To be completely clear from the start, I'll be taking liberties with the song "I Need You Now" [Lady Antebellum] in order to present the cry of a desperate saint who feels lost and forgotten by his Lord, like Elijah.
----------------
Righteous royal theses falling all around my hand,
sounding out my judgment: "For whom do idols have t' stand?"
But I wonder if I ever cross Your mind,
for they have murdered all of Thine.
It's been forty days of fear, I'm all alone, and I need You now!
Said You wouldn't stall, but they all seek my life, and I need You now!
And I don't know how I can be without...
I just need You now!
There's Your silent whisper; can't stop looking at the door--
wishing You'd come sweeping in the way You did before.
And I wonder if I ever stopped to mind
that You are saving all the time.
It's three hours after noon, they're a little lost, and I need You now.
Said they wouldn't call, but I offered to to show them; I need You now!
And I don't know how I can do without...
I just need You now.
------------
I'd originally thought about interjecting lines from "Busted Heart (Hold On To Me)" [For King And Country], because it ends its first verse with the words "I've got a busted heart; I need You now. Yeah, I need You now," but I instead chose to let it be. The lyrics of "Busted Heart" seemed (though I had some misconceptions about these lines) to be a different level of struggle than Elijah's, for I thought the two lines in "Busted Heart" that go "My faith is TIRED tonight" and "ENOUGH is never enough" actually were "My faith is DYING tonight" and "YOUR LOVE is never enough," respectively. But they aren't, so this song passes my Calvinism-meter. (By that, I mean it doesn't violate the 5 points of Calvinism, aka doctrines of grace, aka TULIP [Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the Saints] which are biblical derivatives)
Gah. I just found out Control + P = publish.
It's a great song. If you've got the time, reader, listen to it! (Busted Heart (I Need You Now) + lyrics)
Elijah was a godly man who didn't waver. He was faithful in his task. He was a hairy man and he wore a belt made of leather. He was a predecessor to Elisha as John [the Baptist] was to Jesus, and he gets about as much coverage in the Bible as John the Baptist. Yet he is the one Jews still wait for at every Passover, with the promise that Elijah would be sent before the Messiah [the Sun of righteousness, rising with healing in His wings (tassels??)] would come to free His people to trod evil underfoot. He, with Moses, appeared with Jesus at His transfiguration. Elijah the Tishbite was fearless in the face of the LORD's anointed, King Ahab of Israel, who, marrying Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians,,,, failed to see the irony in his remarks that the prophet of the LORD is the cause of trouble and evil in Israel. Elijah ran faster than the king's chariot. Elijah cried aloud before the LORD to raise the son of the widow. He trusted in God's provision in ravens and magical food. He raised up a generation of kings and prophets to be the LORD's agents of judgment and mercy.
However, when Jezebel vowed to murder him by morning, he did ask to cop out, claiming that he wasn't better than his fathers, immediately following his miraculous run and the LORD's amazing showdown before the wavering children of Israel.
WHY, Elijah?!
--These men of faith in the Bible were men of faith, not God Incarnate. Model them as they follow Christ.
----------------
Righteous royal theses falling all around my hand,
sounding out my judgment: "For whom do idols have t' stand?"
But I wonder if I ever cross Your mind,
for they have murdered all of Thine.
It's been forty days of fear, I'm all alone, and I need You now!
Said You wouldn't stall, but they all seek my life, and I need You now!
And I don't know how I can be without...
I just need You now!
There's Your silent whisper; can't stop looking at the door--
wishing You'd come sweeping in the way You did before.
And I wonder if I ever stopped to mind
that You are saving all the time.
It's three hours after noon, they're a little lost, and I need You now.
Said they wouldn't call, but I offered to to show them; I need You now!
And I don't know how I can do without...
I just need You now.
------------
I'd originally thought about interjecting lines from "Busted Heart (Hold On To Me)" [For King And Country], because it ends its first verse with the words "I've got a busted heart; I need You now. Yeah, I need You now," but I instead chose to let it be. The lyrics of "Busted Heart" seemed (though I had some misconceptions about these lines) to be a different level of struggle than Elijah's, for I thought the two lines in "Busted Heart" that go "My faith is TIRED tonight" and "ENOUGH is never enough" actually were "My faith is DYING tonight" and "YOUR LOVE is never enough," respectively. But they aren't, so this song passes my Calvinism-meter. (By that, I mean it doesn't violate the 5 points of Calvinism, aka doctrines of grace, aka TULIP [Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the Saints] which are biblical derivatives)
Gah. I just found out Control + P = publish.
It's a great song. If you've got the time, reader, listen to it! (Busted Heart (I Need You Now) + lyrics)
Elijah was a godly man who didn't waver. He was faithful in his task. He was a hairy man and he wore a belt made of leather. He was a predecessor to Elisha as John [the Baptist] was to Jesus, and he gets about as much coverage in the Bible as John the Baptist. Yet he is the one Jews still wait for at every Passover, with the promise that Elijah would be sent before the Messiah [the Sun of righteousness, rising with healing in His wings (tassels??)] would come to free His people to trod evil underfoot. He, with Moses, appeared with Jesus at His transfiguration. Elijah the Tishbite was fearless in the face of the LORD's anointed, King Ahab of Israel, who, marrying Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians,,,, failed to see the irony in his remarks that the prophet of the LORD is the cause of trouble and evil in Israel. Elijah ran faster than the king's chariot. Elijah cried aloud before the LORD to raise the son of the widow. He trusted in God's provision in ravens and magical food. He raised up a generation of kings and prophets to be the LORD's agents of judgment and mercy.
However, when Jezebel vowed to murder him by morning, he did ask to cop out, claiming that he wasn't better than his fathers, immediately following his miraculous run and the LORD's amazing showdown before the wavering children of Israel.
WHY, Elijah?!
--These men of faith in the Bible were men of faith, not God Incarnate. Model them as they follow Christ.
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