A KING IN A CATTLE TROUGH

How do you capture the ascents of angels?
How do you put words to the taste of their light?
You cannot describe how their words burn right thru you
How you became dizzy with heart pounding fright

In the midst of your fear, how they sang you a song
To the glory of God most High
How all of a sudden, that when they departed
That they left a hole in the sky

How do you worship a king in a cattle trough?
When you cannot bow any lower than he?
And what king of gift to give Someone with nothing?
In humiliating humility

Wrapped up in rags, what a heart-breaking sign
Yet on his sweet face, what a delight
The darkness that prows here cannot comprehend
This impossibly bright point of light

So everyone listened in awe and amazement
To all we?d been told ?bout this beautiful boy
But Mary, his mother, she wordlessly wondered
And pondered her treasure of joy

Who could conceive how the Savior was born
In a place only fit for the cattle to feed
His poverty made him our perfect Provision
The one hope for our every need

2010 Covenant Artists, ASCAP

guitar, vocals, Michael Card
bass, Keith Compton
accordion, Jeff Taylor

A VIOLENT GRACE

A mural of memories moves by in a blur
His prayers all seem unanswered and unheard
His pleading petitions, his loud cries and tears
A last reprieve will simply not appear

So ruthless, He loves us, So reckless His embrace
To show relentless kindness, To a hardened human race
The joy that was before Him
On the Man of Sorrows face
And by His blood He bought a violent grace

Most willing of victims, And with His final breath
Destroyed the one who holds the power of death
The hate heaped upon Him, scorning all the shame
But all for love He died and overcame

So ruthless, He loves us, So reckless His embrace
To show relentless kindness, To a hardened human race
The joy that was before Him
On the Man of Sorrows face
And by His blood He bought a violent grace

In all of time no one had ever heard
And to the world the thought seemed so absurd
Beyond their wildest dreams no one could ever tell
Of a high priest who would sacrifice Himself

So ruthless, He loves us, So reckless His embrace
To show relentless kindness, To a hardened human race
The joy that was before Him
On the Man of Sorrows face
And by His blood He bought a violent grace

So ruthless, He loves us, So reckless His embrace
To show relentless kindness, To a hardened human race
The joy that was before Him
On the Man of Sorrows face
And by His blood He bought a violent grace 2x

ABBA FATHER

Michael Card
Until Your Son called out to me I was lost
For years my cradle swung above the grave
It is a wondrous thing to be adopted by a king
To know a love that crowns and crucifies
When Your Spirit moves I breath a prayer to You
A cry not from my mouth but from the heart
Because the Spirit came, I can use Your holy name
The tender name a son could only use
Chorus
Abba Father, I cry out to You
Since that word became Your adoptive name
Abba Father, Abba Father,
Knowing You will hear my plea
For You've adopted me

Your Spirit of adoption came and filled my heart
To smile upon the earth behind my eyes
Urging me to give, teaching me to live
To show the family likeness of Your love
So Jesus has become for me a brother Lord
The special son that died to set us free
His cross for me has won the right to be Your son
A blessed son You'd never cast aside
Repeat Chorus

ARISE MY LOVE

"Arise, My Love" Michael Card
Arise, my love, my lovely one come,
Winter is past and the rains are gone.
The flowers appear, it's the season of song,
My beautiful one, arise and come with me.
Who is it that appears like the dawn?
As fair as the moon, as bright as the sun?
Show me your face, let me hear your voice.
My beautiful one, arise and come with me.
Set me like a seal on your heart,
For love is unyielding as the grave.
The flash of it is a jealous fire,
No flood can quench,
For love is as strong as death.
Arise my love and come with me
Before the dawn breaks and the shadows flee.
You ravished my heart with just one glance
My beautiful one, arise and come with me.
Do not arose or awaken love
Until it so desires.
Arise, my love, my lovely one come,
The Winter is past and the rains are gone.
The flowers appear, it's season of song,
My beautiful one, arise and come with me.
I am my love's, my beloved is mine.
Arise and come with me.

