Ashes Of The Pulpit

"Burn the pulpit"

That is what I hear

I see the humble and faithful shepherds

With broken and contrite hearts

Sitting in the ashes of their burnt pulpits

Crying out to heaven

Heaping the ashes of idolatry on their heads

The ashes of the pulpit

The golden calf of the West

That has spread out over all the earth

A plague of idolatry

A plague of pride

I see bulls standing at their pulpits

Gripping its sides

White knuckles that refuse to let go

"I have been called by God to stand here!"

"I have been anointed to preach!"

"Authority is mine, I will not relent!"

Bulls at the pulpit

Drunk on the intoxicating wine of authority

Staggering under the delusion of power

"See my great horns!"

Charging ahead in arrogance

Destroying the kingdom of God

Their hooves pawing the ground

Kicking up the dust of confusion

Leading the sheep by ideals

Rather than truth

Bearing witness to the desires of their own heart

Rather than bearing witness to the heart of the Father

Because their fathers are the Pharisees

White knuckles that refused to let go

"I have been called by God to stand here!"

"I have been anointed by God to preach!"

"Authority is mine, I will not relent!"

Bulls in the temple

Drunk on the intoxicating wine of authority

Staggering under the delusion of power

"See my great horns!"

Charging ahead in arrogance

Crucifying the Holy One of Israel Who says,

"Meekness shall be your master,

humility shall be your guide.

Sit among the people, not above them."

But the bulls refuse

Because they are in bondage to pride

Blessed are the humble shepherds

Who see what the pulpit has become

Blessed are the obedient shepherds

Who burn the pulpit and sit among the people

Waiting for the Holy One to come

You suffocate under the weight of madness.

You have cast your own spell

Witchcraft has become your master

It is your own story you desire to tell

The story of God has no place in your heart

Although your story has a place in mine

But you refuse to dwell there

And seek your own way instead of mine

All your ways are futile

All your striving will end in defeat

If you would but sit in the dust

And remember you are dust

I would rescue you from the fate you will meet

For thousands of years my word has stood

And for a thousand more it will stand

You can read it for yourself and see

Your arrogance and rebellion will suffer my hand

What is coming you cannot see

How it will unfold, you do not know

But what I can tell you is that all will be lost

All that you have vainly sown

Only that which was sown by my will

Only that which heeded my word

Only those who sat in the dust

And remembered that they were dust

Will escape all that is destined to burn.

My word flows forth like a river

Like a river that you do not perceive

It is here, but you do not see it

And your blindness will cause you to grieve

"Zion will be redeemed with justice and her repentant ones with righteousness. But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together, and those who forsake the Lord will come to an end. Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, and you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen. For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades away or as a garden that has no water. The strong man will become tinder, his work also a spark. Thus they shall both burn together and there will be none to quench them." (Isaiah 1:27-31)