Before the Jordan.

This morning when I woke I could hear the River Jordan
Raging white, it was tearing up its bed.
Swollen from the death of a wicked winter.
Pray come walk with me down to the waters edge
The sound is washing me away.
But can it wash away my fear?
A quiet whisper compels my soul
And by your side will I draw near

Lo the Sun, He rides again!
His daughter shines forth even in the day
I am broken by their beauty
As His light is pouring into every empty space.
The ground is soaking up His warmth
It is alive as in days long past
It can feel once more the gentle wind
Caress the pasture green with new born grass
Where trees clap their leaves like hands
With arms lifted up they praise in colorful bloom.
The flowers of the field joyful eyes open wide.
Toss and sway along with the jovial tune.

This land which He has grown up from dust and dune
The offspring of his heart fit within the frame of a fallen world
The land He promised is lifting up love and worship true
Under the train of his robe spread out blue as the sky unfurled
The land inhales excited as a lover drawn close
Long suffering the silence for the taste of ripened fruit.
Shadows run long and clouds begin to burn
As he passes out of view
Yet his presence lingers in the evening breeze
And his laughter lights up the horizon as the earth begins to cool

The mountain dressed in snow
With heavens voice heard in crashing surf
Play a song beneath the vast expanse of singing host.
The lady of the night steps over darkened peaks
Limed in light pale and blue
Crowned with bright ring of lunar halo
Gracefully she walks among glittering lilies in the sky
Passing through her diamond garden over Zions hill
Over fields of Canaan spreading out forever in sliver gray
Far into the west beyond the coast line
She is chasing after her fathers embrace
Turning at the edge with a smile in her eyes
expressing a call to follow with haste
Soon she is received by the Great Sea and night
Descending in her reflected glory and grace.

...Selah...

Forty years have I wandered the wasteland
With just enough to survive each day.
Now as we sit before the land our fathers rejected
When great was their fear and their lack of faith
I remember their words aloud with my own
"Are there not still fierce giants in this place?"
A dreadful constriction lays hold of my soul
till your hand stirs in mine tightening your embrace
Roused from your distant thoughtful stare
into this new world now cool by the thundering banks
searching in your heart for a word of hope to share
I look down in to your eyes to the glow of your lovely face

"I recall long ago such a sound as this" you reply
"when I was yet to young to speak.
I remember little else of those mysterious times
than high walls of water and the roar of the parted red sea.
I have heard the many stories of old
about the fall of the great Egyptian empire.
and too have wandered beneath his guiding hands
one of mighty cloud and one of raging fire.
but when he spoke to us from the mountain I knew
that none can ever stand before his terrible voice
all the holy words of His mouth are ever true
so do not lose heart now my love
yes hard times are surely ahead
but has not our God spoken to us
that all our enemies will soon lie dead?"

...Selah...

In the stillness I can hear the river Jordan
raging white still tearing up its bed.
I feel your words untangle the knots around my worried mind
for I remember too the truth of all you’ve said.
They fall like a child’s hands on my heart
to peal back the grip of fear
gently one finger at a time
till the choking hands have disappeared
slipping loose for the tears of joy
swallowed up in faiths ocean of peace forever more
for naught may stand before the word of our Lord
not even this flooding torrent over Jordans shore.