Smalltown Poets

From the Father's mind
You came to be
Son of Man and Hero of the fight
Greater than
True love's only enemy
You separate the darkness from the light

[Chorus]
Greater than the strongest power
Greater than the love
Of a hundred billion hearts
Brighter than my darkest hour
You're burning at
A hundred billion watts

All creation sighs
Giving witness to
The way our yearning hearts will return
And find Your mercy
Much greater than
The good we left undone
A favor human nature never earned

[Chorus]

As the thoughts of God, began to take this shape
The Only Son was His perfection
From the first
And everyone who wants to welcome
His embrace
Knows the power
Of the third creation verse

[Chorus]

Been to 48 states and a few different worlds
Beheld the blind tour guide and a pig wearing pearls
I've seen grace under foot people fall in the street
Or use it to wipe their feet

Never the righteous man forsaken
Never the righteous man

Been to 48 states I remember a few
Having higher skylines and a wide angle view
I've seen green lands and the natives stay in one place
Peace falling on their face

Where could I be
And stay happy
I hear Hawaii is greener
I hear Alaska is cleaner
Whether here or there the righteous have joy to spare

Been to 48 states and few different worlds
I've seen dithered men leave boys, women and girls
Found the church roll full and they're current with dues
To pay for the empty pews

Never the righteous man forsaken
Never the righteous man

Any other love
Is imagined
This is real
Infatuation fun
Fades and loses its appeal
It dims my eyes
To the face
That until now I could not see
It's starting to sink in
The deeper I think in
These terms of eternity

[Chorus]
Turn from any other love
To the only face of Your love

Any other love
Is misplaced identity
Pairing pride and shame
With the life it fakes of me
Faces of familiar loves
Fall in shadows on the floor
Chased there by
The light that pours
When you open every door

[Chorus]

You're the only face
Of God's love for us
The one and only face
Of God's love for all of us

Any other love
Wants much more than I can give
I'm telling everyone
This is the way I choose to live

[Chorus]

Covered it up with a question mark
Covered it with a crowd
Keeping myself among the proud
I don't believe anyone could love
Anyone less if they tried
I smiled at you and died inside, inside
I heard the voice I knew
Covered it over with thoughts of you and I'll
Never keep it silent anymore, silent anymore, anymore

Silently think of a prayer for me
Voice it inside your head
Maybe I need to hear it said
Sometimes the word condemns the thought
So they're held a lot
Silence is golden when I'm not, I'm not
Whether it's God or it's you
I need to speak and be spoken to
I can't stand this silence anymore, silence anymore, anymore

I can't stand it anymore, silence anymore
No not anymore, anymore

Test this gold for its worth is the same as testing me
And the fire burns easily today

The net is the good that's left after the metal is refined
As I melt, look at what I've got and
Separate it all from what I need

I'll take anything, anything genuine.
Looking up from where I went I could take whatever I get
I'll take anything, anything genuine

More interesting is my faith than the fear of what I'll miss
And those things are temporary anyway

Still on this side getting fit for a
faith that's been tried
And I smile more believably while
getting just enough to know I need

I'll take anything, anything genuine
Looking up from where I went, I could take whatever I get
Falling from Your hands or falling from Your lips
As long as it's from You, I know
that I can take it, I can take it

And I'll rejoice.

Go on up to the mountain of mercy
To the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore
Be thirsty no more
Go under and be purified

Follow Christ to the holy mountain
Sinner sorry and wrecked by the fall
Cleanse your heart and your soul
In the fountain that flowed
For you and for me and for all

[Chorus]
At the wonderful, tragic, mysterious tree
On that beautiful, scandalous night you and me
Were atoned by His blood and forever washed white
On that beautiful, scandalous night

On the hillside, you will be delivered
At the foot of the cross justified
And your spirit restored
By the river that poured
From our blessed Savior's side

[Chorus]

Go on up to the mountain of mercy
To the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore
Be thirsty no more
Go under and be purified

[Chorus]

Sometimes it's sink or swim
And I've been treading water
I should have expected the flood
But floating never has been easy for me

