1. 1 The First Word Genesis 1-2; John 1:1-3; Psalm 33:6-9; Colossians 1:16-17 Lyrics 4:39

   Rhapsody, Volume 1

   The First Word

   Genesis 1-2; John 1:1-3; Psalm 33:6-9; Colossians 1:16-17

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   Lyrics

   Before the first breath Before the first light Before a single star burned In the infinite night There was a Voice There was a Word And everything that ever was Began to be heard Day one... darkness dissolved at the sound of His voice He didn't need a tool or a vote or a choice He spoke... and the light split the black like a blade The first sunrise ever... handmade Let there be light... and the cosmos obeyed Every photon and particle perfectly displayed The God who was there before there was a there Spoke existence into nothing out of thin air He is the First Word... He is the last Before the future and before the past The Author of time writing line after line Every atom in creation by design He spoke and it was good He breathed and we stood In the image of the King We were understood He called the darkness light He called the day from night Before the world had words The Word already had life Day two and three... He's separating the waters Dry land rising up like a song getting louder Trees and grass and seed-bearing plants in the ground Fruit on the branch making barely a sound But God said good and He meant what He said Every root system reaching every riverbed Day four... lanterns hung in the sky Sun for the day moon for the night Stars so far we still can't count them right But He calls them by name with their positions in sight The heavens declare what His voice put in place Every constellation a chorus of praise He spoke and it was good He breathed and we stood In the image of the King We were understood He called the darkness light He called the day from night Before the world had words The Word already had life Day five... the waters break open with life Creatures diving and soaring through current and flight Whales that shake the deep when they sing Every species of bird given wingspan and wing Day six... the land fills with animal kind Then God paused at the edge of the most complex design He said let Us make man in Our image and likeness Then reached into the dirt for the most sacred business Formed the body with hands... breathed life in the face A living soul born from an intimate place Then from the side of Adam a woman was made Two people in the garden unashamed unafraid The garden was perfect... the garden was whole A man and a woman with unclouded souls Walking with God in the cool of the day Every need met every night every way In the beginning was the Word... John chapter one And the Word was with God and the Word was God's Son Through Him all things were made that have been made Not one created thing outside His trade He set the stars spinning He carved every canyon He named every creature He planted the garden And when He had finished He called it all good The King of creation right where He stood He spoke and it was good He breathed and we stood In the image of the King We were understood He called the darkness light He called the day from night Before the world had words The Word already had life You are made in His image Fearfully wonderfully formed Before you had language The Word knew your name You were never an accident Never a mistake The First Word that made the world Made you on purpose today He spoke and it was good He breathed and we stood In the image of the King We were understood He called the darkness light He called the day from night Before the world had words The Word already had life In the beginning... the Word In the beginning... the Word He spoke and it was good He spoke and it was good Everything that ever was... the Word Everything that ever will be... the Word In the beginning... God
2. 2 The Fall Genesis 3; Romans 5:12; Isaiah 59:2; Genesis 3:15 Lyrics 4:52

   Rhapsody, Volume 1

   The Fall

   Genesis 3; Romans 5:12; Isaiah 59:2; Genesis 3:15

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   Lyrics

   It was perfect It was whole Then came a question That swallowed a soul It started with a question wrapped in silk and in shade Did God really say... is that really what He made The serpent in the garden sliding slow through the grass A liar dressed in beauty with a beautiful mask He said you won't die... God's just keeping you small You eat from that tree and you'll stand ten feet tall You'll be like God knowing good knowing evil yourself Who needs to depend when you can stand on your shelf Eve looked at the fruit and she saw it was good Saw it was pleasing saw it would do what it could She took and she ate and she passed it along And the moment that fruit hit their lips something was gone We reached for the throne and fell from the garden The world went cold and hearts went hardened We chose ourselves over the God who made us We broke the thing that was meant to save us We reached for more and we lost it all That's the weight of the Fall That's the weight of the Fall Their eyes opened wide... but the sight wasn't good They saw they were naked and they knew that they should Have never let the serpent sit down at the table Never let the lie convince them they were able To be their own god to be their own guide They sewed fig leaves together trying to hide But you can't hide from the One who made your heartbeat The One who breathed you into life still walks these streets He came in the cool of the day with a question so plain Where are you?... He knew... He was calling their name Not because He didn't know where they had gone But because the God of relationship was still holding on We reached for the throne and fell from the garden The world went cold and hearts went hardened We chose ourselves over the God who made us We broke the thing that was meant to save us We reached for more and we lost it all That's the weight of the Fall That's the weight of the Fall The blame game started... Adam pointed at Eve Eve pointed at the serpent and they both turned to leave The consequences came like a weight on the chest Pain in the labor thorns in the fields no rest Separated from the garden separated from God A wall between the holy and the broken and flawed Driven out of Eden with a flaming sword turning The world that was good now suffering and mourning Every addiction traces back to this place Every broken family every tear-stained face Every war and every famine every night we can't sleep Traces all the way back to this moment... this choice... this leap But in the curse... there was a promise tucked deep In the words God spoke before they fell asleep He said to the serpent... I will put enmity Between your seed and hers and listen carefully Her offspring will crush your head under His heel You'll strike at His foot but the wound will not seal The first promise ever made in the broken world A Savior is coming... the plot had been unfurled This was not a plan B... this was always the plan God already had the answer before the sin began The fall was not the final chapter... just the start Of the greatest rescue mission in the history of hearts We reached for the throne and fell from the garden The world went cold and hearts went hardened We chose ourselves over the God who made us We broke the thing that was meant to save us We reached for more and we lost it all That's the weight of the Fall That's the weight of the Fall You know this feeling This distance This quiet that sits in your chest like a stone Like something is missing Like you were made for something more than this You were You were made for the garden You were made for the presence of God And what you feel is real It's the echo of a door that closed But there was a promise spoken in the dark A seed that would come A heel that would crush A cross that would open the garden again We reached for the throne and fell from the garden The world went cold and hearts went hardened We chose ourselves over the God who made us We broke the thing that was meant to save us We reached for more and we lost it all That's the weight of the Fall That's the weight of the Fall The seed is coming The seed is coming He will crush the serpent's head The seed is coming
3. 3 First Blood Genesis 4; Romans 3:23; 1 John 3:12; Genesis 4:7; Genesis 4:15 Lyrics 5:07

   Rhapsody, Volume 1

   First Blood

   Genesis 4; Romans 3:23; 1 John 3:12; Genesis 4:7; Genesis 4:15

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   Lyrics

   One generation past the garden The world already scarred and hardened One brother standing in a field About to do what the flesh revealed Two brothers born into a broken world Adam and Eve watching it unfold Cain worked the ground Abel tended the flock Both came to offer what they had to the rock Cain brought his harvest... Abel brought a lamb God received Abel and passed on Cain's hand Now we don't know everything that went wrong in that offering But we know the heart behind it changes everything And Cain's face fell... the anger started rising Sin was crouching at the door like it was hiding God said if you do right won't you be accepted But if you don't... sin is right there and it's waiting Where is your brother... where is your brother Do you know what you've done to your sister and brother Sin crouched at the door and you let it inside First blood on the ground and you're trying to hide We are our brother's keeper... we were made to be But the first generation chose the enemy Where is your brother... where is your brother The ground is crying out with the blood of your brother Cain said come let's go out to the field And the moment they were out Cain made the deal He raised his hand against his own blood And the first murder in history hit the mud The ground opened up and swallowed the cry Of the first man to die at the hands of mankind And God came again with the same kind of question The same voice that walked in the garden now pressing Where is your brother?... Am I my brother's keeper The lies ran deeper and the wound ran deeper You can't hide from the God who hears the blood cry From the soil... He hears what the earth can't deny Where is your brother... where is your brother Do you know what you've done to your sister and brother Sin crouched at the door and you let it inside First blood on the ground and you're trying to hide We are our brother's keeper... we were made to be But the first generation chose the enemy Where is your brother... where is your brother The ground is crying out with the blood of your brother Cain was cursed to wander the earth from that day A fugitive and exile driven far away He said my punishment is more than I can bear Anyone who finds me will kill me out there And here is where the mercy of God breaks the frame God put a mark on Cain... protection on his name Not to celebrate him not to say what he did was fine But because the God of mercy drew a mercy line Even the murderer received grace that day Not a pardon of the sin but a covering made The pattern we see in the garden repeats God covering shame with what bleeds Now this story isn't just some ancient history It's the same thing playing out in every city Jealousy and rivalry and violence in the streets Brothers turning on each other for the smallest things The cycle that began in Cain keeps on spinning Every generation acting like it's the beginning We point at the other... we make ourselves clean We miss the sin crouching right where we've been God's question still echoes where is your brother Can you hear the ground crying under your cover What are you doing with the ones in your circle The blood is still speaking... is the question still working Where is your brother... where is your brother Do you know what you've done to your sister and brother Sin crouched at the door and you let it inside First blood on the ground and you're trying to hide We are our brother's keeper... we were made to be But the first generation chose the enemy Where is your brother... where is your brother The ground is crying out with the blood of your brother Hebrews 12 says The blood of Jesus speaks a better word than the blood of Abel Abel's blood cried from the ground for justice Jesus' blood cries from the cross for mercy The first blood demanded an answer The better blood offers a way out You don't have to be Cain anymore The mark on you now is not a curse It is a cross Where is your brother... where is your brother Do you know what you've done to your sister and brother Sin crouched at the door and you let it inside First blood on the ground and you're trying to hide We are our brother's keeper... we were made to be But the first generation chose the enemy Where is your brother... where is your brother The ground is crying out with the blood of your brother Sin is crouching at your door Don't let it in Sin is crouching at your door You can master it Sin is crouching at your door The blood of Jesus speaks A better word
4. 4 The Flood Genesis 6-9; Hebrews 11:7; 1 Peter 3:20-21; Genesis 9:13-16 Lyrics 5:23

