Before Creations Time

One of the songs that I have been singing a lot recently is Breathe by Andy Smith. I have had it in my itunes library for a long time, but only really picked it up for the weekend away when Martin suggested it was one we should learn. Wow. I sang it for the first time at the prayer meeting on the Thursday night before we left, and then Martin led it as the response to the first nights message, and it instantly becomes one of those songs that just leads people into the presence of God, in response of what He has done for us and crying out for Him to do more. I lost count of how many times we sang it that weekend.

Then last Sunday, I made the spontaneous decision to use it during a time of prayer and response at the end of the service, knowing that there were no words for the congregation to sing along with or music for the band, but feeling like God had put the song on my heart again earlier in the day, and that He was stirring me to lead it at that moment. Once again, there was just an awesome presence of God as people drew closer to Him in prayer and listened to the words of this song.

God seems to be really using this song to touch people, and so I decided to look a little deeper at this song and try and dig into where the lyrics have come from, and how it carries so much meaning.

The first verse says:

Before creations time
Majestically You reign
You patent Your design
On all that you have made
Creator God breathe life in us

I love the fact that the song begins with the glory and majesty of God, with references right back to creation, and in particular Genesis 2:7

The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being

What better place to start in worship than to think about God creating us as his people, and more than that creating all things, as well as expressing that God is before all things, even time itself! I love the way this verse captures so much of God's character in just a few lines.

The second verse goes on to say:

We took eternal life and traded it for dust
Your perfect sacrifice
Has brought it back for us
You hold salvation in Your hands

Again, the words so powerfully describe the way we have failed to meet God's standard, but moves quickly onto the greatest part of God's plan, the perfect sacrifice of His one and only Son for us.

The chorus says:

You turned my ashes into beauty
Turned my sorrow into joy
Breathe life, breathe life
You take these dry bone make them stand
Put a promise in my hand
Breathe life, breathe life

The first part of these lines appears to be drawn from Isaiah 61, which tells of the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord, that He will

bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.

The second part of the chorus is taken from Ezekiel 37, which is a chapter of prophetic words spoken about God and His Spirit breathing life into a people that are spiritually dry. Singing this chorus is a powerful declaration of what God has done already and asking Him to do more as He continues to breathe spiritual life into us!

The third verse brings us back to the glory of God compared to the world around us:

The idols of this world
Will fade to shades of grey
When marked against the one
Who is the only Way
Bright shining sun that marks my path

Finally, the bridge ties together all the themes of the song in once place:

Wonderful, marvelous,
You make all things new
I was dead now im alive
All because of you
I will go and tell the world
How great you are

It begins with the wonder and splendour of God and His work in creation, followed by the message of the Gospel and our salvation and finishing with the Great Commission as we are sent out into the world to tell the awesome message we have to share.

I love the fact that this song is so full of biblical truth and sets out such a good pattern for our worship, to come to God in awe and wonder of what He has done, and then to respond with hearts that seek more after Him and His desires for our lives! It has been amazing seeing God starting to use this song to draw people closer to him, and I'm looking forward to continuing to use it in times of corporate worship as well as personally.

N.