06.

O’ Lord, Your laws are beautiful

Your precepts are good

They teach me what is right

They show me what is wrong.

Yet they reveal but a glimmer of Thy holiness

For my Lord is greater than these

Thy presence is absolute

Thy grace and mercy overflows

O’ Lord, You are my guide in darkness

In this neverending road of thorns

You heal me and restore me

My light when evil seeks to consume me.

I put myself to death with my thoughts and sins, O’ Lord

My frail wings I clipped mercilessly

But Your blood and tears wash me clean

O’ Lord, Your love sets me free.

You lift me up O’ Lord upon loving hands

You hold me close as I weep and repent

There is no greater joy for You to see me return

In humility into Your welcoming presence.

Oh how great is my Lord

Whose beauty my pen fails to describe

Whose abounding love and mercy

My tiny heart cannot even begin to comprehend.

Blessed is the Lord Almighty

Praise be the highest to Your name

How lovely is my Lord

Whose beneath Thy holy banner I will stay.

05.

Guard my heart O’ Lord

As so that I do not lose sight of You

That my senses may not be blinded by the world

Empty rituals that bind my praise.

Allow my spiritual act of worship rise to You, my King

A pleasing aroma that wafts sweetly

A powerful weapon that pierces all darkness

A gentle song that lights up Your face.

As I pick up my lyre and lift my voice

Let it be from my soul that cries out

Blind my eyes but unveil my heart O’ Lord

That I will see naught but You.

Let my deeds be of You, for You and from You

My service pure and true

Let not pride and arrogance be near me

As I joyfully sing to You.

For my Lord, You see the hearts of men

As they lay bare before Your throne

You delight in the praise of the righteous

But abhors the lies of the hypocrites.

So draw me into Your inner courts my Lord

Part Thy veils for me, I plead

That I may enjoy Your lovely presence

And forget all that is of me.

(For Jien, in times of worship)

04.

O’ Lord, You are my champion

You are my sword that slashes all evil

My shield that protects me from all enemies

My shelter in the midst of battle.

You go before me my Lord

My battle is Your battle

You fight for me when I call upon Your Name

My warrior in times of trouble.

Therefore, my peace is in You, my Lord

My strength is from You and I will not falter

Enemies may come against me with sword and lances

But my Lord, the power of Your Word surpasses them all.

You quell the raging storm within me

There is none mightier than Thee

If you are on my side, O’ Lord

Of what then should I fear?

So I will praise You O’ Lord

Till the heavens break with joyous reprise

My beloved King has prevailed through all

And I will celebrate with dancing for victory is here.

(For Melissa, my dear sister in Christ)

03.

Praise You O’ Lord in all heaven and earth

Your beauty dwells in all of Your creations

From the depth of the oceans to the ends of the skies

All creatures attest to Your wondrous works.

Yet these are but a tomb of unspeakable death

That entrapped and shackled man’s mind

That appease to reason but not Thy heart

O’ Lord, are we not slaves to our own chains?

Woe is to me that I see but not comprehend

Grief is to me that I hear but not listen

That Your words of wisdom should go misunderstood

And Your loving hands of rebuke go unheeded.

O’ Lord will You tire of my reckless advances

A sliver of breath in a raging tempest

Needless lies and empty words

Shrivel and wither beneath Thy holiness.

O’ Lord, let the ink upon these tattered sheaves never run dry

That the praises unstrung be never more true

So the heart that bleed tears be ever relieved

In the face of Thy eternal peace.

May Your eyes be ever enraptured

To the unwritten pages of secret scribes

For there is none who understood hidden glyphs

But the Maker of everlasting gifts.

02.

I rage O’ Lord

My anger burns like a flaming pillar

I tear my cloak in despair

At my own selfish thoughts.

How O’ lord could You bear the sight of me?

I ask for Your judgement to be passed

Yet fear grips my heart like an iron fist

I cannot bear the weight of Your hands against me.

O’ Lord I am torn and forlorn

My heart urged me to do what is right

But my hands are slow

And my mind ensnares me.

Woo me O’ Lord into your loving arms

Let me not go by a day without thinking of You

Capture me O’ Lord with your ways

So that I long for naught but You.

Fill my soul with the deepest want

To see Your true face and not Your hands

To let me speak Your name with reverence

To truly love You with all my heart.

Let my days be filled with wonder

Of your amazing grace and faithfulness

That my heart will never forget

Your unending love for me.

01.

O’ Lord, my desire grows wane as days run by

Like the moon that has long past it’s zenith

A barren dessert stark and empty

As the dry wind scatters the sands.

My longing for You is like a hollow promise,

That bears down my heart

As I cry in anguish

Of words unspoken aloud.

My songs of praise echo though empty halls

That once knew joy was now all lost

My heart groans and moans

At the futility of it all.

I no longer knew myself with all the masks once worn

Changing plays and switching roles

Broken mirrors and shattered shards

What of me? I know not.

Yet Lord, You speak of promises untold

My life is within Your control

My true self You have known

What could I hide that You cannot fathom?

Your grace abounds and Your justice sure

Despite the sins I’ve seeked I selfishly beg

O’ Lord what am I but an unfaithful bride

Scorned and tossed in the unmerciful tides of time.

Yet Lord you have never left

Your eyes and ears are always upon me

Your heart longs for me

Your love cries out for me ceaselessly.

My King, You love my soul even as I loath it

You bring me to my knees with your mercy

With just a whisper You send me reeling

My undeserving heart breaks when You call me.

You are perfect my Lord

How could I see you and cast not a glance at my own iniquity?

Yet You chose to wash and clothe me anew

O’ Lord there is truly none like You.

My beloved King there is no one I could face

As I account to You my shame

For there is none whom I have wronged

But the One whom I called the most.