"I do not believe that any man can preach the gospel,

who does not preach the law. For the law is the needle,

and you cannot draw the silken thread of the gospel

through a man's heart until you first send the law

to make way for it." (Charles Spurgeon)



The LORD knows the way of the righteous:
but the way of the ungodly shall perish, [Psalm 1:6]

so which way do I really cherish?

Here I go again, shrugging my shoulders over sin
and telling myself that I'm only human.
Even though this is true,
have I ever considered
that this is also the problem?

Where is my base to stare in Christ's face
and claim that nobody's perfect?

Be ye holy, for He is holy. [I Peter 1:16]
Be ye perfect, even as your Father
Who is in Heaven is perfect. [Matthew 5:48]

Now I don't promote any literal legalism
of cutting off offensive hands, feet and eyes, [Mark 9:43-48]
but my liberal side can't hide from the fact
that without holiness, no one can see the Lord. [Hebrews 12:14]

As each heartbeat pumps desperate deceit
and my feet repeat to shed blood, [Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-18]
I keep in mind the "thou shalt nots"
that I have broken and still break to this day,
losing my count along the way:
one, two (and you don't stop),
three, four (and you don't stop),
five, six (and you don't stop),
on and on (and I don't stop)
with transgressing His holy law. [I John 3:4; Romans 8:7]

My direction has no connection to perfection,
so I'm prone to give shout-outs to God
like Grammy award winners,
hoping that He grades sinners on a curve
and overlooks my fame of shameless nerve,

but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

That way is (a.k.a.) my way as I sing like Sinatra,
sweating under the yoke that provokes Elohim
Whom I try to please through keeping deeds
of His law, missing the point
that breaking one point
already makes me guilty. [Isa 64:6-7; Rom 3:19-20; 8:8; Jms 2:10-11]

There is a way which seems right to a man,
but the end thereof are the ways of death. [Proverbs 14:12]

Goats graze on the left.
Sheep eat on the right. [Matthew 25:31-46]

Will the ways that I cherish lead me to perish,
being paid in full with the wages of sin? [Rom 6:23; II Thess 1:8-9; Rev 20:11-15]
I don't need sweat inside my hand
when I can be thinking of the Master's plan [Rom 11:6]
where the lost don't have to floss
the wrath that they treasure up
as they trust in the lush
that moth and rust doth corrupt. [Rom 2:5-6; Jms 5:1-3; Matt 6:19]

Pardon me if I sound heavy-handed,
but I have long been light-footed,
ready to talk and afraid to walk
where the roaring lion is dying
to leave me outlined in chalk. [Luke 6:46; Matt 7:21-23; I Pet 5:8]

Some say, "Where there's a will, there's a way,"
so where is the way that's according to His will?

The LORD knows the way of the righteous:
(a.k.a.) the Way told to Thomas
and the Righteous revealed to John, [Jn 14:5-6; I Jn 2:1-2; I Cor 1:30-31]
personified through the Crucified
Who faced my flames to erase my blame. [Rom 5:8-11; II Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13; Col 2:13-15; Heb 2:9, 14-15]
So if I claim that my sins are not a big deal,
then reveal the place of a skull [John 19:16-18]
where the Father did not capture
my dark fractures as a light matter. [Num 32:23; Ezek 18:4, 20; Prov 8:36; Gal 6:7; Isa 59:2, 12-13]
His Son absorbed outpoured disaster
and covered me in His robe to tell the globe
that our ways of work won't earn grace. [Rom 3:21-24; 8:1-4; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9; Phil 3:9-10]

As the heavens are higher than earth,
so are His ways of love above mine. [Isaiah 55:8-9]
As the Father knows the Son,
so am I known through the Son. [I Cor 8:3; 13:12; Jn 10:14-15; II Tim 2:19]
As for grace, His way is perfect. [Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 18:30-32]


Copyright 2004. Streetlight Publications.