   Rhapsody, Volume 1

   The Flood

   Genesis 6-9; Hebrews 11:7; 1 Peter 3:20-21; Genesis 9:13-16

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   Lyrics

   The earth was full of violence The earth was full of pain Every thought every morning Was evil again and again But one man walked with God In the middle of the flood And God said build a boat I'm about to judge the mud Six chapters in and the world has already rotted The sons of God and daughters of men have spotted Each other and the violence filled the land Every imagination evil every plan God looked down at what the garden had become His heart was filled with grief... it broke the Holy One He said I will wipe them from the face of the earth But Noah found grace... there was still something worth Saving in this man who walked against the grain A blameless man who called the name Of the God who everyone around him had forgotten While the rest of the world was spiritually rotten Build the ark in the flood Walk by faith not by sight When the rain starts to fall You can trust He is right His wrath is real and His grace is real He judges what's broken and He seals what He heals Through the water and the wood there is always a way Noah walked with God and he found it that day God gave the blueprints three hundred cubits long Fifty wide and thirty high... now get to work get strong No rain had ever fallen... the crowd thought he was mad Building a vessel for a flood nobody had Seen or heard of or could even imagine But Noah picked up the hammer and started hammering One hundred and twenty years of obedience While the world kept laughing at the foolishness He preached while he built... he warned while he worked Nobody listened and nobody stirred But faith is not faith when everybody agrees Faith is building the boat when you cannot see Build the ark in the flood Walk by faith not by sight When the rain starts to fall You can trust He is right His wrath is real and His grace is real He judges what's broken and He seals what He heals Through the water and the wood there is always a way Noah walked with God and he found it that day Two by two... God gathered the animals in The doors were shut and the rain started to begin First a drizzle then a downpour then the deep broke open The fountains of the deep like every seal was broken Forty days forty nights the waters rising higher Covering every mountain covering every spire Everything outside the ark was swallowed in the waves The judgment of a holy God refusing to be grazed But inside the ark... eight souls were kept alive The God of wrath is also the God who helps you survive He shut the door Himself... Noah didn't have to seal it God closed the ark God secured it God revealed it One hundred and fifty days the waters covered the face Then God remembered Noah and sent a wind to chase The waters back... the mountains started showing The bird went out the raven with the knowing Then the dove went out and came back with a leaf An olive branch in its beak bringing the relief Of knowing that the land was near the dry ground coming Noah waited and he waited and the day kept running Then God said come out... the earth is dry and new And Noah built an altar and the worship broke through God smelled the offering and made a covenant there A rainbow in the sky... His signature in the air Build the ark in the flood Walk by faith not by sight When the rain starts to fall You can trust He is right His wrath is real and His grace is real He judges what's broken and He seals what He heals Through the water and the wood there is always a way Noah walked with God and he found it that day He said as long as the earth endures Seedtime and harvest Cold and heat Summer and winter Day and night will never cease He hung the rainbow in the cloud Not just as a reminder for us But as a reminder for Himself His promise keeps His covenants last And one day He will cleanse the earth again Not with water But with fire And the righteous will walk through it unharmed Because of what Jesus did on the wood Build the ark in the flood Walk by faith not by sight When the rain starts to fall You can trust He is right His wrath is real and His grace is real He judges what's broken and He seals what He heals Through the water and the wood there is always a way Noah walked with God and he found it that day The rainbow is still in the sky His promises never die Walk with God like Noah walked The ark is still open tonight
5. 5 The Promise Genesis 12, 15, 17, 22; Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6-9; Genesis 15:6; Hebrews 11:8-12 Lyrics 5:51

   Rhapsody, Volume 1

   The Promise

   Genesis 12, 15, 17, 22; Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6-9; Genesis 15:6; Hebrews 11:8-12

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   Lyrics

   Out of Ur of the Chaldeans A voice said leave and go To a land I'll show you Though you don't yet know He counted the stars and called him a father Faith before sight... he followed the Father Seventy-five years old and God said go Leave your country leave your people leave what you know Go to a land I will show you when you get there Not a map not a GPS just get up and get air He'll make him a great nation and bless all the families Of the earth through this man and his seed... that's the anthology So Abram packed up and Sarai came along Lot tagged in and they set out for the song That God was writing in the stars of the sky A promise so big it took centuries to identify He arrived in Canaan... the land was already full But God said this land I'm giving to your bull He counted the stars and called him a father Faith before sight... he followed the Father Called from everything familiar To stand on a promise he couldn't see clearer Abraham believed God and it was counted right Not by what he did but by his faith in the night He counted the stars... God counted his faith Grace before law... this is where your story takes shape Years passed and Sarai's womb remained closed The promise of a son seemed more like shadows and smoke Abram tried to help... Hagar bore Ishmael's name But that was not the line through which the promise came Then God showed up and made the covenant seal A smoking firepot and a flaming torch for real Passed between the pieces of the animals split God swore by Himself because there's no one above it The covenant was unconditional... one-sided grace God would fulfill it regardless of Abram's face He changed the name... Abram became Abraham Father of many nations... that was the program He counted the stars and called him a father Faith before sight... he followed the Father Called from everything familiar To stand on a promise he couldn't see clearer Abraham believed God and it was counted right Not by what he did but by his faith in the night He counted the stars... God counted his faith Grace before law... this is where your story takes shape Three strangers at the tent... Abraham ran to meet them Bowed to the ground got water and bread to feed them Then one of them said where is your wife Sarah I'll return next year and she'll be bearing A son... and Sarah laughed from inside the tent Old and past the season of what that meant But God said is anything too hard for the LORD The laughter became Isaac when the promise restored His name means laughter... every time they called him They remembered that God did what no one thought coming Every time they held him every time he smiled They were holding in their arms a promised child Then the test came that we still don't fully understand Take your son your only son your Isaac... to that land Mount Moriah... offer him there as a burnt offering God asked Abraham to release the thing worth living for Three days of walking... the wood on the boy's back The knife in Abraham's hand... no turning back He said God will provide the lamb for the offering son They reached the summit and the altar begun The knife raised high... then an angel called his name Abraham Abraham... stop... I see your faith And in the thicket a ram with its horns caught tight The LORD will provide... on the mount of the LORD that night He counted the stars and called him a father Faith before sight... he followed the Father Called from everything familiar To stand on a promise he couldn't see clearer Abraham believed God and it was counted right Not by what he did but by his faith in the night He counted the stars... God counted his faith Grace before law... this is where your story takes shape Paul writes in Romans chapter four Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness Not after he was circumcised Not after he kept a law Before any of that He simply believed God's word And that faith... that simple naked trust in what God said ... Was counted as righteousness This is your story too Not what you've done Not what you've earned Not what you've performed But do you believe what God has said about His Son That is the line of Abraham That is the covenant That is the promise that still holds today He counted the stars and called him a father Faith before sight... he followed the Father Called from everything familiar To stand on a promise he couldn't see clearer Abraham believed God and it was counted right Not by what he did but by his faith in the night He counted the stars... God counted his faith Grace before law... this is where your story takes shape Go outside and count the stars tonight That's how many children of faith by His light Every one who ever trusted God's Word Is a child of Abraham... the promise was heard He counted the stars... God keeps His word God keeps His word
6. 6 The Sacrifice Genesis 22; Hebrews 11:17-19; John 3:16; Romans 8:32; Isaiah 53:10 Lyrics 5:35

