Having been a huge fan of Rich Mullins for decades and having already referred to him and his songs many times while producing the Truth Is... blog for over 11 years (at this point), it was inevitable that this moment would arrive.
The moment to which I refer is that, in the course of reviewing and revering Rich's album, A Liturgy, a Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band, I find that I have already written about the next song, "Hold Me, Jesus."
The third song in the liturgy section of Rich Mullins' A Liturgy, a Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band is a song of praise filled with allusions to the glories of nature.
And the moon is a sliver of silver
Like a shaving that fell on the floor of a Carpenter's shop
And every house must have it's builder
And I awoke in the house of God
Where the windows are mornings and evenings
Stretched from the sun
Across the sky north to south
And on my way to early meeting
I heard the rocks crying out
I heard the rocks crying out
Be praised for all Your tenderness
by these works of Your hands
Suns that rise and rains that fall to bless
and bring to life Your land
Look down upon this winter wheat
and be glad that You have made
Blue for the sky and the color green
that fills these fields with praise
And the wrens have returned and they're nesting
In the hollow of that oak where his heart once had been
And he lifts up his arms in a blessing for being born again
And the streams are all swollen with winter
Winter unfrozen and free to run away now
And I'm amazed when I remember
Who it was that built this house
And with the rocks I cry out
Be praised for all Your tenderness
by these works of Your hands
Suns that rise and rains that fall to bless
and bring to life Your land
Look down upon this winter wheat
and be glad that You have made
Blue for the sky and the color green
that fills these fields with praise
1993 - Edward Grant, Inc.
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Truth is..."And the moon was a sliver of silver" is one of my favorite lines in all of music. and then "Like a shaving that fell on the floor of a Carpenter's shop / And every house must have its builder / And I awoke in the house of God" immediately draws our attention to the Creator rather than the Creation.
Titled simply "52:10", the second song on Rich Mullins' A Liturgy, a Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band serves as a call to worship for the "liturgy" section of the project.
It is Isaiah 52:10 set to a haunting and compelling melody and it calls our attention to Yahweh's awesomeness in a more organic way than the earlier, more well-known song, "Awesome God".
The Lord has bared His Holy arm
The Lord has bared His Holy arm
In the sight of all the nations
And all the ends of the earth shall see
The Lord's salvation
The Lord has bared His Holy arm
His Holy arm
1992 - BMG Songs, Inc.
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Truth is...There is comfort in the thought of Yahweh rolling up his sleeves. Psalm 77:15 praises him when it says "With your mighty arm you redeemed your people."
The words and music of Rich Mullins are no strangers to readers of Truth Is.... Don't believe me? Just click THIS LINK and be taken to all the posts that reference this Indiana boy who became an international singer of songs about Jesus and the experience of following him.
For many, Rich's 7th solo album, A Liturgy, a Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band, was the pinnacle of his career. With October 26, 2023 having been the 30th anniversary of its release, it is high time for a song-by-song meditation.
The album opens with introductory remarks and remembrances anchored in nature and nurture as "Here in America" reminds Rich...and us...that the Father's love is majestic and powerful and life-giving.
Saints and children we have gathered here to hear the sacred story
And I'm glad to bring it to you with my best rhyming and rhythm
'Cause I know the thirsty listen and down to the waters come
And the Holy King of Israel loves me here in America
And if you listen to my songs I hope you hear the water falling
I hope you feel the oceans crashing on the coast of north New England
I wish I could be there just to see them, two summers past I was
And the Holy King of Israel loves me here in America
And if I were a painter I do not know which I'd paint
The calling of the ancient stars or assembling of the saints
And there's so much beauty around us for just two eyes to see
But everywhere I go I'm looking
And once I went to Appalachia for my father he was born there
And I saw the mountains waking with the innocence of children
And my soul is still there with them wrapped in the songs they brought
And the Holy King of Israel loves me here in America
And I've seen by the highways on a million exit ramps
Those two-legged memorials to the laws of happenstance
Waiting for four-wheeled messiahs to take them home again
But I am home anywhere if You are where I am
And if you listen to my songs I hope you hear the water falling
I hope you feel the oceans crashing on the coast of north New England
I wish I could be there just to see them, two summers past I was
And the Holy King of Israel loves me here in America
1992 - BMG Songs, Inc.
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Truth is...If you read my blogs, I hope you hear the Spirit calling. I hope you feel God's love come crashing through your walls of deep resistance. I wish I could be there just to see it like in years of youth ministry past. And the Holy King of Israel loves us here in America...and around the world.
