The Music of Todd MacDonald

Faithful And True (4:01)
You Are Good (4:25)
Pilgrims Here (3:16)
Walking The Line (3:41)
The Dangerous (4:30)
Fly Eagle Fly (3:53)
You Don’t Have To Go Back Down (5:42)
Spring Song (3:46)
Saying You (3:47)
Lesson from an Ant (4:34)
Great Awakening (4:50)

1. Faithful and True

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True” (Revelation 19:11).

Well, I sure took a right turn out of my driveway just three weeks ago, ‘cause I could hear Colorado calling me. I thought I’d plant my feet on the Promised Land and let me grow. Now I’m taller than I ever thought I’d be, ‘cause You’re teaching me that You don’t change; You don’t move; You’re the same now and always, unwavering, faithful and true. With You there’s no shadow of turning. I’m finally learning this is true: You’re like a sun that always shines in a sky that’s always blue. You’re faithful and true.

Well, I’ve sure been on the road; man, I like the sound of my wheels when they’re spinning. Now here I am a good two thousand miles away. And though I can hardly see the Rockies for the rain and the clouds, still I can’t stop grinning, ‘cause You taught my soul to sing a new song today. Yeah, it goes: You don’t change; You don’t move; You’re the same now and always, unwavering, faithful and true. With You there’s no shadow of turning. I’m finally learning this is true: You’re like a sun that always shines in a sky that’s always blue. You’re faithful and true.

Oh, what a fool to believe that You had left me in my blues, when You were all the while waiting right where I left You.

You don’t change; You don’t move; No, You’re the same now and always, unwavering, faithful and true. With You there’s no shadow of turning. I’m finally learning this is true: You’re like a sun that always shines in a sky that’s always blue. You’re faithful and true. You’re faithful and true.

2. You Are Good

“Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?” (Lamentations 3:37-38).

“I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things” (Isaiah 45:7).

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

You arrange the dark and painful seasons, as true as You declare the dawn of day. And though it’s not for man to demand a reason, sometimes, try as I may, I can’t help but wonder why…why. But I know, I know You have your reasons, though hidden from my eyes. Yes, there is comfort in this one thing that I know, I know, I know: You are wise.

You do as You please. Oh, what can man say? None can stay Your sovereign hand. Your thoughts are not our thoughts; our ways are not Your ways. Let pain be precious to Your plan. I need not wonder why…why. ‘Cause I know, I know You have Your reasons. No, I wouldn’t change things even if I could. ‘Cause You have a purpose in everything. And I know, I know, I know. Yes, I know, I know, I know: You are good.

And one day clouds of ancient mystery will break with joyful cries as we look back on history through heaven’s eyes. Singing, “You are wise.” Your ways are higher, as the heavens are above the earth. Singing, “You are good.” Your thoughts are higher, as the heavens are above the earth.

3. Pilgrims Here

“O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!” (Psalm 39:4).

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).

It’s a wild ride on the back of time. You pull the reigns, but no, your “whoa” won’t slow her down. You can only hope you don’t get thrown. So hold on, but not to time and space; grip the hand of Grace. Grow old and hold your gold up there, for sure as pilgrim days bloom and fade away, we’re pilgrims here.

Fix your eyes on heaven’s prize. Fix them on Jesus, forsaking every worthless thing that weighs you down on that narrow road to home. And hold on not to time and space; grip the hand of Grace. Grow old and hold your gold up there, for sure as pilgrim days bloom and fade away, we’re pilgrims here. Grow old and hold your gold up there, for sure as pilgrim days bloom and fade away, we’re pilgrims here.

4. Walking the Line

“If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6).

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children…for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:1, 8).

“Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name” (Psalm 86:11).

Well, here I am again. Or here I am still walking the line. Between black and white, I used to think I might just fool You. But now it’s closer to true that I’m foolin’ myself. Yeah, like I can really have it all this time. But I’ll choose You or else I’ll be living to die, walking the line.

This fence I’ve learned to ride is intended to divide the forsaken from the chosen side. But it sure does divide my devotion and my time: a day here, then for a day over there I’ll hide, foolin’ myself. Yeah, like I can really have it all this time. But I’ll choose You or else I’ll be living to die, walking the line.

Could I waste a lifetime? Never take a side? Or could I change? Well, maybe now is the time to decide. No more foolin’ myself. No, I’ll be walking in the Truth this time. ‘Cause I’ll choose You or else I’ll be living to die. It’s time to decide. I can’t go on walking the line.

