At The Table (Holy Invitation)
At The Table (Holy Invitation)
"This song was born out of the realization of where we actually find God, who, from the first days he revealed himself in the person of Jesus, was (and still is) found with sinners, the poor, and the outcasts of society. He welcomes us to join him at that same table of fellowship, where he opens our eyes to truth and opens our hearts to love." (David Brymer)
AT THE TABLE (HOLY INVITATION)
Written by David Brymer (ASCAP), Leslie Jordan (BMI)
© 2018 Common Hymnal Publishing (ASCAP), Innerland (ASCAP), Underground Treasure (ASCAP), Little Way Creative (BMI), Integrity's Praise! Music (BMI) (admin by IntegratedRights.com). CCLI 7119095.
VERSE 1
Am G F C
A stagnant faith, a shallow gospel
Am G F
Save me from all these things
Am G F Am
An empty heart, a selfish life
Am G F
All this complacency
VERSE 2
I’ve exalted all my feelings
Above your justice, Lord
And turned a blind eye and a deaf ear
To the ones you love
CHORUS 1
F G
I have seen you in the broken
Am F
I have seen you in the poor
F G
I have seen you at the table
Am G F
And you offer me yourself
VERSE 3
The communion of our father
We’re seated face to face
In the presence of each other
The fellowship of grace
BRIDGE
F C G
Keep my heart tender, keep my heart soft
F Am G
Keep my heart willing to go where you are
F C G
There is a table that you’ve set for us
F Am G F C
A holy invitation, and a humble response
VERSE 4
Oh the sweetness of your mercy
Poured out in every cup
You take every drop of sorrow
Replace it with your love
CHORUS 2
I can see you when I’m broken
I can see you when I’m poor
I can see you at the table
And you offer me yourself
I had never written with Leslie before. When I first sat down with her in a room with a couple guitars, I couldn’t have imagined the direction we would go and what would come from our time together. Our conversation quickly made its way to our personal background and our church experience, and we found ourselves processing the “un-learning” that had taken place for both of us over the last number of years… an un-learning of religious structure, an un-learning of a powerless belief system, an un-learning of a faith devoid of movement toward what God really cares about… basically an un-learning of Western Christianity. From the opening line, “A stagnant faith, a shallow gospel, save me from all these things..” to the last line “I can see you when I’m broken, I can see you when I’m poor..”, each verse was basically our conversation put to music.
Both of us seemed to have this desire to not waste time trying to write the next bit hit, but rather be honest about our spiritual journeys which seemed to collide in a special way in our first time writing together. What came out was a song through which we have an honest conversation with God about where we are at, and in the process we have a series of revelations where we first see the depth of our own need, then we see Jesus and where he actually is, which is at the table with the poor and broken, then we hear his invitation to come join him there… but the last revelation is that we can only see him when we ourselves know our own spiritual poverty, and it’s in that place he will always give us himself. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”