketplace with Moses in a covered basket.

“The Shelter of God’s Wings” is an original song I wrote with some help from my husband. I wrote the words and the melody with the exception of one note that Marc thought could be changed. He added the guitar chords and background arrangement. In the Youtube “video,” that’s him playing the guitar.

In the original draft, Moses’ mother sang a few lines of Scripture from Genesis. My editor, Jeannette Larson, thought a refrain throughout would improve the story, so the few lines became a song focused on a main theme of the book–God’s protection.

I searched for verses in the Old Testament that spoke of that protection. Some beautiful verses came to light. Psalm 27:5 said, “he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent…set me high upon a rock.”

Psalm 91:4 says, “He will cover you with his feathers…under his wings you can hide.” I used these two verses as the inspiration for the first two lines of the song.

Isaiah 25:4 had two lovely lines that I used exactly as they stood: “a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat.” The last line brings the first two lines together.

God will hide us in the shelter of a rock.

God will shield with holy feathers, hide us ‘neath strong wings.

A refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat,

God will hide us in the shelter of strong wings.

Marc and I listened to some Hebraic songs to try and get a feel for what a song in that culture might sound like. Of course, Moses lived thousands of years ago. Who knows how much the music might have changed? But our hope is that the flavor of the song hits the right note for the modern reader.

Here’s a link to the song as we’ve recorded it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz50NugLtVs The notation is written in C minor, a key that should be better for most children’s voices. I sing it a few steps lower (A minor) because that is better for my vocal range. The guitar chords are easier to play if you capo it on the third fret and use the alternate chords. If you prefer to sing it lower, you can use these alternate chords without the capo or on a keyboard. (The notes on the staff would then be obsolete. Start instead on an A.)