Emmanuel, Part I

This is a song that I wrote for Advent this year and finally got a chance to record it last week in my office.  This song focuses on the incarnation and what it means for Jesus to come and live as one of us and how that changes our lives with a new calling to extend his life on earth.

Next week I will post Emmanuel, Part II which I wrote for Palm Sunday.

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Emmanuel, Part I      (listen/download)     (chord chart)

He comes to be the Word that all words are judged by.
He comes to be the Light that all lights are seen by.
He comes to be the Blood that all debts are paid by.
He comes to be the Word that all words are judged by.

Emmanuel

He comes to bring some rest to the heavy laden.
He comes to gut the one who abused his children.
He comes to burn all memories of Satan.
He comes to bring some rest to the heavy laden.

Emmanuel

We beheld him, we have seen God’s face.
We have touched him, God with us remained.
We received him, we believed
In his name,
In his name,
In his name.

He comes to lift our heads to proclaim his witness,
He comes to dwell in us to reflect his radiance,
He comes to send us out, his incarnate presence,
He comes to lift our heads to proclaim his witness.

Emmanuel

When he comes again then we will be always with him.

I have so Little Faith

This is an offertory I wrote back in December for worship during advent. Each year I struggle to try to understand and express the incarnation of God: how unthinkable and appalling it is, how strange it is, how I wish I could have known Jesus on earth and how I long to see him in his glorified body and how I have a hard time believing. So why am I posting this Advent song so close to Easter? (other than the fact that I am just running behind in life) We are about to celebrate as a global church, Jesus dying a real death, not just a spiritual one, for our sake and Jesus rising in his physical body from death. Jesus was intimate with us, walked through our pollution, got it in his lungs and on his face and hands, and then redeemed it on the cross to make all things new. He know reigns in his physical human body in the heavenly realms. He did not just save us and shed his flesh. He continues to share humanity with us as he lives to intercede for us.

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I have so Little Faith       (listen/download)       (chord chart)

Lord can I touch you, I want to feel your embrace.
I want to hear you, say just about anything
I long with Moses and Elijah, to see your Day
But I have so little faith.

I want to ask, there’s so much I need explained.
I want to fall down with weeping and kiss your feet.
I long to lean on and let you hold all of my weight.
I have so little faith.

O God, now man, you give me hope,
You breathe my breath and touch my sores.
You hear me call, “I am unclean!”
Yet here you are, with me.

I want to love you, O God, you know the truth,
How I have hated and traded my Lord for filth.
I have not wanted to wait here for you in my pain.
I have so little faith.
I have so little faith

O God, now man, you give me hope,
You breathe my breath and touch my sores.
You hear me call, “I am unclean!”
Yet here you are, with me.

Hold Thou my Hand

This is a rewrite of a Fanny Crosby (1879) hymn that I did back in 2002 and have yet to release anywhere. However, since it has become a such a part of our worship at Redeemer and since I have gotten a such a good amount of prodding (Thanks Richard!), I thought I would finally get it posted. Hope it is a blessing to you all!

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Hold Thou My Hand          (listen/download)       (chord chart)

Hold thou my hand; so weak I am, and helpless,
I dare not take one step without thy aid;
Hold thou my hand; for then, O loving Savior,
No dread of ill shall make my soul afraid.

Hold thou my hand, and closer, draw me closer
To thy dear self—my hope, my joy, my all;
Hold thou my hand, lest haply I should wander,
And, missing thee, my trembling feet should fall.

Hold thou my hand; the way is dark before me
Without the sunlight of thy face divine;
But when by faith I catch its radiant glory,
What heights of joy, what rapturous songs are mine!

Hold thou my hand, that when I reach the margin
Of that lone river thou didst cross for me,
A heavenly light may flash along its waters,
And every wave like crystal bright shall be.

Hold thou my hand; so weak I am, and helpless,
I dare not take one step without thy aid;
I dare not take one step without thy aid.

I Need Jesus

Here is a song that I wrote back in November. It is a meditation on how we never graduate from our utter dependence on Jesus and how sanctification actually drives us deeper into that need. I hope it is an encouragement.

