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  "SHAKE THIS PLACE"
  (Acts 4:24-31, Exodus 20:11, Psalm 2:1-2)
  
  [Acts 4:24]
  Hear our hearts, Lord!
  With a unified voice
  We call out to You.
  
  [Exodus 20:11]
  Absolute Sovereign,
  Lord YHWH,
  In six days You made the sky above,
  The earth beneath,
  The oceans, rivers and lakes,
  And in them You created all that exists.
  
  [Acts 4:25]
  Our very own father,
  By the Holy Spirit
  You spoke through the mouth of David,
  Your loving son and servant:
  
  [Psalm 2:1]
  "Why are the nations fuming with rage?
  Their people only occupy themselves
  With the emptiness and vanity of their hearts.
  They are ruled by their own pleasures
  As well as their anger and frustration.
  
  [Psalm 2:2]
  "Chiefs, kings, leaders across the whole earth
  Gather together,
  Doing their best to hide their disputes,
  Showing honor and preference to one another,
  A unified, lying front,
  Rising above YHWH,
  Seeking counsel together
  To exalt themselves above His Messiah."
  
  [Acts 4:27]
  It is no secret
  They have found pleasure
  In uniting for the purpose
  Of exalting themselves above
  The one and only Son of holiness,
  Your own anointed Jesus.
  
  They present themselves as heroes,
  Affirming themselves as bridges to brighter futures,
  Deluded by unification with a majority
  Of the people of a nation,
  
  [Acts 4:28]
  But it was all predetermined
  By Your hand,
  So that Your purposes
  Will be made manifest!
  
  [Acts 4:29]
  Even now, Lord,
  We acknowledge You as Supreme.
  Consider the menacing threat they present.
  Grant a permanent endowment of boldness,
  A perfect confidence bound into the souls
  Of all who have bound ourselves to You,
  And we will speak Your Word;
  We will utter the thoughts of Your heart.
  
  [Acts 4:30]
  Reach out Your hand
  For healing;
  Stretch forth with miracles,
  Signs and wonders,
  All taking place
  Because we know the power of that name:
  Pure, sacred, holy,
  Your lowly servant,
  Stricken and cast into death,
  But now risen and exalted,
  Son of the King--
  King of Kings--
  Jesus!
  
  [Acts 4:31]
  Shake this place!
  Shake this place.
  Fill us with Your Holy Spirit.
  Shake this place!
  Transfuse into us an outward confidence;
  We need it to proclaim Your Word.
  Shake this place!
  
  [Acts 4:32]
  Hear our hearts, Lord Jesus:
  With a single voice
  We call out to You.
  
  Unify us in heart and soul,
  A massive body of believers,
  Merged together in purpose
  Completely sold out to love and holiness,
  Unbreakable.
  
  Reach out Your hand
  For healing;
  Stretch forth with miracles,
  Signs and wonders,
  All taking place
  Because we know the power of that name:
  Pure, sacred, holy,
  Your lowly servant,
  Stricken and cast into death,
  But now risen and exalted,
  Son of the King--
  King of Kings--
  Jesus!
  
  Shake this place!
  Shake this place.

  
  
  
  

More power metal for the masses! Musically, I was inspired a little by the band Divinefire on this one, while the "shake this place" chorus reminds me of the metalcore style of Becoming the Archetype and the bizarre mix of waltz rhythm and odd harmony Tourniquet used in their Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance album. If only I could sing like Guy Ritter! I recorded this song in the hopes of performing it live for the first time this July (2016) as part of Exalted Dirt's first ever live performance! Getting a group together has been a slow process. Come Lord Jesus, by Your Holy Spirit! Reveal Your power in the earth! Many are fascinated by Biblical accounts of manifestations of God's power, but they are content and sometimes angrily and fearfully insistent to leave them there, in the past. I am not them! This song is a prayer derived from a study I did of the Greek and Hebrew in the corporate prayer mentioned in Acts 4:24-31 in the Bible. The Bible text quotes Exodus 20:11 and Psalm 2:1-2, so I studied the Hebrew text of those verses. Much of the song is an expository translation of the original Bible text, meaning that it captures the various literal meanings of the words in the text. Other parts of the song are applications of the original text rather than literal representation. For instance, Acts 4:27 makes mention of Herod and Pontius Pilate. The term Herod means "heroic", Pontius means "bridged", and Pilate means "close-pressed", or "firm". Since Herod and Pontius Pilate were political figures of their time, I used their names as part of an application for the present time. With the U.S. Presidential election circus closing in on us, these words seem more applicable now than when I wrote them a little while ago: They present themselves as heroes, Affirming themselves as bridges to brighter futures, Deluded by unification with a majority Of the people of a nation..., The King James text goes as follows: ...both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together...,