   Rhapsody, Volume 1

   The Sacrifice

   Genesis 22; Hebrews 11:17-19; John 3:16; Romans 8:32; Isaiah 53:10

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   Lyrics

   Three days Three days of walking toward a mountain And a boy asked his father a question That broke the world in half Early morning rose... saddled up the donkey Took two young men and his son and the wood for the offering Three days they walked and Abraham lifted his eyes And saw the place God described from a distance He said stay here... I and the boy will go worship We will come back to you... the faith in that sentence Was not delusion... it was resurrection logic Hebrews says he reasoned God could raise the dead... watch this Father and son climbing the hill side by side The wood on Isaac's back... the knife at his side Then Isaac said father... I see the fire and wood But where is the lamb for the offering... where could God will provide the lamb God will provide the lamb On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided God will provide the lamb The knife was raised... the fire prepared A father's love and a Father's care On a different hill on a different day God would provide the Lamb to take our place Abraham built the altar and arranged the wood Bound his son... the same son he'd understood Was the whole promise... the future... the covenant seed And stretched him on the altar... what obedience freed Reached for the knife with a trembling sure hand Then the voice came like thunder... a command Abraham Abraham... do not lay your hand on the boy Do not do anything... I know now that you employ Your love for God above your love for the promise I see your fear of God and your willingness honest Then Abraham looked up and there in the thicket A ram with its horns caught... God had a ticket God will provide the lamb God will provide the lamb On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided God will provide the lamb The knife was raised... the fire prepared A father's love and a Father's care On a different hill on a different day God would provide the Lamb to take our place Abraham called that place Jehovah Jireh The LORD will provide... in the place He draws nearer He spoke again and swore by Himself alone Because there's no one greater to swear by on the throne I will surely bless you and multiply your seed As the stars of the sky as the sand by the sea And through your offspring all the nations of earth Will be blessed... the promise echoing worth Now hear the echo... because the mountain of Moriah Would become the city of Jerusalem... the fire That burned here was a shadow of a greater flame A greater Son carrying wood to a greater name On another hill outside the city wall No angel stopped this Father's hand at the call God so loved the world that He gave His only Son No ram in the thicket... this time it was done The wood was a cross the binding was the nails The sacrifice was total and it never fails He who knew no sin became the sin for us The Lamb of God who takes away the fuss Of every sin of every broken moment we've made The knife fell and the price was paid What God would not let Abraham do to his son God did for you through His own... it is done God will provide the lamb God will provide the lamb On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided God will provide the lamb The knife was raised... the fire prepared A father's love and a Father's care On a different hill on a different day God provided the Lamb to take our place God will provide the lamb God will provide the lamb God will provide the lamb Two thousand years of sacrifice Year after year... blood and smoke The same answer every time The problem is bigger than the solution The blood of bulls and goats Cannot take away sin They were only ever pointing To the One The Lamb of God Who takes away The sin of the world He is the ram in the thicket He is the provision He is Jehovah Jireh And on that hill He provided everything God will provide God will provide He already has He already has The Lamb was slain Before the foundation of the world God will provide God will provide
7. 7 The Dreamer Genesis 37-50; Acts 7:9-10; Romans 8:28; Genesis 50:20 Lyrics 4:58

   Rhapsody, Volume 1

   The Dreamer

   Genesis 37-50; Acts 7:9-10; Romans 8:28; Genesis 50:20

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   Lyrics

   They sold him for silver They left him for dead But the dreams he was given Still lived in his head What men meant for evil God was using for good The dreamer was rising Like they knew that he could Seventeen years old with a coat on his back Twelve brothers and a father and the whole thing cracked Jacob loved Joseph more than he hid And his brothers could feel every bit of what it did To their pride... they burned with a jealousy deep Joseph dreamed that the sun moon and stars bowed to his feet He told his brothers... probably not the smartest move But the God of the universe was already in the groove Writing a story that nobody could see Not his brothers not his father not Joseph himself completely But God was the author and the end was already known Before the pit before the chains before the throne His brothers grabbed him... stripped the coat... threw him in the well Sat down and ate their bread while he was in that hell Ishmaelite traders came across the dusty plain They pulled him out and sold him... twenty pieces... his campaign Ended before it started... or so they thought They dipped the coat in goat blood and brought It to their father Jacob whose heart was torn apart While Joseph was already in Egypt... a brand new start Though he couldn't see it from the back of a camel's load He ended up in Potiphar's house down that road And the Lord was with Joseph and everything he touched Succeeded... favor follows faith... don't overthink it much Then Potiphar's wife reached out her hand Joseph refused and ran... he wasn't taking that stand She lied and Joseph ended up in prison But even in the prison God was rising Through Joseph... the keeper of the prison liked him Put him in charge of all the others... the pattern hitting Two servants from Pharaoh... a butler a baker Both had dreams that needed a kingdom-level taker Joseph said tell me... don't interpretations belong to God He read the butler's dream and said in three days across The divide your head will be lifted and you'll serve Pharaoh again Remember me when it's good... but the butler forgot him Two full years went by and Pharaoh had a dream Seven fat cows and seven lean... what could that mean Seven full heads of grain and seven scorched thin Pharaoh called his magicians and none of them could begin To interpret what the night had laid down Then the butler remembered the man in the prison underground Joseph shaved and changed his clothes and stood before the throne Pharaoh said I heard you can interpret when you're shown Joseph said it is not me... it is God who gives the answer Pharaoh told the dream and Joseph moved like a dancer Seven years of abundance and seven years of famine God showed what He is doing... now get a man commanding Pharaoh said can we find one like him... a man with God's Spirit Joseph went from prisoner to prime minister... can you hear it Rings and robes and a chariot and a name Zaphenath-Paneah... and the seven years came He stored up grain like sand by the sea When the famine hit all the nations had need His brothers came to Egypt bowing low for grain Joseph saw them but they didn't recognize his name He tested them and wept when he saw Benjamin his brother Then he couldn't hold it... he wept and revealed to the others I am Joseph your brother whom you sold to Egypt And do not be distressed... God sent me before you could see it And when Jacob died And the brothers feared Joseph's revenge He said to them what every child of God needs to hear You intended to harm me But God intended it for good To accomplish what is now being done The saving of many lives This is Joseph But it sounds like Jesus Rejected by His brothers Sold for silver Falsely condemned Raised to the right hand of power And became the salvation of His people The dreamer is a shadow And the substance is the Son The dreamer keeps dreaming through the pit and the pain Through the chains and the prison through the sun and the rain What you meant for evil God was turning to gold The story isn't over when you're twenty years old He'll bring you through the fire He'll bring you through the flood What was meant to destroy you is working for your good The dreamer keeps rising... you can't stop the plan What God writes in the night He completes in the land Romans 8:28... all things work together For the good of those who love God The dreamer knew it before Paul wrote it What you're going through right now Is not the last chapter God is still writing The dreamer keeps dreaming through the pit and the pain Through the chains and the prison through the sun and the rain
8. 8 Let My People Go Exodus 1-15; John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7; Exodus 12:13; Isaiah 43:16-17 Lyrics 4:46

   Rhapsody, Volume 1

   Let My People Go

   Exodus 1-15; John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7; Exodus 12:13; Isaiah 43:16-17

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   Lyrics

   They built our cities with our blood and our bones They made us into bricks and called their empire home But the God of Abraham remembered His word And the cry of His people reached heaven and was heard A new king rose in Egypt who didn't know The name of Joseph or the debt that was owed He looked at the Hebrews and he saw a threat Four hundred years of slavery and they still weren't set Free... the more they were oppressed the more they grew Until Pharaoh gave the order what he thought he'd do Throw the Hebrew baby boys into the Nile But one baby in a basket floated down the aisle Of the river to the palace... Pharaoh's own daughter Drew Moses from the water and raised him like he oughta Have been... God's man living in the lion's den Getting ready for a mission that would start all over again Forty years in Midian Moses thought he was done Tending flocks in the desert until he saw the sun Burning in a bush that wasn't burning up He turned aside to see and God said hold up I AM WHO I AM... the God of your fathers Abraham Isaac Jacob... I've heard the slaughter Of my people I have seen their misery And I've come down to deliver them... go and be My voice before Pharaoh... go tell him to release My firstborn son Israel... let the captive go in peace Moses said who am I... God said I will be with you That's the only answer when the mission seems too big for you Ten plagues on the empire one for every lie Every false god in Egypt had to stand and testify That the God of Israel is the only God that lives First the water turned to blood... everything Egypt gives Frogs and lice and flies and livestock dying Boils and hail and locusts... judgment multiplying Darkness for three days so thick you could feel it Egypt's gods were nothing and the plagues revealed it Then the final word came... the most terrible of all The destroyer moves through Egypt and the firstborn fall Unless... unless the blood of a lamb is on the door Death will pass over... this is what the blood is for A lamb without blemish... one year old Blood on the doorpost blood on the lintel's hold Roast it and eat it with unleavened bread With sandals on your feet tonight we're moving ahead The destroyer passed through Egypt at midnight straight Every firstborn of Egypt met their fate But in every Hebrew home where the blood was applied Death passed over... the lamb had died Pharaoh woke up to a nation of grief And he called for Moses... get out get relief From my people go... take your herds and your families flee But the story wasn't over at the edge of the sea Six hundred chariots roaring down the sand The sea before them and Egypt close at hand The people cried out... was there no grave in Egypt you needed to take us here Moses said stand firm and see the salvation clear The LORD will fight for you... you need only be still Then he raised his staff over the sea and God fulfilled His word... the waters split and the people walked through On dry ground between walls of water two The Egyptian army followed and the sea came crashing down Pharaoh's entire army swallowed... the horses and the crown And Israel stood on the other side and sang The first recorded worship song ever rang Let my people go... thus says the Lord He hears the cry of the broken and He cannot be ignored His blood on the door... death cannot touch me no more I'm walking through the water I'm crossing to the shore Let my people go... thus says the Lord The God of the burning bush the God of Abraham's word His blood on the door... death cannot touch me no more I'm walking through the water I'm crossing to the shore Paul says in First Corinthians five verse seven Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed The lamb in Egypt was not the final answer It was the preview The blood on the door was not just saving Hebrew children from a plague It was a picture... painted thousands of years early ... Of the blood of God's own Son Applied to the door of your heart When death comes knocking When judgment passes through The blood of Jesus is the only thing that makes death pass over You are not just walking out of Egypt You are walking into the Kingdom of God And the sea that swallowed the enemy behind you Has swallowed your sin too Let my people go... thus says the Lord He hears the cry of the broken and He cannot be ignored His blood on the door... death cannot touch me no more I'm walking through the water I'm crossing to the shore Let my people go... thus says the Lord The God of the burning bush the God of Abraham's word His blood on the door... death cannot touch me no more I'm walking through the water I'm crossing to the shore I AM... sent me I AM... hears you I AM... is moving I AM... will fight for you Let my people go Let my people go Let my people go
9. 9 Holy Ground Exodus 19-20; Leviticus 16-17; Romans 3:20; Hebrews 9:22; Hebrews 10:1-4 Lyrics 5:49

