BEHOLD

arise
He reigns in
infinite
dominion
enthroned with

no rival
no equal
no reason
to stir Him

and yet

a hush descends
as heavens bend
be still, behold
He rises

hail
up from the deep,  and from the furthest unseen reach
a call is sounding forth sustained and deafening

I cannot breathe, I choke to raise my voice and sing
no words remain instead I bow my head and weep

speak no morethe terror and beauty, You echo into me
all things are just words You chose to speak
what You sing is flawless but I ring back discordant  
I’m a ruined wasted melody

sing no more

Your words destroying everything
the earth collapses under me
how could I stand against Your voice
empty throat, all I make is noise

silence falls over me
in that void You speak
one final word; mercy

weep no more

majesty, worship Your majesty
Jesus who died
now glorified
king of of all kings

majesty, kingdom authority
flows from Your throne
unto Your own
Your anthem raise
king of of all kings
all hail!

curse
am i of stone  or flesh
to see You slain again
to watch you writhe and bleed
yet never once weep

I always thought that I would have fought had I been alive
I would have stay to the end, wept at Your feet, and died by Your side

yet again they beat You down and tear You
Limb from limb
but I keep my peace and my distance

how can I claim to love You
when here Your body lies strewn
I dwell amongst the pieces
and never feel moved
to grieve as my own, the state of it
and give more than just passive dissent

I swore at the start, “oh heart of my heart”, we’re one in the same
but then I kept You confined, and clearly defined, and now I don’t feel a thing

yet again, they beat You down
and tear You limb from limb
and we wash our hands then
raise them up in remembrance
“bless You Lord, leave us be, rest in peace”

You’re not a memory we celebrate
You’re not a martyr that we venerate
and G-d forgive us if the church forgets

You are not a corpse and we’re not a movement
You’re alive and we’re the flesh You’ll wear till the worlds end

resurrect

I feel the weight and worth in all of this
that we are Your embodyment

resurrect theses hearts of stone
to beat with Yours again
for greater works as we
walk as one in Your likeness
so that men can behold and believe

You are not a corpse and we’re not a movement
You’re alive and we’re the flesh You’ll wear till the worlds end

confession
young men emphatic with their “always” and ” nevers”
and the rich men emboldened by successful endeavors
and the strong man is armored- they all think they are safe
but they all rot the same when they lay in their graves

its all nothing

I don’t wanna find my life cause You say thats a deadly thing
I know everytime I try I always end up losing everything
so Father help me lose myself cause there are parts of me still holding on
just hide me in Your steps and lead me to the end
You’re all that I need, all that I got, all that I want

and in the end may l die as the thief
my greatest joy that You’d hang there with me
blessed further still if my flesh could be made an object of grace
to walk behind, to die beside, then wake to find
my Lord, my love in paradise

so i’ll boast in my weakness, You alone are my treasure
my life for You master, pour it out at Your pleasure
rage hell! come death!  but still
i’ll dwell with you for all my days
and there is nothing that can separate
yeah there is nothing

and in the end l will die as a thief
my greatest joy that You hang here with me
blessed further still that my flesh has been made an object of grace
to walk behind, to die beside, and wake to find
my Lord, my love in paradise

royal
say again
who You are
crush like wave
speak as storm
I never comprehend and cannot keep it in
but as the seas roll tidal bowed and bound to the moon I am

overcome
and I desire nothing more

call me out
in the wild
lay me bare
fill my mind I leap and laugh within
to stretch my native skin
and as the trees reach skyward surge and sway with the wind I am

overcome

I remember who You are
shield my eyes and I cry “just condemn me”
but Your grace reigns
over shame (overthrowing, overwhelming)
I come alive again here in Your light

I remember who I am
shake the curse and I burst into singing
all the royal
in my veins (all my passion, to the heavens)
rings out with all You’ve made
but still we understateovercome to overcome
onward to the kingdom

approach
each footstep
erupts with
more fanfare
and worship

the stars trail
and explode
the earth churns
and trembles

as all things
in His wake
are restored
to proclaim

a roar breaks forth
“exalt or mourn”
but now, behold
He approaches

liturgy
for years i’ve tried to speak
but words always fail and my voice never seems
to say what I mean to about You

as hard as i’ve tried to write
to shuffle the notes and to structure the lines
they’re never as lovely as they should be

for all of my singing, i’ve still never sung
a melody worthy or perfect enough
for You