5. The Dangerous

The Dangerous...

“With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him. All at once he follows her…he does not know that it will cost him his life” (Proverbs 7:21-23).

“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11).

“The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it” (Proverbs 27:12).

The King…

“Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory!” (Psalm 24:10).

“He is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In Him we live and move and have our being’” (Acts 17:27-28).

When life becomes a bore, The Dangerous will tell you lies. Sure, you’ve heard them all before: like, “Give me just a chance to show you what you’re missing in…your life…is too short to waste your time drawing lines.” But the Dangerous, she just might kill you. Always one extreme to a harder game. Yeah, but I can dust my window sill to find the King. Living in among the mere mundane. Living in among the mere mundane.

What do we think we’ll gain? The Dangerous is just a rush. Instant pleasure for the pain. But watch her fade away; in just a moment’s time she’s gone and left you alone – dry skin and bones. Yeah, the Dangerous, she just might kill you. Always one extreme to a harder game. Yeah, but I can dust my window sill to find the King. Living in among the mere mundane. Living in among the mere mundane.

Ooh, Lord, You’re not far from me. No, You’re not far from me. You’re right there in the simple day-to-day, as close as can be. Yeah, so a simple life is fine with me.

So when life becomes a bore, beware. The Dangerous will tell you lies. Don’t you believe her anymore. Oh no. ‘Cause given half a chance she’ll show you what it means to lose…your soul…will, by and by, surely die. ‘Cause the Dangerous, she just might kill you. Always one extreme to a harder game. Yeah, but I can dust my window sill to find the King. Living in among the mere…living in among the mere…living in among the mere mundane.

6. Fly Eagle Fly

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits…who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:2, 5).

“Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:30-31).

I heard a story about an eagle, born and raised with some chickens on a farm, where life was anything but regal. Before too long that old barn lost its charm. He took to dreaming of the sky. The chickens took to picking dinner off the ground. Before too long he learned to fly. There was nothing anyone could do to hold him down. He said, “I will fly over sea and land. Watch me go; I know who I am!”

Now you say that sin has pinned you down; there’s no use trying. So you take your time on the ground instead of flying. But is it right to let it hold you in submission? God didn’t give you eagle wings without a mission. To boldly go where no bird has ever flown, hang your hope on Him alone. And the Lord will lift you up and make you whole. And cause your cup to overflow. Take your place in the sky. Fly, eagle. Fly!

You see, it’s for you He bled and died, to set your soul free from sin and death. Yet you abide among the poultry. The roster crows, he knows you don’t belong there anymore. You ‘aint no chicken, eagle. Learn to soar on the wind that the Spirit of God only brings. Feel it move beneath your wings. And the Lord will lift you up and make you whole. And cause your cup to overflow. Take your place in the sky. Fly, eagle. Fly!

Even youths grow tired and weary. Young men stumble and fall. But don’t neglect that holy call. And the Lord will lift you up and make you whole. And cause your cup to overflow. Take your place in the sky. Fly, eagle. Fly!

7. You Don’t have to Go Back Down

“The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire” (2 Peter 2:22).

“How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:2).

We’re setting out on a winding mountain trail. I carry the pack; she leads the way. We reach the top, I drop my pack, she turns to me and says, “I’ve never felt so free. I wish someone could tell me, ‘You don’t have to go back down. No, you can stand your higher ground. You don’t have to go back down.’”

I say, “Look, the morning star, she sets the eastern sky ablaze. Then she circles around ’til she settles down again. And, well, you’re like that; you shine too. I’ve seen you glow, you know. But the sun can’t hold a candle to you. ‘Cause even after she sets, you don’t have to go back down. No, you can stand your higher ground. You don’t have to go back down.

It’s a choice that we’re making…to live what we believe. To take the only trail worth taking. High above the trees.

So, look around you. Go ahead, take a three-sixty view of everything that used to hold you down. But look quick ’cause way up here they just disappear into thin air, up where the eagle cries…singing, “Welcome home. Welcome home!” You don’t have to go back down. No, you can stand your higher ground. You don’t have to go back down. No, you don’t have to; you don’t have to go back down.

8. Spring Song

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…a time to love” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 8).

Counting down fourteen days ‘til the twenty-first of March. What will it take to melt this lake in time? Well, the first few signs of spring are shining like diamonds in the winter sun, as I sit here on this park bench making rhymes. Oh, so slow they go – the icicles and snow. Let those too long in coming, guitar strumming, happy humming spring winds blow.