You caught me carefree
And you called me like you saw me:
Oh, a sinner

And I said five wits, looks and strength
I don't think are much in the way of companions
And good deeds couldn't pay my account
Not kinsmen nor knowledge stand
The trial of every man
Don't call me every man

Call me Christian
Call me Christian
Call me Christian
Call me Christian

I've looked on the evergreen
And I've seen it constantly grow and show us life
And I want to live eternally
I want to be an imitation of Christ
I want to be a little Christ

Call me Christian
Call me Christian
Call me Christian
Call me Christian

As a boy I'd put my steps
In my bigger brother's tracks
To match his stride
And just like that I'll follow Jesus
Jesus is my guide

Call me Christian
Call me Christian
Call me Christian
Call me Christian

Clothed
In the common and profane
And the tendency for independence
Runs through every vein
Self aware
Bare before You at the water side
Afraid to take the step into the tide
Oh, I feel so obscene
Knowing I am only

[Chorus]
Clean
Because You promised me
I'm clean
Wash me
I am clean

Called apart
Never has meant loneliness
But it feels that way
Any day
I'd rather not confess
So take away the part of me
That forgets the price of Grace
I have only one hope to erase
Every failure I have seen
And I am only

Clean
Because You promised me
I'm clean
Wash me
I am clean
And ready for the world

Thank You

[Chorus]

There's a clever girl
Who wonders what voice to believe
When she hears all they have to say
Talking more and more of trusting Jesus
Is she testing, treading or drinking?
Isn't it apparent
That her thirsting is inherent?
She has

[Chorus]
Every reason
To cup her hands beneath it
Taste the sweet release
Every reason
To satisfy and give her
Every reason to believe

There's an able girl
On the proving ground she finally found
The place to wash her fear away
With the gift of faith
The Holy Spirit made there in wait
He draws her weary heart
Here to lose a million things
Forgotten as the fountain brings her

[Chorus]

There's a happy girl
The search for absolutes is over
A new beginning under way
Standing by the stream
A river bold pure and endless
It overflows and she has

[Chorus]

I think I am elastic
These arms they are a wonder
Pull from sideways, up and under
I think it's time for something drastic
And it could be more than I bargained for
Ten to one it is

Oh I'm into everything I hate
My spirit is is not fooled; my members take the bait
Oh I'm into everything I hate
Still not dead enough to stifle this debate

These heels were made for bruising
And the cobblestones they're using
Are the pleasures of my choosing
I must be born for losing
Heal these soles to hurt no more
And I'll lift these hands just like before
Cover me like a dimestore suit
Until I'm just like You

Careful little eyes what you see
Careful little feet where you go

Glowing eyes
That ask if I would risk it all
Fight the crowding dark away
I can't help but feel that You are searching me
At the dusk of summer's first day
Fragile wings bring
Little messages of light

[Chorus]
Firefly
Burning inside
I'll fly
With the light inside of me

Circling free
From a gently opened jar
With a halo You show me
A symbol of the fact that I am carrying
The image of Your glory
Fragile wings bring
Little messages of light

[Chorus]

I burn to know
Your will, Your ways
Your heart and mind
And learn to love the way You love

A luminescent speck
Shining at the perfect time
Tests the temporary night
And signals other tiny fires
Time to light up and fly
Light up, light up and fly

[Chorus]

Won't you be a good boy
Listen closely and enjoy
All the benefits that getting wisdom brings
Give her esteem
She is priceless and supreme
She will crown your head with more honor than kings

Get her boy and let yourself surrender
Run alone with her and never fall
She is wisdom and the most praiseworthy trait of all, of them all
Embrace her and the love she brings will save you
To the Father's justifiable ways
She is wisdom waiting with her prize
Garland of grace

Do you have none
Do you cry out for the One
Would you offer anything to understand (Listen closely to her)
Study her well
And in time the truth will tell
How it's wisdom that completely makes her man
And she will now so

With her garland of grace…

Singing Gloria
Living Gloria
And the light so shines that everyone will see

Glory to God
I want to make what I've been feeling show
And I've been living with specific boundary lines
Been given warning signs
It comes down to me

CHORUS:
Singing Gloria
Living Gloria
And the light so shines that everyone will see
I'm bringing Gloria
Giving Gloria
And to the Father may the greater glory be

