PRAISE
GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD
That he gave his sun to sprinkle light
To gently bathe and brighten night
Yet even more soft rains to pour
As sheets of freshness spreading clean
Enlighten life and brighten scene
So when it rains upon ourselves
We should with joy jump off our shelves
Springing down to splash and sing
Where virgin raindrops dance in Spring
Audio Version
THE AGE OF REASON
I felt it one of Gods days
I felt His touch in many ways
I watched the sun rise high to heat
As nature woke from slumber deep
As shadows stalked between the trees
To echo with the gentle breeze
To me a rustling peace they weaved
Yet thinking back my heart was grieved
I sensed that day my youth had passed
For as the dusk came drifting fast
Dark distant bells sang out relief
To sing the sadness of my grief
Audio Version
SHOW ME, LORD
I am blinded Lord, I cannot see
Let me see peace that I may see love
Let me see pity, where I see only pain
Grant me the freedom, Lord, to listen
In silence, and seek in the shadows for light
Then show me Lord, your greatness
That I might build a wall of wisdom
Where I might find You, my God
In all forms, of all things, in all men
Then teach me Lord to forgive
All forms of all things in all men
So show me Lord, the good
Show me, Lord, the miracle
Audio Version
I DON’T REMEMBER SINGING
I don’t remember singing
Never knew if I could, or I should
Never had much to sing about
But things could often make me shout
If in my mind, they would annoy
But I never ever felt that joy
That blossomed forth into song
But if I felt I did belong
I’d sometimes hum amidst the throng
But I don’t remember singing
Never knew if I could, or I should
In dark streets I’d wander home
And sometimes whistle when alone
But even when I heard a song
I’d puzzle where it did belong
And I would pause along the street
To wonder why they felt so tweet
Was it only me who felt so sad
Or were those singers all quite mad
But once I came across a church
As on a hill I saw it perch
And thru the speckled stainéd glass
Voices strong rose deep in mass
They made me venture to the sound
And once inside, indeed I found
A peace and blessing in their song
And found in time I could belong
Conjoined with them in fervent praise
As now in song my voice I raise
My spirit soars, to my amaze
Audio Version
I SEE YOU
I hear you move amongst the trees
As you rustle with the leaves
I see you in the wind and rain
I even feel you in my pain
I hear your whisper in the grave
I watch you on an ocean wave
I smell you thru a fragrant flower
I touch you in a summer shower
I watch you where the swallow flies
As you put colour in the skies
I feel your shadows drift the night
Your grace bestows the stars their light
So surely you will fill my days
With the wonder of your ways
Audio Version
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD
The usual crowd in the usual place
A cold Sunday morning, and no parking space
Nothing seemed special about church today
’Til I forced myself to pray
I paid due homage and said amen
But knew something different was happening when
God’s spirit touched me in some special way
And I felt true peace, like a small child at play
Powerful feelings like this I never had
And feeling such joy I was no longer sad
I had always loved God in my simple way
But now felt ecstatic on that special day
Thou I always could feel His love for me
It was now with a shock I really could see
This feeling I felt for the great God above
Meant clearly to me I was simply in love
Audio Version
WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN
In life we all have a right to be wrong
But rarely possess a right to belong
Or reap forgiveness for our will
Or force repentance for some ill
But souls in brokenness repent
When sorrow swallows sins consent
Then cleansed and clean we do not drown
But live again, to wear the crown
Redeemed, forgiven, free of guilt
With no conscience left to wilt
While miracles may fade with faith
Truth will survive in God’s own Wraith
But while drunks and addicts crave
Will all the saints survive the grave?
Audio Version
EVIL IN — EVIL OUT
As evil out the shadowed sun
Is drawn from Heavens good to come
Like despair that drugs and dulls
Into indifference love it lulls
For the man who evil feels
Though he revolve within the wheels
Of justice grinding out a shout
To God the evil still will out
And yet the man, the Devil’s claimed
Though with stigma may be maimed
If good he feels within his ways
A God on high will bless his ways
Audio Version
AN ALIEN GOD
Is there an Easter or Christmas on Mars
Or on some distant planet out in the stars
Where a tall bearded wonder preached to a crowd
’Neath the gassy mass of a chlorine cloud
Did twelve faithful followers write what he said
As masses of monsters with manna were fed
When the lame and the halt lost a trunk or a feeler
Did he graft them back on as a miracle healer
Was he then stapled down with relish and glee
To a plastic shroud on a luminous tree
Did he heal beaks and claws just to suffer their scorn
Or did some of them sense that a God had been born