BY YOUR NAME

Michael Card
I failed again to make the mark
Lost my way once more
I tried to do it by myself
Like so many times before
And now again I turn to You
I'm hungry and confused
By now my strength's dissolved away
And I feel like I've been used
Chorus
If You leave me to myself oh Lord
It will always be the same
It's You who'll have to hold my hand
And protect me by Your name
It's You who'll have to hold my hand
And protect me by Your name
I turn and find You there for me
You've been waiting all along
The open arms, the sweet relief
And You whisper me a song
At times like these I ask myself
How could I have ever strayed
And forgotten all You've given me
And lost sight of what You paid
Chorus
It's You who'll have to hold my hand
And protect me by Your name

CARMEN CHRISTI

Michael Card
Phillippians 2:6-11
Who being in vary nature God
Would not grasp equality with Him
But made Himself nothing
And took up a servant's nature
Made in human likeness
Found in appearance as man
He humbled Himself, was obedient
Even to death on a cross
Chorus
At Jesus' name every knee shall bow
In Heaven and in all the earth
To the Father's glory each tongue cried Jesus is Lord
[Repeat]
Jesus is Lord
And so He has been exalted
By God to the highest place
And given a name as exalted
Above every other name
Chorus

CELEBRATE THE CHILD

Chorus
Celebrate the Child who is the Light
Now the darkness is over
No more wandering in the night
Celebrate the Child who is the Light

You know this is no fable
Godhead and manhood became one
We see He's more than able
And so we live to God the Son

Chorus

First born of creation
Lamb and Lion, God and Man
The Author of Salvation
Almighty rapped in swaddling bands

Repeat Chorus

COME TO THE TABLE

Songwriters: Borop Iii, Niles A.; Card, Michael;Come to the table and savor the sight
The wine and the bread that was broken
And all have been welcomed to come if they might
Accept as their own these two tokens

The bread is His body, the wine is the blood
And the one who provides them is true
He freely offers, we freely receive
To accept and believe Him is all we must do

Come to the table and taste of the glory
And savor the sorrow, He's dying tomorrow
The hand that is breaking the bread
Soon will be broken

And here at the table, sit those who have loved You
One is a traitor and one will deny
But He's lived his life for them all
And for all be crucified

Come to the table He's prepared for you
The bread of forgiveness, the wine of release
Come to the table and sit down beside Him
The Savior wants you to join in the feast

Come to the table and see in His eyes
The love that the Father has spoken
And know you are welcome, whatever your crime
For every commandment you've broken

For He's come to love you and not to condemn
And He offers a pardon of peace
If you'll come to the table, you'll feel in your heart
The greatest forgiveness, the greatest release

Come to the table and taste of the glory
And savor the sorrow, He's dying tomorrow
The hand that is breaking the bread
Soon will be broken

And here at the table, sit those who have loved You
One is a traitor and one will deny
But He's lived his life for them all
And for all be crucified

Come to the table He's prepared for you
The bread of forgiveness, the wine of release
Come to the table and sit down beside Him
The Savior wants you to join in the feast

Come to the table He's prepared for you
The bread of forgiveness, the wine of release
Come to the table and sit down beside Him
The Savior wants you to join in the feast

COULD IT BE

Michael Card
I Corinthians 1:19-25
In the ebb and flow of living
As we wander through the years
We're told to listen to a voice
We can't here with our ears
They say to live by something
That you can't see with your eyes
Is there really any purpose
To this foolish exercise?
Chorus
Could it be You make Your presence known
So often by Your absence?
Could it be that questions tell us more
Than answers ever do?
Could it be that You would really rather die
Than live without us?
Could it be the only answer that means anything
Is You?
In our words and in our silence
In our pride and in our shame
To the genius and the scholar
To the foolish and insane
To the ones who care to seek You
To the ones who never will
You are the only answer even still
Chorus
It's a question you can't answer
An answer you cannot express
That the gentle Man of Sorrow
Is the source of happiness
You'll never solve the mystery
Of this magnetic man
For you must believe to understand
Chorus
Could it be the only answer that means anything
Is You?

CROSS OF GLORY

Michael Card
From the pages of the prophets
He stepped out into the world
And walked the earth in lowly majesty
For He had been creator
A creature now was He
Come to bare love's sacred mystery
He the Truth was called a liar
The only lover hated so
He was many times a martyr before He died
Forsaken by the Father
Despised by all the world
He alone was born to be the crucified
Chorus
Upon the cross of Glory
His death was life to me
A sacrifice of love's most sacred mystery
And death rejoice to hold Him
For soon He would be free
For love must always have the victory
Though no rhyme could ever tell it
And no words could ever say
And no cord is foul enough to sing the pain
Still we feel the burden
And suffer with your song
You love us so and yet you bid us sing
Repeat Chorus
For love must always have the victory