And once again
I start the day
Part of the mystery of overcoming sin
While feeling less than meek and gentle
And knowing what's new testamental
Let them see me

Knowing this that my redeemer finds me free
The best that I can do is live what I believe
Use my gifts and all my opportunities
To let my words and deeds agree

It's the choice of a lifetime & I'm almost sure
I will not live my life in between anymore
If I can't be certain of all that's in store
This far it feels so right
I will hold it up & hold it up to the light,
Hold it up to the light, hold it up to the light

The search for my future has brought me here
This is more than I'd hoped for, but sometimes I fear
That the choice I was made for will someday appear
And I'll be too late for that flight
So hold it up & hold it up to the light,
Hold it up to the light, hold it up to the light

I said God, will you bless this decision?
I'm scared. Is my life at stake?
But I know if you gave me a vision
Would I never have reason to use my faith?

Now as soon as I'm moving & my choice is good
This way comes through right where I prayed that it would
If I keep my eyes open and look where I should
Somehow all of the signs are in sight
If I hold up the light

It's too late & to be stopped at the crossroads
Each life here & each a possible way
But wait & and they all will be lost roads
Each path's growing shorter the longer I stay

I was dead with deciding & afraid to choose
I was mourning the loss of the choices I'd lose
But there's no choice at all if I don't make my move
And trust that the timing is right
I will hold it up hold it up to the light
Hold it up to the light, hold it up to the light.

Yesterday I lived for me
And I was so alone as I could be
Then I saw You and how You give Yourself away
And I want to live for You today

I'll give; I'll hold nothing back
I'll give and I'll hold nothing back

My love is a lot like me
Wanting nothing less than everything
But I know You're the only love that's true
And only giving makes me close to You

My hands are open, so take what You see
And I'll keep nothing, hold nothing back from me

I don't know what to do to ease your mind
I don't have the perfect word to make it fine
I'm not so qualified for sympathy
Still I am not without love

Psalm number four falls on your grieving ear
Yes, I believe the peace of Christ is near
And I am here in His Name
You'd do the same, you'd do the same...

If you'll let me close
Closer than a brother
If you'll let me love you
We'll sit here and cry

If you'll let me love you (let me love you)

Never failing, ever hoping
Seeking to preserve
It always is giving
Often beyond words
And when there's nothing left to say
Love has a voice
In sorrow and in heartache
There's a greater joy

I don't know what to do to ease your mind
Whatever pain you have I'd take as mine
If you'll let me love you (let me love you)

Flying high with the crowd at night
We float on unseen fuel
Each one sails, a gossamer sphere
Our course unwinds like thread from a spool

"What's it like inside the bubble?"
Say the souls who'd like to try
Cut your tether; come and join me
We can swim across the sky

Look at me with a childlike eye
And understand who's bound
Why are those who are on the ground
Afraid of falling down?

Love has killed our fear
And when we're done we'll disappear

Draws you out inside the ring
Comes a holy breath of truth
Setting free and sealing you
In eternal youth

This is the hard part
Stopping to ask for directions
Sketching with these dirty colors just where I am

You might have heard me
Artfully dodging the buzz words
Scoffing at your insinuation
Of just where I am

I'm a long long way
From where I left to begin this refrain
From where Your mercy and grace remain
From where you sit is it true
It's not that far to You

It happened slowly
Feet falling hard on the pavement
Eyes reaching into the distance
Toward empty sunsets

Didn't I need to break out, want to be king
Wouldn't I face the gallows if I return
Or is a man freely pardoned
As I have heard

Precious Jesus
Where can I flee from Your Spirit
You know me too well.

