7. Still Waters

"Still Waters" introduces the story of the man at the pool of Bethesda. It encapsulates the situation of the sick and lame that were looking for healing, and applies the emotional context of their desperation to the present day. This song is based on chapter 21 of the book, The Desire of Ages.

Lyrics:

A great crowd gathers at the water’s edge 

Where legend said they could be whole again; 

The pool stood silent while the dying waited 

For chance to make a way for pain to end.

A stir catches their eyes;  

The crippled and depraved 

Begin a race in which the first and strong . . . is only saved. 

The strongest trample through; 

The weakest fall behind; 

A chance to be renewed is foremost in their hearts and minds.

And as the tumult ends the dust then sets.

The crowd turns back to wait for hope misled. 

The waters then return-- 

Still and dead.

The broken seek to fill their emptiness 

Through things that claim to make them whole again; 

Yet human means have failed to bring them healing 

And cause their earthly suffering to end.

In a rush for number one 

They clamor in a strife 

To seek for broken cisterns that have held no life. 

And as the tumult ends the dust then sets.

The crowd turns back to wait for hope misled. 

The waters then return-- 

Still and dead.