Tag: song of the week

Have Mercy, Lord

Last weekend I sat in silence. Part of it was the back pain that stiffened my shoulders and shot up my neck. Part of it was the months of circumstantial anxiety hitting in yet another wave. And part of it was feeling a deep sense of grief for the pain that so many in our world experience.

Grief for broken relationships. Grief for unfounded mistrust and false suspicion. Grief for the agony of the human heart in a fallen world.

And for someone who processes often by writing, this silence was an odd one. I couldn’t outline it, couldn’t describe it as I am even doing now. It was just something I needed to sit in and experience.

And so that afternoon I closed the blinds, turned on music and lay on the floor for hours.

This song was introduced to me that day.

It’s to the tune of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and if you’ve been around this blog much, you know that its haunting notes are a favorite.

How long O Lord will violence fill our land?
And people war against their fellow man?
Break down the walls of hatred and pride
Let justice like a flowing stream arise
Have mercy Lord! Dispel the deeds of night
And shine on us your Saviour’s light

British pastor Matt Searles produced this track as part of his 2018 album called Watches of the Night. You can add this song to your Spotify playlist here.

Song of the Week: Song of Peter’s Denial

Today was one of those days where I listened to new-to-me music for what seemed like hours.

I started with a list of recommendations, Googled lyrics to scan while I caught snatches on YouTube, and built two playlists along the way. I started with Christmas music but ended up listening to songs about the death of Jesus, from the perspective of Judas and Peter.

And that leads us to our Song of the Week.

The ballad style is haunting, behind the lyrics of Peter mourning his betrayal.

After all that I had said
After all that I had promised I would do
I never dreamed it would all end like this
Thought that I would be Your rock
Thought I would weather all the fear
But now I find here at the end
I was too weak to resist

I said that I would follow
I even promised You I would die
But when the choice had to be made
I left You all alone
So many expectations
Now all I have are regret and empty words
That fog my mind
And cut me to the bone

Sadly, I wasn’t able to find chords or sheet music for this one so you won’t be seeing it in the Music Database. If you come across those resources I’d love to add them and thank you with a Starbucks card!