CROWN HIM

Michael Card
Chorus 1
Crown Him, Crown Him, the angry people did cry
Crown Him, Crown Him, let Him be crucified
Crown Him, Crown Him, let Him not remain alive
Crown Him, Crown Him, He must be crucified
So a circle of pain and love
Came down upon His head
It was not for anything He'd done
Or for anything He'd said
For all His life He'd sought to show
They were only living a lie
But they didn't care to hear, Oh no
They just wanted Him to die
Chorus 1
Soon a circle of glory
Will be placed upon His brow
And He'll come to reign forever
Though it may not seem so now
Then our time of tears and trouble
Will seem only like a dream
As we stand before the glory
Of our Savior and our King
Chorus 2
Crown Him, Crown Him
Holy angels sing all Glory honor, power and grace
Crown Him King of Kings
Crown Him, Crown Him, those redeemed and damned
Will bow with me and humbly, sing worthy is the lamb
Repeat Chorus 2

DISTRESSING DISGUISE

He is in the pain, He is in the need
He is in the poor, we are told to feed
Though He was rich, for us He became poor
How could He give so much, what was it for?

In His distressing disguise, He waits for us to surmise
That we rob our brothers by all that we own
And that's not the way He has shown

Every time a faithful servant serves a brother that's in need
What happens at that moment is a miracle indeed
As they look to one another in an instant it is clear
Only Jesus is visible for they've both disappeared

He is in the hand that reaches out to give
He is in the touch that causes men to live
So speak with your life now as well as your tongue
Shelter the homeless, take care of the young

In His distressing disguise, He hopes that we'll realize
That when we take care of the poorest of them
We've really done it to Him

DON'T YOU KNOW

Michael Card
Don't you know
There's a place in the middle of your heart
An empty place that only Christ can fill
And if you bow your knee to Jesus
And claim Him as your Lord
Don't you doubt for a minute that He will
Chorus
Don't you know that He loves you
Don't you know that He cares
Don't you know that He died to save your soul
And don't you doubt for a minute that He will
Your at a time in your life
When you're really in between
With people tugging you from every side
And the pain of growing up is almost
More than you can bare
And all you want to do is run and hide
Don't you see that now's the time
When you really need Him most
He's waiting and He's calling to you still
He only wants to love you and hold you in His arms
And don't you doubt for a minute that He will
Repeat Chorus

DRAGONSLAYER

Michael Card
The star lit wizards came to see
Whom might this new born Dragonslayer be
He come the serpent's lies to cease
To win for us a never ending peace
The serpent reared his ugly head
In the stillness of the garden
To bite the Dragonslayer's heel
And defeat His plan of pardon
But the Mighty One provided for
The fallen ones instead
And the quest began to slay the beast
To finally crush his head
To finally crush his head
Chorus
Behold the Dragonslayer
He stills the serpent's scream
He stops his accusations
He spoils the dragon's dream
Behold the Dragonslayer
He died to set us free
The dragon thought he'd won then
It wasn't meant to be
It wasn't meant to be
The dragon sought to take the child
Of the woman clothed in sunlight
But once again the King stepped in
And began to fight the last fight
And so the battle raged between
The heavens and the sky
And the dragon was defeated
And at last was doomed to died
At last was doomed to died
Chorus

EL SHADDAI

El Shaddai
By Amy Grant
El Shaddai, El Shaddai,
El-Elyon na Adonia,
Age to age You're still the same,
By the power of the name.
El Shaddai, El Shaddai,
Erkamka na Adonai,
We will praise and lift You high,
El Shaddai.
Through your love and through the ram,
You saved the son of Abraham;
Through the power of your hand,
Turned the sea into dry land.
To the outcast on her knees,
You were the God who really sees,
And by Your might,
You set Your children free.
El Shaddai, El Shaddai,
El-Elyon na Adonia,
Age to age You're still the same,
By the power of the name.
El Shaddai, El Shaddai,
Erkamka na Adonai,
We will praise and lift You high,
El Shaddai.
Through the years You've made it clear,
That the time of Christ was near,
Though the people couldn't see
What Messiah ought to be.
Though Your Word contained the plan,
They just could not understand
Your most awesome work was done
Through the frailty of Your Son.
El Shaddai, El Shaddai,
El-Elyon na Adonai,
Age to age You're still the same,
By the power of the name.
El Shaddai, El Shaddai,
Erkamka na Adonai,
I will praise and lift You high,
El Shaddai.
El Shaddai, El Shaddai,
El-Elyon na Adonai,
Age to age You're still the same,
By the power of the name.
El Shaddai, El Shaddai,
Erkamka na Adonai,
I will praise and lift You high,
El Shaddai.

