XIV

Come new song, rise forth and dance!

Turn my tongue to a waterfall

flush with the floods of spring!

Rise up o hands of celebration-

draw in your finger's width the wealth

of all morning's joy and let the light fly through!

Flow forth laughter sweet and sweep the shadows clear!

Send it ringing with its golden tone

a thousand bells to wake the streets.

O city come and dance with me!

This is the birth morn of a dream

a world, a life where I live free

and none can call me convict condemned!

Shout with me crowds and kings!

Taste on your weary tongues the sweet redemption.

Let the gnashing teeth fall silent.

Quieted be the cries of the unjust in the city

and let the mouths of fools be covered.

Silence all! For here rides the King

with love in his hand and peace for his people.

Breathe deep the wonder of his presence.

Now!

Let the children scream, the women dance and the men weep.

This is the day of the LORD.

Greet it with a new song.

Slave is thy name no longer!

Love and be free!

May the name of the LORD be a blessing

upon this land and this people.

How great is His glory and how worthy of honor He stands!

Greet Him with praise and serve with joy!

Blessed be the freedom ringer. Blessed be.

Amen

XIII

My God! My God! Why have you not forsaken me?

Even at this my heart stumbles.

My God?What meaning is this and how it rings

falling without echo, a lost sound.

O God are you then mine? Dare I claim

that which chokes even now in my throat?

I cry out, and call out again.

O my unbelief, this crippling doubt

that renders me paralyzed at the throne of grace!

You who have not forsaken me

are You here?

Speak and I do not hear.

Act and I am blind.

Who can show a fool her folly>?

Still in the habit of beating my heart

tells a rhythm of faithfulness.

As I rise from the dark into day

strength rises too and with it -- You?

The days turn and yet I live

with hope beyond circumstances.

O God, I believe

Help my unbelief!

O God, my God you have not forsaken me.

Praise be upon Thee.

Blessing rise with Thy Presence.

XII

Your joy greets me in the morning.

The songs You have set in the sky are sweet.

They soothe my heart with warmth like the sun.

This thought I hold like a treasure,

that You, King of Kings, are singing over me

the song of the lover over the beloved.

You sing with joy, stretching the banner of your triumph

like the sky over me from horizon to horizon.

Where could I go to escape my lover's call?

My heart is His and He has given me wings.

To flee is folly beyond measure.

When does the flower turn her face away

from the sun that gives life and love abundant?

How loudly You herald Your victory

displaying me as a boon, a gold-set jewel!

How beautiful Your love has made me!

Your love drips like perfume through my fingers.

Your joy lights my face more than a thousand lamps.

Let the city cry out-

Look, look how the bride is running!

How beautiful is the face of the beloved!

Come let us come together.

Let us celebrate the love match of the Lord!

I will cry out-

Dance with me O city, rejoice people of my people!

The One who loves me has redeemed me!

He has bought me back from darkness

and brings me to the seat of His love!

Let us be joyful in His glorious Presence!

XI

Bought back

like a lamb from the slaughter.

I did not have a name for my fear.

I had no name for hope.

There was no dream of a saviour.

It was an empty sound.

You came with Your ringing voice

Death is dead.

Your crimes forgotten.

I, like another convict, had my soul

bought back for God.

O Lord how rich you are!

Your wealth overflows the stretches of the universe

and yet in all those wide reaches

it was not enough.

For me, for the buying of my soul,

You ravished the secret coffers.

The heart of Your heart, You opened.

Out of your greatest treasure

You gave this, wonder unimaginable.

For me, Your son.

For a grain of sand, the light of a thousand suns.

What a gift, inconceivable.

Such a price to be paid, unthinkable.

Yet here I stand,

arms outstretched, shackles broken, heart free,

and You ask me this only-

Love Me.

How deep my debt and light my payment.

To make my comfort, my duty.

My joy, my recompense.

How blessed You are Lord and sweet to serve.

May my soul rejoice in Your Presence all the days of my life.

X

This O Lord is beyond my grasp.

It is clouded to my understanding.

In the night, I reach for the answer.

At dawn, I search and hanve no reply.

Why, Father King, this great loss for me?

The perfect one, shining with glory

to be dragged through dirt and to bleed

for me?

How foolish a bargain My King.

How cruelly you have been decieved

to think that htere is anything in me

worth that--

worth the broken cry

My God, my God why have You forsaken Me?

And in the balance myself

a small creeping thing

jealous, petty, and weak.

I am so easily lost, so quickly turned away.

Simple in mind and selfish at heart

I have little of your beauty

nothing but that which You have given.

You have given so much.

Answer me Lord, I ask one thing more.

Why?

King of Heaven, what worth am I to do?

How could this thing be done? and on my behalf?

He who sits at your right hand,

Glory be upon Him and Praise eternal.

I am swept to silence at the weight of this sacrifice.

How great are Your ways and far beyond my sight.

May this great gift for my zeal bring You glory always.

May my mouth never fall silent in Your praise.

Even in my sleep, let me lift You up.

Your Presence is a gift beyond my comprehension.

IX

Praise be unto God who lift my burdens

who takes from my back the weight

that bore me down into the dust.

Under his yoke I can stand

straight backed and strong

for it is light!

He has taken away the darkness of despair

removed it from my shoulders

and cast it aside as a thing to be forgotten.

He has brought his joy like a flaming torch.

Praise be upon Him!

In His Presence it is light!

VIII

How nearsighted am I!

See how the edges blur as soon

as they flow past my fingertips

and so I do not reach farther.

I do not raise my head to search

for the signs of Your presence

but only stumble along in the my greygreen world

wondering what I'm missing.

Lord cover my eyes!

Render me blind!

Freeze me in place in this darkness

and teach me to reach for You,

to hear Your voice among the chords of chaos

and hold that harmony in my heart.

Strip from me any portion of independence.

My pride is my chain--

how I long to be unshackled!

To strip it off like dead skin and stand

glowing in your reflected glory

tuned to turn at Your slightest thought

trained to hunger after You

always ready to reach for You.

Your Presence is the light of my eyes.