   Rhapsody, Volume 1

   Holy Ground

   Exodus 19-20; Leviticus 16-17; Romans 3:20; Hebrews 9:22; Hebrews 10:1-4

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   Lyrics

   Sinai The mountain wrapped in fire and cloud No one came close No one came near Even the priests had to consecrate themselves Even the people had to be told Do not touch the mountain The God of all creation Was here Three months out of Egypt and they camped at the base Of a mountain where God said this is the place I will speak to you from thunder and fire and smoke The whole mountain shook like the world when He spoke The Lord descended on it like a consuming flame And Moses went up to hear the Holy One's name Set a boundary said keep the people back If anyone touches this mountain on the track Of approaching unbidden they will surely die You cannot walk up to the holy on a whim and try Because holiness is not just power... it is pure And the gap between your nature and His cannot be unsure Then God spoke and the mountain shook with the Ten The foundational law that the world would build on and then Break every generation every century through I am the LORD your God who brought you out... this is true No other gods before me... no idols no bowing No taking the name of the LORD vain and allowing Remember the Sabbath and keep it as holy Honor your father and mother... now slowly Do not murder do not commit adultery Do not steal do not lie... the law was pulling free A picture of the character of God on display The moral fabric of the universe... the only way The people heard the thunder and they trembled with fear They said Moses you speak to us... don't let God come near We'll die... the holiness of God was so overwhelming The whole crowd moved back and started getting As far from the mountain as they could stand But God drew Moses closer with an outstretched hand Into the thick darkness where God was dwelling His glory was the fire and His voice kept telling Moses everything... the law and the tabernacle plan How to build a place for the holy God to span The gap between His presence and a broken humanity A tent in the desert... the first theology Leviticus... the book that makes your reading plan crash But listen... this is where the blood narrative flashes Into full view... without the shedding of blood There is no forgiveness... that's the flood Under every instruction every sacrifice and priest Is this one unavoidable truth... sin is a beast That requires a death... the wages of sin Is death... something has to die to pay for this So year after year the high priest goes in Behind the veil with the blood of a goat for the sin Of the nation... covers it for another year But the next year comes and the problem reappears The law of God showed us the standard we missed The sacrifice system showed us the gap that exists But Hebrews says those sacrifices were a shadow A sketch on the page... not the full picture that followed The blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin They could only cover it till the real thing came in Until the High Priest who needed no sacrifice for himself The Lamb who was also the priest... take this off the shelf It is finished... one sacrifice... once for all time No more veil... no more distance... no more line The curtain tore from top to bottom God's own hand Tearing down the wall that no human could stand Access to the throne room through the blood of the Son Holy ground is now where the redeemed can come Take off your shoes Because the place where you are standing Is holy ground Not because you earned it Not because you cleaned yourself up Not because you kept the law But because the God who dwells in unapproachable light Approached you In flesh and blood He took the penalty the law demanded And offered you the access the law could never give Come boldly to the throne of grace You who were far off have been brought near By the blood of Christ This is holy ground He is holy holy holy We are guilty guilty guilty But He covered what we owe With the blood of the Son Holy ground... holy ground You cannot stand here on your own Holy ground... holy ground The distance only God can close He is holy... He is pure... He is fire and light We are broken... we are dust... but He made it right He made a way... He drew the plan The blood of Jesus... an outstretched hand Holy holy holy Is the LORD God Almighty Who was and is and is to come Holy ground Holy ground
10. 10 Wilderness Numbers; Deuteronomy 1-34; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Numbers 21:9; John 3:14-15 Lyrics 4:42

    Rhapsody, Volume 1

    Wilderness

    Numbers; Deuteronomy 1-34; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Numbers 21:9; John 3:14-15

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    Lyrics

    Forty years Not forty days Forty years Of manna in the morning And a column of fire at night And still... still ... They wanted to go back Eleven days from Egypt to the promised land Forty years is what their stubbornness had planned Because faith doesn't just cross a sea... it stays the course When the miracle fades and the journey gets horse Dry and hard and longer than you thought it would be They saw the plagues... they walked through the sea They drank from the rock and ate the bread from the sky And still they grumbled Moses why did we have to leave Egypt to die in the desert... you deceived Us and our families and our cattle and our kids We'd rather be slaves than trust what God did The twelve spies came back from Canaan with their report Ten said giants in the land and we can't afford To fight... we were like grasshoppers in their sight Only Caleb and Joshua said we've got the right God on our side... let us go up and take the land He promised it and He's able to hold our hand But the people believed the ten and wept that night Wished they were dead... God said alright The generation that saw the miracles and still refused Will wander until they die... none of them who chose To believe the lie will enter the rest Except Caleb and Joshua who passed the faith test Then the serpents came as a plague through the camp People bitten and dying every night every lamp Going out... they cried to Moses we have sinned Against God and against you... can you begin To ask God for deliverance... Moses prayed And God said make a bronze serpent and have it displayed On a pole... anyone who is bitten who looks At the serpent will live... it's in the books Now that sounds strange... looking at the problem to be healed But Jesus said in John three remember what was revealed The Son of Man must be lifted up just like this So everyone who looks to Him in faith won't miss Moses struck the rock when God said speak to it That moment of anger cost him the full trip He could not enter Canaan... could not cross the Jordan The consequence was real even for the most important Man in the whole story... leadership matters When you represent God in the wilderness chapters The first generation died in the sand But God raised up a new one who was ready to stand And Moses poured his life into the final sermon Deuteronomy... hear these words I am earning Nothing for... I'm leaving... but you must remember Every single word God spoke from September Love the LORD your God with all your heart and soul and might These words shall be on your heart... teach them left right Bind them on your hand put them between your eyes Write them on your doorposts... let your children recognize The God who brought you out with an outstretched arm Who fed you in the desert and kept you from harm Who disciplines like a father disciplines his child Don't forget the LORD when the land runs wild With blessing and abundance when the cisterns are full Don't let the fullness make you forget the pull Of His hand in the desert... remember the rock Remember the manna... remember Who holds the clock Paul says these things happened to them as examples And were written down as warnings for us On whom the culmination of the ages has come Your wilderness is not your punishment Your wilderness is your preparation Every morning there is new mercy... like manna Every night there is a fire to follow God is not done with you in the desert He is forming you in the desert And on the other side of the Jordan Is everything He promised But Moses pointed to someone greater A Joshua who would finally lead His people home Not to a piece of land in Canaan But to a rest that can never be taken He provided manna every morning in the wild He covered them with cloud and fire... every man woman child He led them through the desert with His presence and His hand But forty years of wandering when eleven days was the plan He is patient... He provides... He disciplines... He stays But don't waste your wilderness... don't trade your whole life away He brings you through the desert to a place that He has planned Trust the God of the wilderness... He'll lead you to the land This is not your final destination This is the wilderness The Promised Land is on the other side The manna falls every morning The fire burns every night He has not left you He has not forgotten you Trust the God of the wilderness
11. 11 The Walls Come Down Joshua 1-6; Hebrews 11:30-31; Joshua 1:9; James 2:25 Lyrics 4:36

