As a student in high school and college, I hated poetry. I liked things to be simple and concrete, easy to understand, the nutshell/Cliff notes version of everything. I apparently didn’t have time for all those similes and metaphors and veiled references to ideas that could easily be expressed in street language! This started to change, though, when I heard some mysterious and intriguing lyrics set to music. Something about the power of music to emotionally engage me helped the actual words of the song move me too.
Now, at this later date in life, I can honestly say that I appreciate poetry and music more than ever (well, at least some of it). And when music and poetry touch on the deeper things in life like spirituality and the human condition, I genuinely appreciate it. Listening to it resonates with something deep in the core of my being…kind of like the Bible does. Reading the Psalms, which was meant to be lyrics set to music, must be why so many people love them so much.
I wanted to share two songs that are very moving to me, and for two very different reasons. The first one is called “Every Table is an Altar” written by Jason Upton. It is a contemplative song from a man deeply devoted to Jesus. The other is called “Hallelujah” written by Leonard Cohen, a man who knows the Bible well, but who isn’t sure that God really exists. His faith has lots of unanswered questions, yet in this song he relates the biblical story of David and Bathsheba to his own complicated relationship with a woman on earth. It is a man wrestling for answers, aware of his lack of understanding.
I share these lyrics and songs with huge curiosity about what you think of them. How do they make you feel? What’s happening in the video that strikes you? Do you really like one and hate the other? Does something make you mad or happy when thinking about them? If you’d ever like to discuss these things, I’d love to discuss them with you! But I’m predicting one thing to be true, no matter what…that you hear the hearts of the artists and the power of lyrics and music. God is the ultimate Creator and, in his image, he has made us creators too! And just like in the Psalms, God doesn’t insist on us being happy and worshipful all the time. He wants us to express our deepest heart with honesty. He is after all the God of Truth! And he loves us, warts and all!
“Every Table is an Altar”
Every table is an altar
Every breath is a gift from you
Every moment is a treasure
Every day is a gift from you
So let our hearts be awake, be awake
Let our heart be awake, be awake
So let our hearts be awake, be awake
Let our heart be awake, be awake
Every stranger has a story
Every story is being told by you
We're all children on a journey
Jesus only you can lead us through
So let our hearts be awake, be awake
So let our hearts be awake, be awake
Let our hearts be awake, be awake
Let our hearts be awake, be awake
Break the bread, pour the wine
Let our hearts come alive
In your presence, in your presence
Let our fear fall away
Let our faith rise today
In your presence, in your presence
We will shout your name, King of Glory
We will stand and sing, You are holy
We will pour out praise, You are worthy
Of our lives, now and forever
We will shout Your name, King of Glory
We will stand and sing, You are holy
We will pour out praise, You are worthy
Of our lives, now and forever
Let our hearts
Be awake
Be awake
Let our hearts
Be awake
Be awake
Let our hearts
Be awake
Be awake
Let our hearts
Be awake
Be awake
Here we wait on you
Here we wait on you
“Hallelujah”
Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you dont really care for music, do you?
It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
The minor falls, the major lifts
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well people I've been here before
I know this room and I've walked this floor
You see I used to live alone before I knew ya
And I've seen your flag on the marble arch
But listen love, love is not some kind of victory march, no
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well, maybe there's a God above
As for me all I've ever learned from love
Is how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
But it's not a crime that you're here tonight
It's not some pilgrim who claims to have seen the Light
No, it's a cold and it's a very broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
(The following verses not included in the video)
There was a time you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And I remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove she was moving too
And every single breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Now I've done my best, I know it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come here to London just to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand right here before the Lord of song
With nothing, nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
About the Author
John lives in Pleasant Hill with his dog, Gunnar, and a multitude of guests who enjoy the peace and beauty of the Cascade foothills. With three children and three grandchildren all living in Oregon, he is continually blessed with their company and the good food that always accompanies their get-togethers!