I held the monkey's paw and put my wishes into play
To know the will of God, to show a motive for delay
I'm holding on to find myself
Just one more wish

I found a pot of gold or something shining anyway
And caught in my reflection a conviction held at bay
I crafted a cross to adorn my neck and finally earned my due respect
And then a jewel encrusted crown
To complement my priestly gown
Just big enough to weigh me down
And bring this temple to the ground
From inside out without a sound
I found a pot of gold today

I held the monkey's paw today and put my wishes into play
Thanked heaven for the trophies but I still had hell to pay
So I brought my spoils to the altar's edge
Heard You say obey instead
For all of my labors and best laid plans I'd only earned a reprimand
Forevermore to understand that dreams come true can kill a man
If never graced by sovereign hands
I held the monkey's paw

Eye is to the body as a thought is to the soul
They're both a lamp whose sharpness I control
Beauty lingers 'bout as long as flattery my friend
That door doesn't let out but lets back in

I was full of everything, my eyes put on this plate
Full of joy I'm needing, less of late
I can return love to You the best that I know how
I believe my worth has been redeemed
And I can be a new man now

Flatterers can fill a room as readily as this
The devil goes to dinner amidst their bliss
Following the need will lead me farther from truth's well
Then only to be filled with what I miss

I'm a new man, I'm a new man

Like I said, there's always room where one keeps all things dear
I'll shrink away from sight and thought and evil that appears

I'm a new man, I'm a new man.

It's best to meet these things head on, she said
Before too much gets on your mind
Thoughts like books are piling up
Sometimes the lessons don't seem kind
Fighting feelings will get easier
The ones that make your mood stay blue
You have believed the lie for long enough
No kinder Savior comes for you

[Chorus]
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Sing the blessings, sing them down
For the one who's ready to give up
No kinder Savior will be found

I've even tried to hear from God, he said
Didn't Jesus love the weak?
She said, he was willing to give up
That is, the man who couldn't speak
The story goes that when his tongue was loosed
Expecting cries of pent up grief
The crowd astonished by the spectacle
Heard a song of new belief

Sing a song about a higher love
That we would know it at first sight
Sing it loud and long enough
He could make it real tonight

[Chorus]

There are few who want this narrow door
Most seekers seek a broader pass
Hoping somehow they are living up
To what any god would ask
And longing for a kinder savior
From the tyranny of days
There already is a Savior
Yeah, He already lead the way

[Chorus]

When time shall slip its cog in place
And spin its line of lovely lace
Then love and peace come face to face
One of these days

When sorrow can nowhere be found
And greed shall lay its weapons down
And hate give up without a sound
One of these days

When love by tender instrument
Through circumstance and incident
Shall peace and joy again invent
One of these days

To see this from within the soul
We must be patient and consoled
To know the joy that's ours to hold
One of these days

And so with earnest inward eyes
We man the post where duty lies
And seek to win the precious prize
One of these days

One of these days…

Put down my thoughts in a letter to the President
Penciled and packaged with all due respect
Elvis commemoratives just for effect
Never heard back: you think you know a guy

Wired my congrats to Chuck and Di some time ago
All my love to the Queen
My invitation was lost in the mail
But I know I was missed when they kissed 'neath the veil
I sent a nice gift; never got a note

But my closet's a shrine to an old friend of mine
Here I talk all the time with a prophet, priest...
I pull out boxes and brooms and I gush like a groom
For it's here I commune with a prophet, priest and king

If I indeed am misperceived by some heads of state.
Hey, that's great
'Cause I talk to a prophet who tells me the truth
And I dine with a king at my home in Duluth
Better yet I'm in touch with a much needed friend
Who hears my confessions and pardons my sin

There must be something else that
all of this revolves around
I appear so small and barely make a sound
Still mysterious these frequencies they draw you out
Looking for some light, see what I'm all about

CHORUS:
The rest of them are stars
I'm a quasar

Passed constellations where so many
wishes have been caught
There you can find me incubating thought
Did you get consolation from a diamond in the sky
Or did he let you down don't stop there tonight
The rest of them are stars
The rest of them are stars

Can they know for certain what I can become
I may let down a few or off and surprise some
And as the sun outshines it
seems like I've disappeared
Yet there are these sounds anyone can hear
You'll find me, you'll find me
Moving fastly to illuminate
And brightly and brightly
For the effort from so far away
From the rest of them

CHORUS

Forgive me if I've been
Confused between the means and end
I forgot to be a brother and a friend
Covered up inside
Sometimes it's harder to know
I have failed at this scenario

