I’ve abandoned ship
Taken an ancient lifeboat
Out on a turbulent sea
Searching for light in this present darkness
What began as a drop of water
Soon became a puddle
Sloshing back and forth
Higher, Higher rose the water
I saw a show once
My favorite band
High on emotion, I left
My itching ears satisfied
The sun rose, and I with it
At church they played my favorite songs
High on emotion, I left
My itching ears satisfied
Higher, Higher rose the water
Because of this I picked apart my theology
As one would pick petals from a flower
I searched for some sort of basis
For believing what I had come to believe
Higher, Higher rose the water
The wooden frame of my ship began to creak
I was sinking in a sea of questions
Nobody could answer
Higher, Higher rose the water
Then came the Word
The Mirror by which man knows himself
The Measure by which we are to judge
The light by which we are to see
I read the Torah
Looked up from my Bible
To see the bride carving idols for herself
Higher, Higher rose the water
I read the stories of the kings
Looked up from my Bible
And saw no difference between the bride and the prostitute
Higher, Higher rose the water
I read the Psalms
Looked up from my Bible
To see the bride, belligerent before her King
Higher, Higher rose the water
I read the Books of Wisdom
Looked up from my Bible
And saw the bride given counsel by fools
Higher, Higher rose the water
I read the Prophets
Looked up from my Bible
To see the bride, prideful in her sin
Higher, Higher rose the water
I read the lineages
Looked up from my Bible
To see the bride, who’d forgotten her Fathers
Higher, Higher rose the water
I read the Gospels
Looked up from my Bible
To see the bride crucify her creator
Higher, Higher rose the water
I read the acts of the Apostles
Looked up from my Bible
To see a snake consuming its own tail
Higher, Higher rose the water
I read the epistles
Looked up from my Bible
To see my own face, disfigured and evil
Higher, Higher rose the water
I read the Revelation
Looked up from my Bible, shaking
To see the bridesmaids, out of oil
Higher, Higher rose the water
I deeply studied the word
And eventually saw a Church
Unburdened by Repentance
Unbound by Reverence
Sedated by Emotion
Unaware of her sin
A ship, sinking, quickly
And I was on it.
Higher, Higher rose the water
I was confused and lost and broken
I remembered the psalmists plea
and made it my own:
Teach me the Way I should go,
For to You I lift up my soul.
Higher, Higher rose the water
I began to separate myself.
I couldn’t raise my hands in worship
I couldn’t shout or clap or take communion
I could no longer get high on the music.
The ship dipped beneath the waves
My faith no longer what it once was
I can never go back
Now that I know there is more
I sit in the dark
Surveying my sin
I have fallen on my face
Seeking the face of God
He’s put a prayer rope in my hand
He is teaching me a new Song:
Lord Jesus, son of God,
Have Mercy on me, a sinner!