I want to sing that for You

but there’s an anthem that wells up within
it echoes Your heart till i’m bursting with it
perfectly still and completely silent
Your voice flows like music
overwhelmed, speechless
I lose my breath then
and how do I sing this?

for all of my singing,  I’ve barely begun
to tell of Your beauty to fathom Your love
and i’ll fail to attain it but I’ll never give up.
cause Your deep calls to deep,  and rings out to me, and i’m just singing along.

no single song could say it all
I used to think that I was writing these songs for You
but I see the truth
You fill my soul till I overflow
and pour it all back out to You

lament
today he died.
he starred in the void then took his own life
You watched me cry
alone in the parking lot as i felt the now and forever collide

I fight in vain, try to deny, to push back the years, and the weight, and the gray
but it’s in my face,  the edge of the infinite, and we’re all just inches and seconds away

my eyes are wide and i feel the weight
sit down, breathe out, and try not to faint
or be crushed by the scale of everything

what is man in the scope of existence
just a blink on a dot in the dark but the patterns that weave through the distance
bear a voice that proclaims who we are

Your love oh G-d, I feel the weight
for who am I that you know my name
and then leave me the seas to display with the stars
that of all you have made you set man apart

for we are Your treasure

Your heartbeat surrounds me
there aren’t words to describe what You’ve shown me
each man is in your image
and walking around shining just like the sun

the depths are not void they resound with the truth
that there’s no peace to rest in, till we find our place in You

I see their souls, and feel the weight
oh G-d  forgive each word I waste
and grant that my throat with the sun would be raised
to banish the dark because I cannot take another death in my silence

zion
like a bride, blushing bides on the bed for the touch of her love to arrive
other passions may call and loom but she will wait for her groom
just the same
I am  restless for You

as the vagrant, dreams of vacant lands to plow, and a hearth to call home
but each distance only fails him so he’ll keep drifting through
just the same
I am restless for You

You loved me first and fully when nothing lovely existed
all before then grew dim in the light of desire awakened
and all else be cursed
I choose rather this thirst

no man, no land, no task for my hand ever soothes
I stay restless for You
all I am, was made for You and no other will do
so I stay restless for You

You loved me first and fully when nothing lovely existed
and gifted grace til my heart could awaken, embrace, and return it
all I see now every goodness, each beauty and blessing
are but tremor and wake and stir me further to love and to longing

only for you
does my soul wait
do my bones ache

i’ll not be satisfied
till my hopes and my eyes
both alight on that view

there leave longing behind
i’ll discard my desire
when i’m resting in You

selah
I wanna be a new man
and set aside my old skin
cause as hard as i’ve been trying
I can stop wounding Yours

I wanna be a slave and
surrender all my dreams then
forget I ever had them
and live inside of Yours

I want to be forgotten
and be fully eclipsed in

just the  gospel and it’s sweetness
that and nothing more

I wanna be a dead man
just a body You can live in
I wanna be Your prized possession
that and nothing more

arrive
any day now I will leave the seas behind I will find You
I don’t know yet what i’ll see when I arrive but I will be with You

I lay Your promise like an anchor in the depths that my mind can’t fathom
I hoist it up till it finds Your breath amongst the winds that I can’t see and

it leads me on
and without fail
calms each sea
for it blows truer and fiercer than gale

for endless might i’ve seen in you
still this one thing You cannot do
You won’t break Your word and leave Your sons to hell
You can’t deny Yourself

all my hopes rest on the day when I see these tides realign
i’ll keep my eyes on the horizon and my course set until then
but when Your new dawn outshines the old one i’ll be looking up
and i’ll leave my ship then and run the waves as they’re rising up

and behold

You whom no eye could yet bare
nor any mind yet conceive
and ill take hold of You there
and then let go of belief

somehow, made new
i’ll be like You

a song begins
without an end
beloved, behold
forever