FACE THE LIGHT

Michael Card
There's a force in the dark that's waiting for you
And it's telling your heart what it wants to do
But the light is there and it wants to shine through
You never know how dark it is inside till you
Chorus
Face the light, don't stumble in the darkness
Face the light, see how dark your heart is
Face the light, never see the shadows
Only face the light
Face the light, don't know how much you need Him
Face the light, just turn around and see Him
Face the light, He'll take away the darkness
Only face the light
There are just two ways and you better choose right
You can die in the dark or you can live in the light
One is the Way, the Truth, the Life
The other's dark and never leads to home
Won't you
Repeat Chorus

FAN THE FLAME

Michael Card
II Timothy 1:6
Chorus
Fan the flame, lift it higher
Let the world feel the fire
Fan the flame, face the night
Don't be afraid your a child of the Light
Don't be ashamed to speak the name
That's how we fan the flame
There's only one way that is true
There's just one name that's been given to you
Share the life, spread the fire
Let the Word be your heart's desire
Chorus
Don't slow up, the race isn't through
A cloud of witnesses surrounding you
Look at the fields, so much to do
The harvest is great but the workers are few
Repeat Chorus

FORGIVING EYES

Surrounded with shouts the cruel accusations
Dragged to the court, no hope of salvation
All hope was lost for those who had caught me
Knew what I was, they knew all about me

I thought it seemed strange as we entered in
They stopped a young rabbi to ask his opinion
Caught in the act, their reason for hating
My body could feel the stones that were waiting

My judge, a man from Galilee
In His eyes so gentle I could see
A father and a brother and a son

Just as I saw Him, the hope I had lost became born again
I was not hopeless, though I'd been lost
Now, I felt I was found when He looked at me
With His forgiving eyes

The crowd gathered round, so angry and violent
But He stood beside me, peaceful and silent
Then with a word, with one question, He showed them
That they too were guilty and could not condemn

The next thing I knew, He asked me, "Where are they?"
And I looked around the courtyard was empty
The stones scattered 'round, the warm morning sunlight
He'd made the darkness perfectly light

In this new light now I understood
He would not condemn me though He could
For He would be condemned someday for me

Just as I saw Him, the hope I had lost became born again
I was not hopeless, though I'd been lost
Now, I felt I was found when He looked at me
With His forgiving eyes
Forgiving eyes

GOD WILL PROVIDE A LAMB

Michael Card
Genesis 22:1-14 & Hebrews 11:17-19
Three days journey to the sacred place
A boy and a man with a sorrowful face
Tortured yet faithful to God's command
To take the life of son with his own hands
Chorus
God will provide a Lamb
To be offered up in your place
A sacrifice so spotless and clean
To take all your sin away
Here's wood and fire, where's the sacrifice
A questioning voice and the innocent eyes
Is the son of laughter who you waited for
To die like a lamb to please the Lord
Chorus
A gleaming knife, an accepted choice
A rush of wind and an angel's voice
A ram in the thicket caught by his horns
And a new age of trusting the Lord is born
For God has provided a Lamb
He was offered up in your place
What Abraham was asked to do he has done
He's offered his only son
What Abraham was asked to do he has done
He's offered his only son

GODS OWN FOOL

Seems I've imagined Him all of my life
As the wisest of all of mankind
But if God's Holy wisdom is foolish to man
He must have seemed out of His mind
Even His family said He was mad
And the priest said a demon's to blame
But, God in the form of this angry young man
Could not have seemed perfectly sane
Chorus
We in our foolishness thought we were wise
He played the fool and He opened our eyes
We in our weakness believed we were strong
He became helpless to show we were wrong
So we follow God's own Fool
For only the foolish can tell
Believe the unbelievable, come be a fool as well
So come lose your life for a carpenter's son
For a madman who died for a dream
And You'll have the faith His first followers had
And you'll feel the weight of the beam
So surrender the hunger to say you must know
Find the courage to say I believe
For the power of paradox opens your eyes
And blinds those who say they can see
Chorus
So we follow God's own Fool
For only the foolish can tell
Believe the unbelievable, come be a fool as well