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vocals: Nathan Partain, Andrea Priest
guitar: Nathan Partain

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I Need Jesus       (listen/download)    (chord chart)

Well, I was lost inside confusion and a nightmare of a dream,
I did not know which god to turn to or if it were up to me,
Until some simple words were spoken that I gratefully received,
And just one prayer sprang up within me and I started whispering,
I need Jesus. Oh, I need Jesus. I need Jesus. Oh, I need Jesus.

But soon I found that sweet salvation just uncovered all my need.
That sin and me, like blood and ink, were all mixed up inseparably,
And that it’s not my deeds or branches but the roots of my whole tree,
That are so rotten full of hatred, that for me to merely breath,
I need Jesus. Oh, I need Jesus. I need Jesus. Oh, I need Jesus.

See, I had thought, one day, more holy or mature that I would be,
That I’d lead others on to righteousness and teach the blind to see.
Instead, I’ve found each day I’m frightened just how evil I can be,
And now I feel the most at home with all the perverts and unclean ’cause
I need Jesus. Oh, I need Jesus. I need Jesus. Oh, I need Jesus.

I keep on looking for some reason I should raise my self-esteem,
‘Cause all my gifts and all my efforts must sure add up to something,
But then again, again with tears of joy, I’m brought down to my knees,
Here at the foot of him who died for me I’m stripped of everything and,
I need Jesus. Oh, I need Jesus. I need Jesus. Oh, I need Jesus.

Now I say, “Glory! Hallelujah!”, I’m so glad to be redeemed!
To be so desperate for Jesus and so gloriously weak,
I do not ever want to stray from the Community of Need,
O may I never leave dependence or forsake my Food and Drink,
I need Jesus. Oh, I need Jesus. I need Jesus. Oh, I need Jesus.

Pass Me not O Tender Loving Savior

This Fanny Crosby (1868) hymn was introduced to me by my friend, Jeff Sparks. It was one of his father’s favorite hymns and he commissioned this rewrite as a birthday gift to his son. It was recorded live during worship in 2010.

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Pass Me not O Tender Loving Savior        (listen)       (chords)

Let me at Thy throne of mercy,
Find a sweet relief,
Kneeling there in deep contrition;
Help me, help my unbelief.

Pass me not, O tender loving Savior, Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art gently calling, Do not pass me by.

Trusting only in Thy merit,
Would I seek Thy face;
Heal my wounded, broken spirit,
Save me, save me by Thy grace.

Pass me not, O tender loving Savior, Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art gently calling, Do not pass me by.

Thou the Spring of all my comfort,
More than life to me,
Whom have I on earth beside Thee?
Whom in Heav’n, whom have I but Thee?

Pass me not, O tender loving Savior, Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art gently calling, Do not pass me by.

Glory to God in the Highest

This song was a gift of God to me. I had written about eight mediocre ideas during the month of December and was not excited about any of them. Then one afternoon in the midst of writing I had the beginning of a concept that I thought could actually go somewhere. I thought I wrote it down or recorded it before I had to move to the next thing but apparently i did not because the next day when I went back to work on it, I couldn’t find it…anywhere. It took a while but I finally let it go and tried to keep writing. However, I still didn’t like anything I was doing. Finally, under the pressures of my work at the church, Christmas services and my own downward spiraling I found myself on my face before the Lord in frustration and failure. God was gracious with me and took all of my thrashing. When I had prayed all that I had left I felt like he had heard and that it was time to lay down my wrestling and go home. Then the next morning while I was making my lunch the concept that I had lost started coming back to me. The song began to just fall into place in my head as I was getting ready for work. Before long I found myself in the shower weeping with joy and thanksgiving in the way that the Lord was providing for me, tending to my heart and helping me tell of his beauties. Anyway, this song is a reminder to me of how God blesses me so that I can proclaim the glories of his Name.

