When it Seems…

Another song I might record one day:

When it Seems…

When your nation’s soul is crumbling
As its purpose slowly dies;
A man of principle can’t find
A sight to soothe his eyes.

All around are trace reminders
Of the way things used to be
When honour, fortitude and trust
Were found abundantly.

Now the enemy is laughing
And his power seems secure,
Your allies are collapsing
And it seems you can’t endure:

There’s a hope that will never fail
There’s a power that’s above the sky,
You are part of a wondrous tale
Of love that simply will not die.

When the sickness overwhelms you
And your body’s wracked with pain;
The strength that always got you through
Has been completely drained,

There’s a truth that keeps you going
Through the fury of the storm;
There’s a kindness overflowing
That will all these woes transform

Into scars of pride and glory
In the kingdom that’s to come
As we witness the full story
Of the Father and the Son:

There’s a hope that will never fail
There’s a power that’s above the sky,
You are part of a wondrous tale
Of love that simply will not die.

Eternal Perspective

When the universe was filled with light and time itself began
The Lord of All already had in mind his wondrous plan,
Knowing we would fail Him and wreck the world with sin,
He went ahead and made a way to welcome us back in,

Through His painful sacrifice to take what we deserve,
And lead us by example to be humble and to serve,
To live a life that’s worthy of the light he calls us to,
That he will fill with strength enough to always get us through

The trials, tears, and obstacles the world will send our way,
To struggle on with hope that guides us when we fall and stray,
Knowing there are times when we must simply cling and pray
To His faithful promise that will come with break of day.

He knows our past, our future, and with His eternal eyes
Still sees us as worth the effort, to Him we’re still a prize
That He treasures more than all the heartache and the pain
We cause Him with the bitterness, spite and pure disdain

We show Him in our daily lives and petty selfish goals,
Chasing after vanities, forsaking our true roles,
Choosing fleeting pleasures instead of heaven’s treasures;
Despite all this, eternal bliss still calls upon our souls.

So turn your face and aim your heart towards the highest good,
Tread the narrow steps upon which nobler feet have stood;
Turn away from greed, help those around in need,
Then you’ll give the world a taste of heaven’s brotherhood.

The Angels Roar

(to the tune of “You Raise Me Up” by Rolf Løvland/Brendan Graham)

The Angels Roar

The angels roar in triumph at Your victory,
They stand astounded at Your wondrous plan;
Your glory far outweighs all our sufferings,
Your beauty lifts our hearts with hope again.

Your promises are surer than the mountains,
The path to you is hard but worth each step;
You give us strength to walk on through the deepest pain
Your gift of life is mightier than death.

So when our days are full of heavy burdens,
When it seems the darkness never ends,
There’s one thing of which we can be certain:
We have in You the greatest of all friends.

The world is lost and drowning in its hubris,
Devoid of kindness, bitter to its core,
So deserving of consignment to the abyss,
And yet you came to offer so much more.

The angels roar in triumph at Your victory,
They stand astounded at Your wondrous plan;
Your glory far outweighs all our sufferings,
Your beauty lifts our hearts with hope again.


Image by <a href=”https://pixabay.com/users/Lancios-7858119/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=4361856″>Maurizio Lanciotti</a> from <a href=”https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=4361856″>Pixabay</a&gt;

Improving on a Perfect Day

An impossible burden is bearable,
an obstinate obstacle moved;
a sorrow is shortened and lightened,
a perfect day is improved;

the briefest sweet moment’s eternal,
transient joy multiplied;
you’ll not stay down when you’ve fallen,
you’ll quickly get back in your stride;

a difficult journey’s adventurous,
defeat is not always the end;
mistakes are things you will learn from,
you’ll turn round that negative trend;

an evil is simpler to bring down,
likewise a village defend;
battle scars heal so much cleaner
when all these are shared with a friend.

Restraint

The most innocent of all of us was ruthlessly betrayed
Publicly humiliated, tortured, torn and flayed
Forced up a hill to be upon it gruesomely displayed,
Yet most distressing was the message that this act conveyed.

It wasn’t because he was weak that this could all occur,
In fact he with this horrifying treatment did concur;
He had a throng of angels at his very back and call,
Yet told them to stand down and let him undergo it all.

Even when abandoned by his closest friends and kin,
Even when guards beat and mocked him with malicious grins,
Even when the shards of bone dug deep well past his skin,
Even when they laid him down and drove the nails in,

Even when exposed for hours in the burning sun,
Even when it looked as if his work had been undone,
Even when the powerful sneered and hurled insults his way,
Even when his loving Father had to look away,

He accepted every injury, permitted every slight,
Submitted to each sinful man’s full rage against the light.
Not once did he protest or use his ample lordly might,
Since this was how he paid the price so things could be put right.

Different Eyes

This is one of the first songs I ever wrote, with a very simple haunting guitar accompaniment (stretching my very poor guitar skills to the limit). I was sure I had it written down somewhere but couldn’t find it, so have reconstructed it from what I remember. It is about Good Friday, which is today. If I can get them finished in time, I hope to have a poem about Easter Saturday up tomorrow, and one about Easter Sunday the day after, we’ll see how that goes. Continue reading