Christ Is Risen! The Lord Is Risen Indeed!

From the Squalor of a Borrowed Stable
from the squalor of a borrowed stable,
by the Spirit and a virgin's faith;
to the anguish and the shame of scandal
came the Savior of the human race.
but the skies were filled with the praise of heav'n,
shepherds listen as the angels tell
of the Gift of God come down to man
at the dawning of Immanuel.

King of heaven now the Friend of sinners,
humble servant inn te Father's hands,
filled with power and the Holy Spirit,
filled with mercy for the broken man.
yes, He walked my road, and He felt my pain,
joys and sorrows that i know so well;
yet His righteous steps give me hope again:
i will follow my Immanuel.

through the kisses of a friend's betrayal,
He was lifted on a cruel cross;
He was punished for a world's transgressions;
He was suffering to save the lost.
He fights for breath; He fights for me!
loosing sinners from the claims of hell;
and with a shout our souls set free:
death defeated by Immanuel.

now he's standing in the place of honor,
crowned with glory on the highest throne,
interceding for His own beloved
till His Father calls to bring them home!
then the skies will part as the trumpet sounds -
hope of heaven or the fear of hell;
but the Bride will run to her Lover's arms,
giving glory to Immanuel.
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this is a newish one for me - and not surprisingly, i love it. i love the way it covers Jesus' life and death both as aspects of our justification: that His righteousness is imputed to us and our punishment is borne by Him. i love the triumphant Hero language of revelation. i love the vividness of words like "scandal" and phrases like "loosing sinners from the claims of hell."

has everybody read piper's 50 reasons why Jesus came to die? i'm working on it right now - read 10 chapters last night - and so far it's fantastic. now i just have to wrestle it away from daddy before i hop on a plane to go back to school tomorrow.

ok, one more today... and then a bonus one tomorrow. :)

note the similarities between this song and the one above, both thematically and in terms of the types of language used
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Rise and Shine (by andrew peterson)
i remember how the snow fell in december,
the angels flew in pageants and in dreams.
and i came in at 6 o'clock from a long, hard day of playing
to the warmth of mama's cooking,
or was it the warmth of mama's love?

there were cardboard pirate ships and mud-puddle seas
and the backyard was a battleground for cowboys.
when daddy drug me out of bed on early sunday morning,
i remember how he smiled at me and said,

he said, "rise, rise and shine.
the day is coming on
and you know the night is gone
so rise."

i remember how the shepherds lay in slumber
and the angels came and broke them from their dreams;
and mary raised her weary head
and joseph stood there grinning
when the world awoke to the coming of a King

but there were haystacks in His palace,
and a manger was His throne
as a hush fell on the little town of david.
the hillside never shined so bright
as early christmas morning -
you could almost hear the very heavens sing.

they sang, "rise, rise and shine.
the sun is coming in
and the morning light is shining in
your eyes; o, rise and shine.
the day is coming on
and you know the night is gone
so rise."

i remember how the sunlight turned to thunder
and people ran for shelter from the rain;
and the curtain tore and the saints awoke
and the whole earth seemed to tremble
from the fury of God's anger,
or was it the fury of His love?

there were shadows on the tomb there in the garden
and the mist was rising slowly through the trees;
and when mary saw the silhouette on early easter morning
i remember how He smiled at her and said,

He said, "rise, rise and shine.
the sun is coming in
and the morning light is shining in
your eyes; o, rise and shine.
the day is coming on
and you know the night is gone
so rise."
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y'all, the night is gone. hallelujah!