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vocals: Nathan Partain, Rebekah Osborn, Kyle Ragsdale
guitar: Nathan Partain
fiddle: Kipp Normand
viola: Ashley Overley
upright bass: Joel Chodakowski
percussion: Brian Allee
djembe: Wes Homoya

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Glory to God in the Highest      (listen)     (chords)

There was a boy, went for a walk, down by the stream, picked out some rocks, and stepped out on, the battle field, no shield or sword, for him to wield. The giant jeered, and boasted loud, the little boy, just held his ground, and pulled a stone, out of his pouch, and raised his sling, and slung it round singing…

“Glory to God in the Highest! Glory to God! Glory to God!”

A coward man, was hiding low, an angel called, told him to go, and lead his kin, to overthrow, the burdens of their wicked foes.
His troop was small, three hundred men. The foe too vast, to count, like sand. Still they around, the foe that night, raised up their horns, and jars of light singing…

“Glory to God in the Highest! Glory to God! Glory to God!”

A pilgrim folk, in desert sun, were told to take, a fortress town. No siege ramps built, no batter ram, the word of God, would be their plan.
Six days they marched, around its sides, the seventh day, the seventh time, the trumpets made, a victor’s sound. The people raised, a mighty shout singing…

“Glory to God in the Highest! Glory to God! Glory to God!”

A virgin aches, in labor pains.  She’s giving birth, to “Him who Saves”. There in the barn, the humble means, the filthy rags, the trough unclean.
The rock now strikes, the giants face. The jars now break, the light dismays. Jerricho’s walls, are tumbling down, for Christ is born! Angels are singing…

“Glory to God in the Highest! Glory to God! Glory to God!”

The Hour of the Christ

I had the privilege of playing a benefit last weekend with some friends and this song off of the 11:43am record was in the set. Afterward, I was encouraged by Adam Nevins, who put on the benefit, to post this on my blog. So here it is with a little background.

As a recovering church cynic, I have always struggled to get something out of the traditional Christmas carols (and the Christmas season in general). They seem to be built more around the sentimental fictional nativity scene and not so much set in the reality of what the gospels hold (although, there are certainly some exceptions and I have been introduced in recent years to quite a few that have greater depth).

In fact,  the point of the gospel accounts is not to paint a quaint rural scene but to confirm prophecies like Isaiah 53, that from the very beginning, the Savior of the world would suffer. The birth of Jesus takes place in a context of real poverty (giving birth in a dirty animal shelter) and oppressive captivity (being forced by the occupying government to travel out of town to file a census). On top of that, the only people that get the immensity of who this child is, are some Gentile seers and Herod. Of course the angels do appear to some shepherds (read: truck drivers) who end up being the only eye witnesses to the baby in the food trough.

The interesting thing is that Herod does get it. He doesn’t get the whole picture but when the travelers from the east show up and talk about the star, he understands that something big is happening. So much so, that he kills every baby two years old and under in Bethlehem and its surrounding areas trying to keep himself safe from the threat of this newborn king.

So why am I writing all of this? When we see Jesus in the manger we need to see him as a revolutionary, an antagonist, someone who is dangerous and will totally turn upside down every system of this world. That baby in the manger is the one who will say, “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” 

So…there you are…Merry Christmas! Jesus is Lord!

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The Hour of the Christ      (listen)      (chords)

There’s a rumor on the breeze,
Midnight cold upon the grass,
Above the tents of darkened kings,
A star appears of golden glass.
What it is and what it means,
Sends a chill among their camp,
Like chariots at the opening sea,
It’s a message from the great “I AM”

Herod cannot sleep tonight,
Terror sings outside his door,
He can hear the angels tell,
“The Christ is born who is the Lord!”
Who he is and what he brings,
Is justice to the weak and poor,
Those who wait their Light will see,
And He himself will end the war

Kingdom’s coming like a storm,
Kingdom’s coming like a storm,
Kingdom’s coming like a storm.
Can you hear the Lord?  Can you hear him call?

Burst the gates and shout for joy!
The Savior mighty sets you free!
Run to him and don’t look back,
For in Him you have all good things.
Jesus after all was done,
Took his seat at God’s right hand,
Said he soon would come again,
And put his sword within our hand!