Written by: Aaron Tate
Appears on: 40 Acres, The Austin Sessions, Chronicles
Lyrics:
Is this the strange feeling
Of you working all to good
‘Cause I am so confused
I don’t even ask for what I should
When I asked for and deserved a stone
You broke and gave your body as bread
And even the stone that dropped down and rolled away
Spoke of the one who bled
There you go working good from my bad
There you go making robes from my rags
There you go melting crowns from my calves
There you go working good of all I have
Till all I have’s not that bad
When I asked for and deserved a serpent
You gave a net full of fish
And even the serpent that told the lie
When lifted high foretold the gift
For you so loved the unlovable
That you gave the ineffable
That who so believes the unbelievable
Will gain the unattainable
See also: MusicBrainz, iTunes.
This song is written from the perspective of someone who is realizing how God’s good works in his own life. He sees all the things he tries to do go “bad” and how God is able take those things and work them for “good”.
“Making crowns from my calves”…this is a metaphor based on the story from Exodus 32 where the people of Israel melted down all their jewelry and fashioned a golden calf to worship. In contrast to that, God can take our mistakes and failures, and turn them into ways to glorify Him.
“When I asked for and deserved a stone You broke and gave your body as bread” and “When I asked for and deserved a serpent You gave a net full of fish”…this is a play on words from Luke 11:11 which says “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?”. He is saying that he often asks for, and deserves, what’s not best for him but God still provides what is best.
“And even the serpent that told the lie when lifted high foretold the gift”…refers to Numbers 21:9 where Moses lifted up a bronze serpent on a staff so that all who were bit by a snake could look upon the bronze serpent and live. Jesus referred to this in John 3:14-15, when He said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.” He is saying that if God can take something like a snake (which told the first lie in the Garden of Eden to Eve) and use it to foreshadow Christ, he can use my failures for His glory.
“For you so loved the unlovable…” this is a rewording of John 3:16, and a spectacular piece of writing. Notice the parallels:
“For you so loved the unloveable” — “For God so loved the world”
“That you gave the ineffable” — “That He gave His only begotten son”
“That who so believes the unbelievable” — “That whosoever believes in Him”
“Will gain the unattainable” — “Shall have eternal life”