    Rhapsody, Volume 1

    The Walls Come Down

    Joshua 1-6; Hebrews 11:30-31; Joshua 1:9; James 2:25

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    Lyrics

    Be strong and courageous Do not be afraid Do not be discouraged The LORD your God is with you Wherever you go Moses was dead and the mantle had fallen On Joshua the son of Nun and the LORD was calling Strong and courageous... say it again... be strong Don't let the size of what's in front of you get you wrong The law of God on your lips day and night Meditate obey and you'll have the fight Because the LORD your God is with you wherever you go From the desert to the Jordan to the walls of Jericho The priests picked up the ark and stepped into the flood Jordan at flood stage... the water split with a thud Twelve stones from the riverbed placed on the other side A memorial for the miracle... God's signature inside Jericho was shut up tight... no one going out or in Fear of the Israelites had gripped the city thin Then the LORD said here's the plan... march around the city One time a day for six days... doesn't sound pretty As a military strategy to anyone alive Seven priests with trumpets made of rams' horns drive The ark of the covenant around the city walls On the seventh day go seven times... then the call Of a long blast on the trumpets and the people shout Every person with every voice... let it out The wall will collapse and every man goes straight in The strangest battle plan in the history of win Before any of this... a prostitute in a house on the wall Rahab who had heard of God's works and the fall Of Egypt and the Red Sea... she believed before she knew And when the spies came she hid them and she knew To tie the scarlet cord in her window to be saved The blood-red thread hanging from the edge she'd saved Her whole family... father mother brothers all The ones inside her house would live through the fall Rahab wasn't Jewish... she was Canaanite and foreign But she believed and that faith was not ignored when God wrote down the list of those who lived by faith Hebrews eleven names her with the greats Seven days of marching while the city watched them circle Seven days of silence for the soldier and the servant The people must have wondered what on earth this meant Seven days of faith before the walls were bent Then the seventh day the seventh time the priest blew long And Joshua said shout... for the LORD has given it... the song Of victory before the victory came And the walls fell flat... every section every frame They went up straight in and took the city for God Except Rahab's house marked red against the odds Every wall that stands between you and the promise Is not too thick for the God who keeps His promise Now what walls are you circling right now What obstacle looks too tall and too proud Too thick too strong too long in your way What are you doing on the sixth day Waiting for Sunday waiting for the shout When faith was required in the marching without The drama... the quiet obedience day after day Is the preparation for the moment walls give way Be strong and courageous... the Lord is with you The same God who parted the Jordan will see you through What He commands He enables and what He promises He keeps The walls come down for the one who the covenant seeks The walls come down when the people obey When faith shows up and the trumpet plays God doesn't need your strategy He needs your trust He fights the battles that are impossible for us The walls come down... you don't need a battering ram You need the presence of the God of Abraham March around your wall march around your mountain The walls come down when the shout rises up Every wall of addiction Every wall of shame Every wall of family dysfunction Every wall of past failure Every wall of fear Is not too thick Is not too tall Is not too old To fall When you march in obedience When the presence of God goes before you When the trumpet of His Word sounds And the people of God lift their voice Walls fall Jericho fell in a day Your wall is next The walls come down when the people obey When faith shows up and the trumpet plays God doesn't need your strategy He needs your trust He fights the battles that are impossible for us The walls come down... you don't need a battering ram You need the presence of the God of Abraham March around your wall march around your mountain The walls come down when the shout rises up Be strong and courageous Be strong and courageous The LORD your God is with you The walls come down The walls come down
12. 12 Cycle Judges 1-21; Romans 7:15-25; Judges 21:25; Hebrews 4:15 Lyrics 5:35

    Rhapsody, Volume 1

    Cycle

    Judges 1-21; Romans 7:15-25; Judges 21:25; Hebrews 4:15

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    Lyrics

    We forget We fall We cry He calls We rise We rest We forget Here we go again The generation that saw Joshua die Didn't pass the stories to the next generation's eye They didn't know the LORD... never knew what He'd done And so began the most painful cycle under the sun They went after the Baals and the Asherah poles Abandoned the God who had rescued their souls Intermarried served foreign gods in the land And the anger of God burned... He withdrew His hand He handed them over to raiders and thieves To enemies who plundered them while they breathed In distress and anguish they cried out at last And God raised up a judge to save them from the past Deborah sat under a palm tree in the hills of Ephraim Prophetess and judge calling Israel to reclaim Her position... she told Barak go and fight Ten thousand men on the mountain... God will make it right Barak said I'll only go if you go with me She said I'll go but the honor won't be Yours... the LORD will give the enemy Into the hand of a woman... so let it be And Sisera the general of nine hundred iron chariots Was defeated by the God who uses the weakest inheritants A woman drove a tent peg through his head in her tent The cycle broke for a moment... and the land had rest Then Gideon threshing wheat in a wine press hiding The angel of the LORD appeared and started guiding Mighty warrior... don't you know who you are God is with you... you'll deliver Israel so far Gideon said with all respect you've got the wrong guy My clan is the weakest my family is small and I Am the least of them... the angel said I know Go in this strength... I am sending you... now go God thinned the army from thirty-two thousand men Down to three hundred... because ten thousands and then The victory would be theirs not God's in their mind Three hundred torches and trumpets in the night... combined Samson... the man with the strength and the story The Nazirite vow and a weakness for glory Of the wrong kind... Philistine women and pride He broke every vow that should have been his guide Riddles and honey and foxes and fire Delilah on his chest whispering what he desired To hear while she worked for the enemy's wage He told her the secret and ended up in a cage Eyes gouged in Gaza grinding in the mill The mighty man broken by his own lack of will But the hair grew back and the story's not done Samson in his death killed more than in life as a son Every man did what was right in his own eyes That's the last verse of Judges... and it's not a surprise That the whole book is a graveyard of half-finished things Every judge a flawed and temporary king The cycle the cycle the cycle keeps going Because the problem isn't Baal... it's the knowing That human hearts are deceitful and desperately sick The Law can tell you what's wrong but it can't fix What's broken in the chest... we need a new heart A judge who never fails a leader at the start Who has no sin and never enters the cycle again We need a King who saves us from our own sin We forget we fall we cry He calls a judge We rise we rest we forget... and here we go again We forget we fall we cry He calls a judge We rise we rest we forget... and here we go again The cycle keeps spinning the wheel keeps turning The heart keeps wandering the soul keeps yearning For the One who can break it for good from the start The only One who can change a hard heart Paul writes in Romans seven I do not do what I want to do But the very thing I hate... that is what I do He describes the cycle perfectly Not in Judges... in his own chest Who will rescue me from this body of death Thanks be to God... through Jesus Christ our Lord The cycle doesn't end by trying harder It ends when the One who never entered the cycle Enters your heart and breaks it from the inside He is the Judge who never needed a judge The King who never fell The Son who never forgot His Father In Him the cycle ends We forget we fall we cry He calls a judge We rise we rest we forget... and here we go again We forget we fall we cry He calls a judge We rise we rest we forget... and here we go again The cycle keeps spinning the wheel keeps turning The heart keeps wandering the soul keeps yearning For the One who can break it for good from the start The only One who can change a hard heart He is the only One who breaks the cycle He is the only One who changes the heart He is the only One Come Lord Jesus Break the cycle
13. 13 The Shepherd King 1 Samuel 16-17; 2 Samuel 5-11; Psalm 23; Psalm 51; 2 Samuel 7; Acts 13:22 Lyrics 5:09

    Rhapsody, Volume 1

    The Shepherd King

    1 Samuel 16-17; 2 Samuel 5-11; Psalm 23; Psalm 51; 2 Samuel 7; Acts 13:22

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    Lyrics

    Not the tallest Not the oldest Not the strongest in the field But the God who sees the hidden things Looked at a shepherd boy's heart revealed Jesse lined up seven sons before Samuel's eyes Each one looked the part... each one the right size But the LORD said not this one... man looks at the outside God looks at what lives inside... the pride Or the faith... the corruption or the fire Not the face but the soul... the real desire Go get the youngest... he's keeping the sheep And David came in from the field half asleep With ruddy cheeks and beautiful eyes and heart And God said this is the one... anoint him... start The oil ran down and the Spirit came with power From that day forward... David's anointed hour Nine feet tall and Philistine and for forty days He taunted the armies of Israel with his gaze Every soldier shrank back... the whole camp was afraid But a boy came with five smooth stones and a trade In faith over fear... he looked at Goliath and said You come at me with sword and spear but I'm led By the name of the LORD God of Israel's armies You've defied the living God and He's arming me Not with armor... Saul's armor didn't fit anyway David ran to the battle line that famous day Sling in hand... one stone in the air And a giant fell face down in the valley there David became the king... Jerusalem his throne The ark brought home with shouting... he danced like no one Was watching... stripped of his royal robe and leaping Michal watching from the window... her opinion keeping To herself until she couldn't any longer But David said I'll be even more undignified and stronger In my worship... this is before the LORD who chose me Over your father's house... undignified... you know me This is what a man after God's heart does He lays his dignity down without a buzz Of concern for what the watching crowd will say The worship is for God... let the people what they may But the spring when kings went to war... David stayed home And from the roof he saw Bathsheba alone He sent for her and she came and then he knew What he had done... and the coverup grew He had Uriah placed at the front of the fighting Uriah the loyal soldier died writing The last chapter of a life he gave everything to David thought he'd hidden it... Nathan came through With a story of a rich man and a poor man's lamb And David burned with anger... tell me who I am Looking at... Nathan said it plainly... you are the man And David's world collapsed... the prophet's reprimand Psalm fifty-one... the prayer that came from the rubble Have mercy on me O God according to your lovingkindness According to the greatness of your compassion blot out my trouble Wash me thoroughly from my sin Create in me a clean heart O God And renew a right spirit within Against you and you alone have I sinned And done what is evil in your sight Do not cast me from your presence Do not take your Spirit from my life Restore to me the joy of salvation And the broken and contrite heart You will not despise... that was the start Of the grace that met him in the dark He was a shepherd king... a man after God's heart Who slayed a giant and wrote songs in the dark The anointed one who danced before the ark A shepherd king... a man after God's heart But the shepherd had a shadow the king had a fall And the grace that met him at Psalm fifty-one says God can still use a broken vessel's call A shepherd king... a man after God's heart Second Samuel chapter seven God makes a promise to David through Nathan the prophet Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me Your throne will be established forever The Davidic Covenant... one of David's sons will reign forever Every king after David was tested against this promise Every one of them fell short Until the angel Gabriel says to a teenager in Nazareth The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David And he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever His kingdom will never end The shepherd King is coming His name is Jesus Son of David Son of God King of kings He was a shepherd king... a man after God's heart Who slayed a giant and wrote songs in the dark The anointed one who danced before the ark A shepherd king... a man after God's heart But the shepherd had a shadow the king had a fall And the grace that met him at Psalm fifty-one says God can still use a broken vessel's call A shepherd king... a man after God's heart The LORD is my shepherd I shall not want He leads me beside still waters and restores my soul Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for You are with me Your rod and Your staff they comfort me Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever
14. 14 Songs in the Dark (Interlude) Psalm 22; Psalm 23; Psalm 46; Psalm 139; Psalm 51:17 Lyrics 3:45