My faults do run deep
Your mercies do run deeper

So I knelt tonight
And felt that in somebody's mind
There's a memory of a balance met but left less than sublime
There's no credit line
No net worth to show
I can pay for this scenario

Deepest apologies and sincere regret
For carrying this debt

This scenario returns me to where I began
Losing what was mine and finding out a shortcut is a sin

Even when it's eggshells
Even when it's broken glass
The prophet follows the path well
And he has feet that last

I saw them carrying crosses
They were forming up that line
There were so many walking before me
Some helped me pick up mine

Right in front and behind
I have all I need as a sign

[Chorus]
I've got to walk that line
I've got to walk that line
I've got to walk that line

No one's thinking for me
In between commitment and the prize
The most you can do is trust
The faith you see with your own eyes
And my feet are still tender
Like skin when it heals

[Chorus]

We remember how You bled
When we all drink the wine
We're looking for Your steps
That started up that line

[Chorus]

Growing more uneasy
With every question asked
It seems you're jealous of my interests
And the graven things I've cast
Waking resolutions of twenty years or more
That I would disallow golden cows
My favorite anymore

Your wishes set in stone
I broke the first of ten
I cleared this temple out
Come take your place again

There is only You
There is only You

Tiptoe from an akward scene
Not fooling anyone
Am I dumb enough to kneel with my accusors
Or brave enough to run
Petty daggers bounce weakly off my back
I'm leaving breathless gods and secrets in my track

Your wishes set in stone
I broke the first of ten
I cleared this temple out
Come take Your place again

There is only You
There is only You
Believe me
There is only You
There is only You

To a thousand generations
Of faithful men
You have shown your favor Lord

The sun set down behind the trees
How quickly did my skin sense the chill upon the breeze
And I'm uneasy; the night surrounds me as

Dusk ushers out the light of day
A symbol to be sure that my life can't forever stay

There's a day when there will be no night
There's a day when there will be no night
Don't you know the Lamb will be our light

Vassal, star and noble moon
Your King comes riding soon
And as I mourn this loss of mine
I'll leave it up for you to shine

Darkness makes the baby cry
So the father sings
A lullaby to drive the tears away

So he sat behind his natural defenses
And there he wrestled with the song
He heard his name in every line, his life in every measure
Faced with feelings he could not explain

There was hunger in his hollow hesitation
There was posturing for peace
But even where the spirit willed
The flesh was still maintaining
Ground to give only for a sign
And the call came out again

Take this bread, drink this cup
Know this price has pardoned you
From all that's hardened you
But it's going to take some trust

He lost a heartbeat when he heard the testimony
Another soul forsaking pride
And quickened by the Spirit
He's so sure that he could hear it
Jesus his Savior calling him to come

Come every soul by sin oppressed
There's mercy with the Lord
And He will surely give you rest
By trusting in His word

If I were a tape recorder
Would You take me in Your pack?
You could say anything
And I would play it back

If we took the beach side down
To where the boardwalk ends
I would find a way
To introduce You to my friends

[Chorus]
Were You a pool there on the mountain standing tall
I would be a waterfall
I would carry water down from depths that run untold
Living water
Walls can't hold

If You were an umbrella now
And I the driving rain
I'd wish You were a bucket
Underneath the window pane

If I play the field a while
I might miss the catch
When I show my colors
I'll be in need of their match

[Chorus]

If Your words were water
Brimming over to be heard by all
I'd be the drop there on the edge
The drop that pulls the waterfall
Pulls the waterfall

I will be the piece of clay
And You the hands that mold
You will be the purchase made
Of everything I've sold

[Chorus]

You hung the hopes of a world
On a shining star
Ready to give just a glimpse
A little bit of who You are
When the heavens wink on a midnight clear
Takes me back thirty years
And again I hear

Glory, glory angels sing
To the now and always King
Glory to the One who brings
A little bit of who You are

I lay my head on a pasture bead
To this very day
There are few of us left to the Master's work
Is it true help is on its way?
The faintest flickers above have gone
But a shepherd greets me with dawn
Saying, "I am the One."
Suddenly there is nothing left of Him
But a little light burning deep within

Glory, glory angels sing
To the now and always King
Glory to the One who brings
Peace and life and everything