Now, two by two they file on in, as if this were Noah’s park. You can see it in their eyes they’re rising in love. Well, some stroll by. But some, they stop to hear the lonely boy sing a Taylor song. Then they mosey on as cozy as a winter glove. Oh, so slow they go – the icicles and snow. Let those too long in coming, guitar strumming, happy humming spring winds blow.

Ooh, and just like spring, you know, love will circle around again. Yeah, so don’t be surprised when sooner or later it’s your turn to rise.

Oh, so slow they go – the icicles and snow. Let those too long in coming, guitar strumming, happy humming spring winds blow. So slow they go – the icicles and snow. Let those too long in coming, guitar strumming, happy humming, love becoming spring winds blow.

9. Saying You

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2).

“For what can be known about God is plain…for His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:19-20).

The setting sun rains down diamonds on the harbor of this quiet seaside town. Seagulls cry. I take a breath of salty air and count the colors of the sky. Your creation tells its story as I listen to the view. It’s saying, “Glory.” It’s saying You.

A moonless sky, like a warm blanket of stars and fireflies. A cool breeze romances me and slow dances with the trees. Your creation tells its story as I listen to the view. It’s saying, “Glory.” It’s saying You. Your creation tells its story as I listen to the view. It’s saying, “Glory.” It’s saying You. It’s saying, “Glory.” It’s saying You.

10. Lesson from an Ant

“Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man” (Proverbs 6:6-11).

Six A.M., my clock is yelling at me. ‘Cause I’ve got twelve new “to-do’s” plus three or four more I put off from yesterday. But I hit the pillow last night at a quarter past three. So now I’ll hit the snooze one or two or ten times more before I’m on my way.

Oh my, can you believe it? My feet and the cold floor finally met. Now, fully clothed, I’m crossing the floor; I’m heading for the door; I’m almost there. But hold your applause ‘cause it’s not like I’ve left the room yet. And every lazy boy knows you must beware when walking past that lazy boy chair.

A little folding of the hands. A little rest, a little sleep, a little slumber never hurt a man. But oh my, how time flies as I lie by and watch it go. Day dreaming away my life, I’ll finish it with nothing to show. Oh no…nothing to show.

I was told about the wise one who lives upon a hill. I found her small, a quarter inch tall, but I was desperate and so to the ant I turned. Only to swallow my pride like a bitter pill. ‘Cause hear me know, I’m confessin’, there’s a lesson she can teach this sluggard if he’ll learn.

She’s careful when she folds her hands. A little rest, but just enough to make her plenty tough to move the sand. But oh my, how time flies as I lie by and watch it go. Sleep walking through my life, I’ll wake one day to learn I’m old. Saying, “All those years, where did they go…where did they go… where did they go?”

11. Great Awakening

“Multitudes in New England have lately been brought to a new and great conviction of the truth and certainty of the things of the Gospel; to a firm persuasion that Christ Jesus is the Son of God, and the great and only Savior of the world…accompanied with an admiring and exalting apprehension of the glory of the divine perfections, God’s majesty, holiness, sovereign grace, etc.; with a sensible, strong and sweet love to God, and delight in Him, far surpassing all temporal delights, or earthly pleasures” (Jonathan Edwards, “Some Thoughts Concerning the Revival,” 1742).

Oh, these hills that surround this sleepy town in Massachusetts. Oh, if they could speak, now what a story they could tell of how they watched God wake them up, and shake them from their slumber – a people doomed to die unless released from Satan’s spell.

It was 1740, in this sleepy town in Massachusetts, when the Spirit of the Lord came down to open up their eyes. Oh, how the Truth broke through when faithful Jonathan was preaching…freeing the deceived who had believed the Liar’s lies.

A great awakening…a great awakening. Now, would You send another wind our way? A great awakening…a great awakening. Now, would You light a fire in our hearts? A new desire for the glory of the King? A great awakening.

Oh, what a Treasure lies in wait for hearts and minds inclined to know You. But with darkened hearts and vision blurred we’re blinded to it all. So like those days of long ago when You caused Your light to shine through, may, again, enlightened praises rise. Lord, let Your Spirit fall.

Oh, we’ve been dreaming too long. Wipe the sleep from our eyes. Let a new day dawn. Now, would You send another wind our way? A great awakening…a great awakening. Now, would You light a fire in our hearts? A new desire for the glory of the King? A great awakening. A great awakening.