    Rhapsody, Volume 1

    Songs in the Dark (Interlude)

    Psalm 22; Psalm 23; Psalm 46; Psalm 139; Psalm 51:17

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    Lyrics

    The Psalms are not Sunday morning music The Psalms are what people say When they think no one else is listening When the dark is too dark And the morning is too far away They are the prayers that didn't clean themselves up Before they knocked on the door They are the honest ones Listen Psalm twenty-two My God my God... why have you forsaken me Why are you so far from saving me So far from my cries of anguish I cry out by day but you do not answer By night... but I find no rest I am a worm and not a man Scorned by everyone despised by the people All who see me mock me They hurl insults... shaking their heads He trusts in the LORD... let the LORD rescue him But you brought me out of the womb You made me trust in you Even at my mother's breast Do not be far from me For trouble is near And there is no one to help Psalm twenty-three The LORD is my shepherd I lack nothing He makes me lie down in green pastures He leads me beside quiet waters He refreshes my soul Even though I walk through the darkest valley I will fear no evil For you are with me Your rod and your staff... they comfort me You prepare a table before me In the presence of my enemies My cup overflows Surely your goodness and love will follow me All the days of my life And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever Psalm forty-six God is our refuge and strength An ever-present help in trouble Therefore we will not fear Though the earth give way And the mountains fall into the heart of the sea Though its waters roar and foam And the mountains quake with their surging There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God The holy place where the Most High dwells God is within her... she will not fall He says... Be still And know that I am God I will be exalted among the nations I will be exalted in the earth The LORD Almighty is with us The God of Jacob is our fortress Psalm one hundred and thirty-nine You have searched me LORD And you know me You know when I sit and when I rise You perceive my thoughts from afar You discern my going out and my lying down You are familiar with all my ways Where can I go from your Spirit Where can I flee from your presence If I go up to the heavens... you are there If I make my bed in the depths... you are there If I rise on the wings of the dawn If I settle on the far side of the sea Even there your hand will guide me Your right hand will hold me fast For you created my inmost being You knit me together in my mother's womb I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made Your works are wonderful... I know that full well Prayer was never meant to be polished It was always meant to be honest The God who knows every star by name Knows every tear by name You can bring your Psalm twenty-two You can bring your darkest valley You can bring your where are you God Because here is what the Psalms teach us That the same mouth that cried My God why have you forsaken me Was the mouth that said Into your hands I commit my spirit And a thousand years later A man hanging on a cross Used those exact same words Because God does not waste our darkness He enters it And He is not afraid of your honest prayer He wrote a book full of them Bring yours
15. 15 The Wise Fool 1 Kings 1-11; Proverbs 4:23; Proverbs 9:10; Ecclesiastes 1:2; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 Lyrics 5:57

    Rhapsody, Volume 1

    The Wise Fool

    1 Kings 1-11; Proverbs 4:23; Proverbs 9:10; Ecclesiastes 1:2; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

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    Lyrics

    The wisest man who ever lived Had a thousand wives And a thousand ways to lose What God had freely given It's not what you know It's Who you follow Solomon asked for wisdom when he could have asked for gold And God was so pleased with the question that He told Him I'll give you wisdom greater than any before And wealth and honor and long life... much more Than you asked for... if you walk in My ways And Solomon walked and his glory blazed The Temple rose from cedar and stone The ark came home... the fire fell and no man could atone For the weight of God's presence that filled the space Even Solomon said the heavens can't contain this place How much less this temple that I built with hands Yet turn toward it and hear... our prayer understands The Queen of Sheba came from the ends of the earth She heard about his wisdom and she needed to verify its worth She came with hard questions... nothing was hidden from him He answered them all and she stood at the brim Of what she'd expected and it overflowed She gave him gold and spices more than the road Could hold and said the reports I heard weren't half the story How blessed are your people who stand in your glory Gold shields and ivory thrones and four hundred Talents of gold coming yearly... the world wondered How one man could hold this much... the answer simple Until you read the verses where it turns sinister Seven hundred wives... princesses every name Three hundred concubines... God said not this game Don't intermarry with the nations because they'll turn Your heart after their gods... but Solomon didn't learn Or didn't listen or thought he was the exception And his wives turned his heart in the wrong direction He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians He built a high place for Chemosh... the Ammonians Molech... the detestable god of the Ammonites Idol shrines on the hillsides burning through the nights And the LORD was angry because his heart had turned Away from the God of Israel... every lesson unlearned He wrote it all down in the end... Ecclesiastes says Vanity of vanities... all is vapor all of it fades I undertook great projects... I built and I planted I accumulated silver and gold as I wanted I denied myself nothing my eyes desired I refused my heart no pleasure... every hired Singer every concubine every garden Every pool of water... and when my heart hardened Into the audit... nothing under the sun had meaning The chasing after wind... the endless cleaning Of nothing... and he came around to this at the close Fear God and keep His commandments... that's all a man knows The kingdom split after Solomon left the scene Because the idol smoke had lingered and the clean Worship of God had been traded for the ornament Of foreign religion... the temple became irrelevant To a king who had lost the plot and paid For every gold idol with the kingdom he'd made Let this be the warning sung over every generation Gifted and brilliant... be careful of the drift From the holy to the hollow... from the altar to the station Of your own comfort... it's the subtlest of all sin When the wisest heart in history let the slow drift in Don't be the wise fool... keep your heart with all diligence You gave him everything and he gave it away The wisest man who ever lived couldn't make himself stay He started in the spirit and he finished in the flesh He knew what was right and he chose what was less Wisdom without devotion becomes philosophy Wealth without surrender becomes idolatry You can know all the answers and still get it wrong If the knowing never makes it to a worshiping song Proverbs four verse twenty-three says Above all else guard your heart For everything you do flows from it Solomon wrote that And couldn't keep it Not because God failed him But because the slow drift Doesn't announce itself It happens in the thousand small yes-es To things that should have been no Guard your heart Above all else Guard your heart Because what gets in quietly Eventually gets comfortable And calls your idols by name You gave him everything and he gave it away The wisest man who ever lived couldn't make himself stay He started in the spirit and he finished in the flesh He knew what was right and he chose what was less Wisdom without devotion becomes philosophy Wealth without surrender becomes idolatry You can know all the answers and still get it wrong If the knowing never makes it to a worshiping song Guard your heart Guard your heart The wisest fool in history Left a warning Guard your heart
16. 16 The Divided House 1 Kings 12 - 2 Kings 17; 1 Kings 18-19; Romans 11:5; Amos 5:24; Micah 6:8 Lyrics 5:07

