Lyrics
The Song of Mark
1.
Hearken of Jesus what he did,
Redeemer and one flesh with God.
Isaiah the prophet called: See there,
In ev’ry place a harbinger,
For soon God’s way shall come to pass;
A voice calls from the wilderness:
Prepare now for the tread of God!
So in the desert John appeared.
With water he did wash their sin;
They repented and were forgiv’n.
So all the people came to him
From th’ country and Jerusalem;
In River Jordan there they stood
Confessing every evil deed.
John clothed himself in camel hair,
The hairy hides of beasts he wore,
Locusts and sweet wild honey ate,
And he used neither spoon nor plate,
He cried aloud to all of them,
Proclaiming, After me will come
The one who towers over me,
Whose sandals I may not untie,
With water now I wash your sin,
And he with Holy Spirit then.
So, soon Jesus did come to see,
From Nazareth in Galilee,
In the Jordan he stood with John,
Who took his head and plunged it in.
Then, when his face came up again,
The people saw a light shine down,
Like a white dove it came to rest,
And Jesus held it in his breast.
There came a voice from out of heav’n:
THIS ONE IS MY BELOVED SON.
The Holy Spirit in his heart
Led Jesus to a place apart.
Out in the desert he did go,
And Satan there did tempt him so.
Then came wild beasts, with fang and claw,
But angels Jesus oversaw,
For forty nights and one more day.
Then he came back to Galilee.
Soldiers had locked John in a cell;
So Jesus preached to one and all:
The time is come, repent, believe,
And you will all your God receive.
From off a rock beside their boat,
Simon and Andrew cast their net.
Jesus said, Come and follow me,
Fishers of men you now shall be.
They left their nets and followed him,
And soon they caught two other men,
Called James and John of Zebedee,
Who joined them to make five of three.
They all went to Capernaum
And to the synagogue they came.
There, on the Sabbath, Jesus spoke:
Many a rule his teaching broke.
As a rabbi he preached and taught,
Not as a scribe who learns by rote.
Then from the crowd, inside a man,
A spirit, troubled and unclean,
Cried out, O Jesus, are you here?
O Jesus, I know who you are!
You are the Holy One of God!
But Jesus to the spirit called,
Be silent! Come now, out to me!
So loud the spirit then did cry,
And shook, and trembled so, the man,
When out of him the devil came,
That all the people spoke of this,
And Jesus’ name did through them pass,
Till word of his authority
Spread everywhere in Galilee.
He healed Simon’s mother-in-law,
And all the people came and saw;
And all the sick they brought to him,
The blind, possessed, afflicted, lame,
The whole city, wealthy or poor,
Gathered and stood outside his door.
If they were dying, he was life,
And out the demons he would drive,
But as he righted each their wrongs
He made the devils hold their tongues.
Before the sun came up one day,
He found a lonely place to pray.
Then when Simon came with the rest,
Jesus saw that his lot was cast.
My friends, he said, let us go on,
And we will preach in every town.
So as they went through Galilee,
The demons he would cast away.
A leper down before him fell,
And said, Lord, heal me if you will,
I know that you can make me clean.
So Jesus reached out with his hand
And touched him, saying, You are clean,
And Jesus’ touch did heal his skin.
Then Jesus left the man alone,
Instructing him to tell no one:
First show the priest your skin is healed,
Then make an off’ring as you should,
But do not tell them I healed you.
Yet that is what the man did do;
So still the crowds would press him in,
And Jesus often walked alone.
