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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Lord, Have Mercy on This Town (Song for Sonoma)

(I wrote this song/poem in 2001, when I was a church planting pastor in the "wild west" of the northern California wine country. The tune is a cross between "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone":)

Lord, have mercy on this town
It’s so lost, can it be found?
Though I know I’m just one man
Won’t You use me if you can
Lord, have mercy on this town

Lord, have mercy on this town
Can You loose what has it bound?
Though I know I’m filled with flaws
I’m the long arm of Your law
Lord, have mercy on this town

I watch the vultures circle high above the valley floor
The life below that bids them stay one day will be no more
Descending with a lust for blood, by justice not delayed
They’ll feast upon the dead…
‘Til the penalty is paid

Lord, have mercy on this town
Break apart its fallow ground
Though I know I’m just a fool
Won’t You use me as Your tool
Lord, have mercy on this town

Stung by the summer heat I saw of a vision of this land
Saloon and bank and farm and stagecoach covered by the sand
But then the ground was moving and the dust was swirling high
The bones became a man…
And that man became alive!

He said, “Unless you die, you can never live.
“And before you can take...
you must learn to give.”

Lord, have mercy on this town
Spread Your gracious love around
Though I’m not sure where to go
Won’t You use my hands to sow
Lord, have mercy on this town

Lord, have mercy on this town
(I watch the vultures circle high above the valley floor)
Will its wounds yet be unwound?
(The life below that bids them stay one day will be no more)
Lord, it looks like harvest time
Grow some fruit among these vines
Lord, have mercy on this town
(Stung by the summer heat I saw a vision of this land)
Judgment day it’s going down
(Saloon and bank and farm and stagecoach covered by the sand)
When I stand before Your throne
I don’t want to stand alone
Lord, have mercy on this town
(I watch the vultures circle high above the valley floor…)

Yes, when I stand before Your throne
I don’t want to stand alone
Lord, have mercy on this town