[Intro] Stop. Gather. Be still before the Light. There is something we carried in That we do not need tonight. [Verse 1] I brought my prayers into the sanctuary, My folded hands, my practiced words, I knew the songs, I knew the answers, I knew exactly when to be heard. But Isaiah spoke into the silence, Past the offering, past the flame: “Wash you, make you clean before Me, Learn to do good again.” [Pre-Chorus] So I stop. I gather. Not the crowd, but what is scattered inside. I lay down what must be surrendered— Every need to stand above another life. [Chorus] Call a solemn assembly Here inside my heart. Lay the pride upon the altar, Let the false and fearful part Fall away into the silence Till there’s nothing left to prove. Turn my heart toward God within me, With the breath that says I’m loved. Stop. Gather. Lay it down. Breathe the Breath of Life. No one higher. No one lower. Only children of the Light. [Verse 2] “Cease to do evil, learn to do well, Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed.” Not another robe upon my shoulders, But mercy living in my chest. If my worship does not make me kinder, If my prayer still leaves someone below, Then perhaps I brought my body to the temple But my heart refused to go. [Pre-Chorus] So I stop. I gather. Watch the rising of the wanting mind. The little voice that says, “Be greater,” The ancient fear that says, “Get yours before they climb.” And I breathe. And I notice. And I do not have to fight. I can let the grasping loosen In the presence of the Light. [Chorus] Call a solemn assembly Here inside my heart. Lay the pride upon the altar, Let the false and fearful part Fall away into the silence Till there’s nothing left to prove. Turn my heart toward God within me, With the breath that says I’m loved. Stop. Gather. Lay it down. Breathe the Breath of Life. No one higher. No one lower. Only children of the Light. [Bridge] “Come now, and let us reason together,” Though your scarlet runs so deep, There is mercy underneath the judgment, There is something God still keeps. Before the title, Before the failure, Before the praise that made me proud, There was breath breathed into being, There was worth before the crowd. So I need not make myself above you. I need not make myself beneath. I can meet you in the middle, Where we share the sacred breath we breathe. [Breakdown] Stop. Gather. Lay it down. Not my worth— Only my pride. Not my voice— Only the need to be right. Not my faith— Only the walls I built around the Light. Breathe in. Breathe out. Remember. Return. [Final Chorus] Call a solemn assembly Here inside my heart. Wash me clean of all comparison, Every measure, rank, and part. Teach me good. Teach me mercy. Let the hungry become mine. Let my worship leave the building As compassion made alive. Stop. Gather. Lay it down. Breathe the Breath of Life. No one higher. No one lower. Every soul of sacred worth. Stop. Gather. Lay it down. Let the inward altar burn. Turn the heart toward God in stillness. Breathe. Remember. Return. [Outro] The assembly has grown quiet. There is nothing left to prove. Only breath. Only mercy. Only God encountered through love.
