God, Your mercy reaches inside Past the shadows, let there be light So what was blind can see again Open my eyes to what is hidden
For by the cross I stand as a testament You made a better life than the one I left And If I lose my way or if I forget You left the empty grave as a monument
Well of God that never runs dry Living water healing my life Let idols fall from lifted hands Let justice roll the songs of Heaven
Your love is a monument
Every blessing, every promise A never ending fountain for my soul Where I come from, where I’m going Oh Monument of Heaven, lead the way back home
My wife and I are trying to finish reading through the Bible in a year. At the moment, our Old Testament reading is coming from Isaiah and it put me in mind of this song from my youth by Daniel Bedingfield:
Can you see The honest questions in my heart this hour? I’m opening like a flower to the rain And do you know The silent sorrows of a Never ending journey through the pain
Do you see a brighter day for me? Another day? A day? Do you wonder what’s in store for me? The cure for me? The way?
Oh look down and see the tears I’ve cried The lives I’ve lived The deaths I’ve died But you died them too And all for me And you say:
“I will pour my water down Upon a thirsty barren land And streams will flow from the dust of Your bruised and broken soul You will grow like the grass Upon the the fertile plains of Asia By the streams of living water You will grow You will grow”
Do you know My story from the start? And do you know me Like you’ve always told me?
Do you see The whispers in my heart against your kindness My eternal blindness Do you see?
My faith came alive around the time this song came out and I remember that, as I listened to the album, when I came to this song, something seemed very familiar:
I will pour my water down
Upon a thirsty barren land
And streams will flow from the dust of
Your bruised and broken soul
You will grow like the grass
Upon the the fertile plains of Asia
By the streams of living water
You will grow
You will grow”
Daniel Bedingfield, Honest Questions (Chorus)
…and it finally clicked:
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring. They shall spring up like grass amid waters, like willows by flowing streams
Isaiah 44:3-4
…which is itself alluded to by Jesus in John’s Gospel:
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. 38 He who believes in me, as[a] the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”
This is the story of a runaway With no way home and no way out I threw the best of me away I had my chance, it’s too late now Too far gone and too ashamed To think that You’d still know my name But love refused to let my story end that way
You didn’t wait for me to find my way to You I couldn’t cross that distance even if I wanted to You came running after me When anybody else would’ve turned and left me at my worst Love moved first Oh-oh-ohh, oh-oh-ohh, oh-oh-ohh
What kind of grace, relentless grace Would chase this rebel down Crawl into this prisoner’s cage Take my hand and pull me out You knew I couldn’t make the change So You became the change in me And now I live to tell the story Of the God who rescues
You didn’t wait for me to find my way to You I couldn’t cross that distance even if I wanted to You came running after me When anybody else would’ve turned and left me at my worst Love moved first
From the throne to the manger From a manger to the grave Your cross is the proof Love made the first move From a grave meant to keep You To a stone rolled away Your cross is the proof Love made the first move I remember where You found me I’m amazed by where I stand Your cross is the proof That love made the first move
You didn’t wait for me to find my way to You I couldn’t cross that distance even if I wanted to You came running after me When anybody else would’ve turned and left me at my worst Love moved first Oh-oh-ohh, oh-oh-ohh Love moved first
Why You ever chose me Has always been a mystery All my life, I’ve been told I belong At the end of a line With all the other Not-Quites With all the Never-Get-It-Rights But it turns out they are the ones You were looking for All this time
‘Cause I’m just a nobody trying to tell everybody All about Somebody who saved my soul Ever since You rescued me, You gave my heart a song to sing I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus
Moses had stage fright And David brought a rock to a sword fight You picked twelve outsiders nobody would’ve chosen And You changed the world Well, the moral of the story is Everybody’s got a purpose So when I hear that devil start talking to me, saying “Who do you think you are?” I say
I’m just a nobody trying to tell everybody All about Somebody who saved my soul Ever since You rescued me, You gave my heart a song to sing I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus
So let me go down, down, down in history As another blood-bought faithful member of the family And if they all forget my name, well, that’s fine with me I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus So let me go down, down, down in history (Go down in history) As another blood-bought faithful member of the family (It’s all I ever wanna be) And if they all forget my name, well, that’s fine with me I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus, yeah
I’m just a nobody (Nobody) Trying to tell everybody All about Somebody Who saved my soul (Oh, saved my, saved my soul) Ever since You rescued me You gave my heart a song to sing (You gave me a song to sing) I’m living for the world to see Nobody but Jesus (Nobody but You, Lord)
I’m living for the world to see nobody but JesusI’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus
It has been a tough few days. COVID restrictions have been increasing and I’ve had to let go more and more of what I imagined my wedding would be like. Fortunately, I’ve also had a song which I heard a couple of years ago at a church in Kansas stuck in my head the entire time…
Shepherd me, O God Beyond my wants Beyond my fears From death into life
God is my shepherd So nothing I shall want I rest in the meadows Of faithfulness and love I walk by the quiet waters Of peace
Gently You raise me And heal my weary soul You lead me by pathways Of righteousness and truth My spirit shall sing The music of Your Name
Though I should wander The valley of death I fear no evil For You are at my side Your rod and Your staff My comfort and my hope
You have set me A banquet of love In the face of hatred Crowning me with love Beyond my power to hold
Surely Your kindness and mercy follow me All the days of my life I will dwell in the house of my God Forevermore
This Matt Maher song is based on the text of the Song of Songs:
Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, jealousy is cruel as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a most vehement flame.
Song of Songs 8:6
Set me as a seal on your heart Set me as a seal on your soul As strong as death is love Unyielding as the grave Nothing will quench its flame Nothing will quench its flame
Set me as a seal on your heart Set me as a seal on your soul As strong as death is love Unyielding as the grave Nothing will quench its flame Nothing will quench its flame
Kiss me, my love thats unique Beyond my lips You intoxicate my being With the fragrance of your presence
How beautiful you are, my darling Show me your face, let me hear your voice Sweet as the dew in the early morn’ Like a lily among the thorns
I looked for you, the one my heart loves I looked for you, did not find you Searched through the night Until I rested in your sight Now I will never let you go’
Cause you have stolen my heart My sister, my bride You’ve stolen my heart With one glance of your eyes Your lips so sweet, adorned with honey My hands, they drip with myrrh
A friend of my back from in England just shared a song he wrote…
You made me from the dust of the earth Breathed Your life in me You bought me with Your blood on the cross Laid down Your life for me
What can I say before such mercy? What can I do before such grace? All I can do is say I’m thankful All I can say to You is I’m Yours
You are my Perfect Father, Abba, forever in Your arms (repeat)
You chose me to Yours from my birth, Your grace has called my name You gave me everything that was Yours, For all my sin and shame
I need a deeper revelation an even greater understanding Of the depths of Your forgiveness for me Let me experience the heights the full dimensions of Your love That You gave access through Your death on the cross