    Rhapsody, Volume 1

    The Divided House

    1 Kings 12 - 2 Kings 17; 1 Kings 18-19; Romans 11:5; Amos 5:24; Micah 6:8

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    Lyrics

    A house divided A kingdom split Twelve tribes... two thrones And the slow descent begins But God always leaves a remnant God always sends a voice Rehoboam listened to the young men who said push harder His father's yoke was heavy... make it even harder Jeroboam rose up and ten tribes pulled away The northern kingdom Israel born that day And the first thing Jeroboam did was make two golden calves He said it's too far to Jerusalem... here's half The religion you need... worship here worship there And the sin of Jeroboam became the standard prayer Every king in the north was measured against this one Did he walk in the way of Jeroboam the son Of Nebat who caused Israel to sin Every single king... and the answer was... again Judah held the temple... held the Davidic line Most kings did evil... some walked the covenant fine Asa tore down the idols... Jehoshaphat sought the LORD Hezekiah broke the bronze serpent that was being adored Because the people were burning incense to the pole That Moses made in the wilderness... idol control Even the good things can become idols when They replace the worship of God again Josiah found the law book in the temple and read it And the whole kingdom broke before the God who said it But the decay was deep and the reform was skin The revival didn't reach the root of sin Into the most corrupt moment a prophet appeared Elijah of Tishbe... telling Ahab what he feared No rain until I say so... the word of the LORD And Ahab burned with hatred... it was war Three and a half years of drought... not a drop Then the day on Carmel where it all came to a stop Four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal against one man All morning they cried out and danced their plan Cut themselves and prophesied and nothing fell Elijah mocked them and repaired the altar well Twelve stones for twelve tribes... he drenched the altar twice Then prayed one simple prayer... let this suffice O LORD God of Abraham Isaac and Israel Let it be known today that you are God in Israel Fire fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifice The wood the stones the water... paid the price Every prophet of Baal was put to death that day And the rain came in black clouds... God made a way But then Jezebel sent word... you'll be dead by morning Elijah ran into the desert without warning And under a juniper tree he asked to die I've had enough LORD... take my life... this is why I'm no better than my ancestors... the burnout After the mountaintop victory... the spiritual dropout But an angel touched him twice... get up and eat The journey is too great and you need some meat In the cave on Horeb... what are you doing here Elijah said I'm the only one left and they fear Me now... God said go stand on the mountain Wind that tore the mountains... God not in the pounding Earthquake... God not in the breaking Fire... God not in the flaming After the fire... a still small voice... a gentle whisper Elijah what are you doing here... listen I have seven thousand in Israel who have not bowed To Baal... God always has a remnant cloud Of witnesses who keep the faith when the culture falls He is never without a people who answer when He calls The northern kingdom fell to Assyria... two Kings seventeen Because they rejected every prophet and every dream God had sent to turn them back... they chose to harden Their hearts and serve foreign gods in the broken garden The southern kingdom held on... fell to Babylon The city burned and the people were carried on Into exile... but even in the rubble of the nation God was not finished with His chosen revelation He was writing the next chapter of the covenant thread Every exile was a setup for the story ahead The prophets kept prophesying through the fire A King is coming... higher than any empire Even in the divided kingdom Even in the moral collapse of leadership after leadership Even when the prophets seemed to be speaking to no one God kept a remnant Seven thousand who had not bowed to Baal Paul quotes this in Romans eleven When he says God has not rejected His people There is a remnant chosen by grace There is always a remnant chosen by grace Whatever feels like total collapse around you God is not without a witness He is not without a people And He is not finished writing A house divided cannot stand for long The kingdom splits when the worship goes wrong But God always leaves a remnant... a voice in the wind A fire on a mountain... He sends again and again His prophets and His mercy and His patience and His call Do justice love mercy walk humbly above all A house divided... God is still on His throne He never leaves His people without a way home God always leaves a remnant God always sends a voice He never leaves His people without a way He never leaves His people without a way
17. 17 The Voice of the LORD Isaiah 1, 53; Jeremiah 1, 9, 31; Ezekiel 36-37; Hosea 11; Amos 5:24; Micah 6:8 Lyrics 5:26

    Rhapsody, Volume 1

    The Voice of the LORD

    Isaiah 1, 53; Jeremiah 1, 9, 31; Ezekiel 36-37; Hosea 11; Amos 5:24; Micah 6:8

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    Lyrics

    In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the LORD Seated on a throne high and exalted And the train of His robe filled the temple Holy... holy... holy Is the LORD Almighty The whole earth is full of His glory Isaiah in the temple with a vision burning clean Six-winged seraphim crying holy in between The throne of God and everything beneath it Woe is me... I am undone... Isaiah said I'll meet it With full confession... I am a man of unclean lips Living among a people whose whole nation slips Into the same... then the coal from the altar came To his lips... your guilt is taken your sin is claimed Whom shall I send... and who will go for us Then said Isaiah... here am I... send me... just Us... and God said go and tell this people hear But they won't listen and they won't see clear Isaiah fifty-three... seven hundred years before the nail He saw the suffering servant in his vision without fail Who has believed what we have heard... the arm Of the LORD... revealed to who... no alarm He grew up like a tender shoot... no beauty no form That we should desire him... despised and worn A man of sorrows acquainted with grief We hid our faces from him... we thought somehow relief From watching... but surely he took up our pain And bore our suffering... yet we considered him slain By God stricken and afflicted... wrong again He was pierced for our transgressions crushed for our sin The punishment that brought us peace was on him And by his wounds we are healed... the hymn We all like sheep have gone astray each of us turned To our own way... and the LORD has made it burned Into his body... the iniquity of us all He was oppressed and afflicted... and yet the call He didn't open his mouth... like a lamb to the slaughter Like a sheep before its shearers... silent... the daughter Of Zion would know... after his suffering He will see the light of life and be satisfied... ring The bells... this was written seven hundred years before The cross... and it reads like an eyewitness report Jeremiah wept... God called him from the womb To speak to nations... to tear down and consume And to build and to plant... but first the tearing The weeping prophet who kept on declaring A message no one wanted to receive Jerusalem is broken... turn before you leave The city... before Babylon carries you out He wrote Lamentations from the ash and the doubt Of a man who loved the city that rejected him Like the God who loved the nation that rejected Him But even in the rubble Jeremiah wrote this true It is of the LORD's mercies we are not consumed Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones... the Spirit asks Son of man can these bones live... the masks Come off and Ezekiel says LORD you know And God said prophesy to the bones... let the wind blow Speak to the breath... come from the four winds And breathe into these dead bones and begin Again... and Ezekiel prophesied as commanded And bone came to bone and sinew expanded And flesh came and skin and they stood on their feet A vast army... from the grave back to their seat This is the whole house of Israel... God said to hear My people say our bones are dried and our hope is not here But I will open your graves and bring you out And put my Spirit in you... the breath... the shout Thus says the LORD... thus says the LORD Do justice love mercy walk humbly in His Word Thus says the LORD... thus says the LORD He sends a voice before He sends the sword The prophets weren't predicting disaster just for show They were warning every heart that refused to know Thus says the LORD... the covenant God speaks A Redeemer is coming for the lowly and the meek Micah six eight says He has shown you O mortal what is good And what does the LORD require of you To act justly and to love mercy And to walk humbly with your God Three things... not a list of sacrifices Not a checklist of religious performance Not how big your offering is Justice. Mercy. Humility The prophet's whole message in one verse And if you want to know who modeled it perfectly Read the Gospels He acted justly He loved mercy He walked humbly before God And He is coming back Thus says the LORD... thus says the LORD Do justice love mercy walk humbly in His Word Thus says the LORD... thus says the LORD He sends a voice before He sends the sword The prophets weren't predicting disaster just for show They were warning every heart that refused to know Thus says the LORD... the covenant God speaks A Redeemer is coming for the lowly and the meek He will make a new covenant with the house of Israel Not like the covenant I made with their ancestors I will put my law in their minds And write it on their hearts I will be their God And they will be my people Thus says the LORD Jeremiah thirty-one Thus says the LORD
18. 18 The Lion's Den Daniel 1-6; Daniel 3:17-18; Hebrews 11:33-34; Romans 12:2; 1 Peter 5:8 Lyrics 5:21

