scripture and prayer reflection
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Lyrics
Let me step well past the edge
Where the water fails and time stands still
Where the weeping wind does wail
The everlasting lung it fills
Let my spirit hear the song
Sung eternal in my inner man
Where i'm a single word
Singing all across your land
Take me far beyond myself
To the endless day and boundless sight
All anxieties away, and stillness for my night
Take me naked to the flame
Until the shadows in me breathe with light
In the height of my being
In the fullness of my sight
Sing eternal, sing eternal in me
Oh I ache to know Your touch
And peace that passes understanding
When I sow evil in my actions
Teach me compassion, oh guide my feet
Let me wander through Your home
Though I'm broken and I'm weary
Your heart in me has spoken
May Your mind bless me to see
Sing eternal, sing eternal in me
Psalm 19:1-6
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
Galatians 5:22-25
22 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Reflection
Many hymns use the poetic idea of all of creation singing in praise to God. Some call for different aspects of creation to join the song, as in All Creatures of Our God and King. Others assume that as creation functions according to God’s design, it automatically rings out in His praise at all times, as in This is Our Father’s World.
C. S. Lewis takes this idea one step further in his book, The Magician’s Nephew, in which song becomes not only a means of praise, but also a means of creation. Aslan’s song, which calls all of Narnia into existence, is echoed and reverberated by the stars and other things he has created. As the story goes on, the song continues and changes, matching each unique creature that is being formed, each individual adding their own voice to the chorus.
The songwriter here also makes use of this idea of song as creation. Though extended or direct quotations of scripture are absent, this song is full of small nods to a variety of passages, many of which center on the Holy Spirit’s work in creating and breathing new life into dead and dying things. The mellow vocal sound and gentle, steady rhythm of the guitar create a reflective tone of simplicity, unpretentious in the singer’s request for the Spirit to sing on, not just in rocks and trees, skies and seas, but also in him — to indwell him and continue to create, to renew, to restore, to breathe life into him.
Why connect this to singing? Why use singing as a metaphor for the Spirit’s work? Music — like stories — carries emotional weight in a way that abstract theological ideas can sometimes lack. That is, after all, the point of these reflections — to engage with God’s truth through the lens and emotional weight lent by musical context and poetic lyrics. There is something in song that penetrates deep into our hearts, a highly appropriate metaphor to pair with the work of the Spirit, who is always at work in the unseen depths of our souls. Sanctification is the song that the Holy Spirit sings in us, that as we are restored we might bring Him greater and greater glory as we join more and more in the song He is singing in all of His creation.
Take some time to reflect on your own life. What thoughts or feelings come to mind when you consider the Holy Spirit’s work in you as a song He is singing? What sort of “singing” has the Spirit been doing in you lately — what has He been creating or growing in you? The singer asks the Spirit to teach him compassion, to give him peace, and to open up his eyes to notice what God is doing in his life. What is it that you are longing for God to do in your heart? Talk with Him about what comes up.
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