    Rhapsody, Volume 1

    The Lion's Den

    Daniel 1-6; Daniel 3:17-18; Hebrews 11:33-34; Romans 12:2; 1 Peter 5:8

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    Lyrics

    They took them from Jerusalem Gave them new names New food new language new gods But you can change a man's name You cannot change his God 597 BC... Babylon came and took the best The brightest young men from Jerusalem... a test Of the empire's power to assimilate and erase Every identity and every trace Of who these young men were before the chains Nebuchadnezzar chose them for his royal campaigns Intelligence appearance wisdom... the finest He would teach them Babylonian... refined list Of subjects and the food from the royal table But Daniel resolved he would not... he was able To hold the line where others had already bent He was in Babylon... Babylon was not in him... that's the intent The food test first... ten days on vegetables and water They came out healthier than those who ate what the slaughter Of the royal kitchen provided... God honored the stand In small obedience first before the bigger demand Then Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and in a rage Demanded his wise men reveal what was on the page Of his dream... without telling them what he dreamed The impossible test... and when the wise men seemed Unable to deliver... the order came down Execute all the wise men in the town Daniel asked for time and prayed through the night God revealed the mystery and brought it to light The ninety-foot gold statue... bow down or die Shadrach Meshach Abednego... their reply Even if our God does not deliver us we want You to know O king... we do not flaunt Empty religion... we will not serve your gods We will not bow to your image regardless of the odds The furnace was heated seven times hotter than normal The soldiers who threw them in died from the thermal Blast... but three men bound walked in the fire Then the king stood up... wait... I see four in the fire The fourth looks like a son of the gods... who is walking With them in the midst of the flame... the talking Daniel chapter six... a new empire new threat Darius the Mede and the satraps weren't done yet They searched for corruption in Daniel's record And found nothing... except his prayer toward Jerusalem three times a day... that's all So they wrote the law... no prayer except to the king or fall Into the lions' den... and Daniel went home And opened his window toward Jerusalem alone And prayed as he had always done without changing a thing They caught him they condemned him the sentence would sting The king was troubled... he fasted all night and he ran To the sealed stone at dawn... Daniel... living man Daniel called from the pit... my God sent His angel And shut the lions' mouths... they have done no damage To me because I was found innocent in His sight And before you O king I have done nothing not right The king pulled him out and the conspirators thrown in The lions crushed them before they reached the bottom... begin The decree that went out through the whole empire then The God of Daniel... He is the living God... and when He saves He rescues He performs signs in heaven And still works across every generation today The God of the lions' den is not one generation away What is your Babylon... what is your furnace What empire is telling you who you are and what the purpose Of your life should be... what social pressure and what culture Is circling your identity like a vulture Waiting for you to bow... what ninety-foot statue Has been built in the public square and what are you Going to do when they heat the furnace seven times hotter And demand you choose your comfort or your Father The God of Daniel doesn't promise no furnace He promises to be in the furnace with you... His purpose Is not always deliverance from the fire Sometimes it is the testimony inside the fire First Peter five eight says Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion Looking for someone to devour That kind of faith doesn't come from comfortable religion It comes from a God you actually know Not a God you know about A God you have walked with in the small things So that when the furnace is heated seven times hotter You already know His voice in the fire Do you know His voice Can you hear Him in the furnace you're in right now He is there There is a fourth man in the fire They can change your name... they can change your address They can tell you who to be and what you can't possess But the God of the lion's den is the God of the furnace too There's a fourth man in the fire and He is walking with you They can put you in the pit... they can shut every door But the God who closes lions' mouths is the God worth dying for Stand firm... don't bow... refuse to bend your knee The same God who shut the lions' mouths can still set you free Stand firm... don't bow Stand firm... don't bow There is a fourth man in the fire There is a fourth man in the fire His name is Jesus His name is Jesus His name is Jesus
19. 19 Exile and Return 2 Kings 25; Lamentations 3:22-23; Ezra 1-3; Nehemiah 1-6; Esther 4:14; Jeremiah 29:11 Lyrics 6:34

    Rhapsody, Volume 1

    Exile and Return

    2 Kings 25; Lamentations 3:22-23; Ezra 1-3; Nehemiah 1-6; Esther 4:14; Jeremiah 29:11

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    Lyrics

    The city fell The temple burned The people marched in chains To Babylon And the question hung In the smoke of the ruins Has God abandoned us Second Kings twenty-five... the darkest chapter In the history of God's chosen people... disaster Nebuchadnezzar's armies broke the wall And Jerusalem... the city of the great King... fall The temple of Solomon... the cedar and gold Stripped and burned and broken in the cold Of history... the ark is gone the lampstand gone The glory cloud that filled the temple gone The people marched in chains to a foreign land Stripped of everything... their songs their stands Their sacrifices... how can we sing the LORD's song In a strange land... the question all along Lamentations... Jeremiah sat in the ruins and wept But even in the ash he found a truth that kept Him from total despair... he wrote it down so we Could find it in our own rubble... look and see It is because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed His compassions never fail... they're renewed Every morning... great is Your faithfulness He is good to those who hope in Him... this is the best News in a graveyard... this is morning light In the thickest dark of the longest night The LORD is my portion says my soul Therefore I will hope in Him... and the hope was whole Seventy years... God said through Jeremiah before You set foot in Babylon... I know the plans I have in store For you... plans to prosper and not harm you Plans for a future and a hope... come find Me when You search with your whole heart... the promise then Was not for comfort... it was for faith... seeking God In the midst of exile not just when life is broad And easy... they built houses planted gardens prayed For the peace of the city where they'd been placed And in the middle of the most impossible year Jeremiah wrote... seek the LORD with all you hold dear Seventy years... Cyrus king of Persia rises He didn't know the God of Israel... yet God utilizes Him anyway... the LORD stirred up his spirit and he said Let every Israelite go home... the debt is paid Isaiah had named him by name a century before Cyrus... the shepherd who fulfills God's purpose... the door Opens and the people stream back home with tears And offerings and the treasures from the temple years Ezra chapter three... when they laid the foundation Of the second temple the priests with their congregations Shouted and wept together... some for joy and some for grief For the old glory... the mix of tears... the release Nehemiah heard in Persia that the walls were rubble And the gates were burned... he sat down in trouble And wept and prayed and fasted for days Then asked the king for permission... the king said go... praise God who was already moving before the prayer was done Nehemiah assessed the walls came back and begun The building... come let us rebuild the wall he said And the people rose to work... Sanballat mocked instead And threatened and conspired and wrote the letters But Nehemiah prayed and built... no fetters Were strong enough to stop what God had started Half the workers building while the other half guarded Esther... for such a time as this The Jewish girl who became queen didn't miss The moment when her cousin Mordecai said you may have Come to your royal position for this very page Of history... Haman's plot to kill all the Jews Would be stopped by a girl with everything to lose If she approached the king without being called But she said I will go... even if I fall If I perish I perish... and the king held out His scepter and the Jewish people had no doubt God had placed her there for such a time as this And the exile ended with a redemption they couldn't miss The temple is rebuilt The walls are standing The people are home But something is missing The glory cloud that filled Solomon's temple Has not returned The ark is gone The Shekinah presence is gone And the people wonder ... Where is God in this Where is the King The answer is coming The answer is being prepared in a village in Galilee In the womb of a teenager who said yes The glory is about to return Not to a building But to a body Not in smoke and fire But in flesh and blood Hold on The King is coming Even in exile God had not forgotten Even in Babylon the covenant was not rotten His mercies are new every morning... great is His faithfulness Even when we feel abandoned in the wilderness He knew the plans He had for us... plans for a future and hope He plants us in the exile and tells us learn to cope Not with despair but with faith... bloom where you've been scattered He was writing the return before the exile even mattered His mercies are new every morning Great is Your faithfulness Great is Your faithfulness Even in exile Even in Babylon Even in the rubble He is faithful He is faithful
20. 20 Four Hundred Years of Silence Malachi 4:1-6; Luke 1:13-17; Isaiah 40:3; John 1:23 Lyrics 5:59

    Rhapsody, Volume 1

    Four Hundred Years of Silence

    Malachi 4:1-6; Luke 1:13-17; Isaiah 40:3; John 1:23

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    Lyrics

    Malachi closes And the last prophet falls silent And four hundred years go by No prophet No new Word No divine voice Just... silence Imagine four hundred years of silence After centuries of burning prophets crying out After Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Hosea After the books were written and the promises were given The voice... stopped No new Scripture No new prophet No angel appearing to anyone No burning bush No still small voice Just the echo of what had already been said And in that silence... the promises still stood The words of Isaiah fifty-three still hung in the air The Davidic covenant still had not found its fulfillment Abraham was still waiting for the offspring through whom all nations would be blessed Four hundred years is a long time to wait When you don't know how long the silence will last But the people kept hoping The Psalms kept being sung Malachi's last word still warm in the scroll He said I will send the prophet Elijah before the great And dreadful day of the LORD comes So they watched And they waited And the silence stretched like the desert Under a noon sky Empires rose and fell Alexander the Great The Ptolemies The Seleucids The Maccabees The Romans And under every empire... a nation waiting Under every Caesar... a people longing For their Messiah Four hundred years of silence and a people in waiting Every generation living with the aching Question... has God forgotten... has He lost the thread Of the covenant He wove through every word He said To Abraham and Moses and David and the kings Has the promise become just a memory of things That used to be... has the story ended here In Roman occupation and religious fear But the Law and the Prophets were still being read Every Sabbath in every synagogue... the bread Of the Word kept the hope alive somehow A remnant of a people still waiting for the now Isaiah forty said A voice of one calling in the wilderness Prepare the way for the Lord Make straight in the desert a highway for our God Every valley shall be raised up Every mountain and hill made low The rough ground shall become level The rugged places a plain And the glory of the Lord will be revealed And all people will see it together They read this for four hundred years in the silence And they didn't know a wild man was being knit together in a womb In the hill country of Judea The son of Elizabeth and Zechariah Who would grow up eating locusts and wild honey In the desert Waiting for the moment when the silence would break Four hundred years And then... an angel An angel appeared to an old priest in the temple Burning incense before the Lord And said Your prayer has been heard Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son And you are to call him John And he will go on before the Lord In the spirit and power of Elijah To turn the hearts of the parents to their children And the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous To make ready a people prepared for the Lord The time has come The Kingdom of God is near Repent and believe the Good News The silence is over He is here

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