4th century BC
Plato
- Idealism — forms over particulars
- The Republic ethic: “God is not the author of evil”
Notes
After nine songs of holding the mirror up, the album needed to set something solid down and stand on it. All Things is that floor. It is Romans 8:28 made into the plainest hymn I could write - no ornament, nothing clever, just the doctrine sung straight, because the comfort here is in how sure and how plain it is.
The line that carries my whole framework is in verse two: there is no chance or luck, no accident or fate. I did not write that for poetry. I meant it as a flat denial of four idols. Chance, luck, accident - and then the subtle one, fate. Even fate is dethroned, because fate is blind and impersonal, and what actually holds your life is neither. It is a Person. Every single thing that comes to you was authored, on purpose, by a God who is working it toward one end: to conform us to the image of Christ.
That is why this song belongs here, at the turn of the album. The pride has been named and stripped; now the record begins to rest, and you cannot rest on a maybe. You rest on this - that nothing in your life is random, nothing fell through the cracks, nothing was wasted. All things rest in Your hands. If that is true, and it is, then the only thing left to do with a life like that is praise.
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
All things, every single one,
Are under God’s control.
He works them all for good,
For those who love His goal.
[Chorus]
All things rest in Your hands, O Lord, Your purpose stands secure;
In every joy and trial of life, Your steadfast love endures.
[Verse 2]
There is no chance or luck,
No accident or fate.
All things are planned by God,
It’s His will that we await.
[Chorus]
All things rest in Your hands, O Lord, Your purpose stands secure;
In every joy and trial of life, Your steadfast love endures.
[Verse 3]
He uses all things for His glory,
And for our good as well.
He’s working to conform us,
To the image of Christ to dwell.
[Verse 4]
So let us trust in His purpose,
In all that comes our way.
For He is good and sovereign,
And His love will never stray.
[Chorus]
All things rest in Your hands, O Lord, Your purpose stands secure;
In every joy and trial of life, Your steadfast love endures.
[Verse 5]
He’s given us all things,
To use for His great fame.
Let us seek to glorify Him,
In all that we do and say.
[Verse 6]
For all things are for our sake,
To bring us to His side.
Let us rest in His promise,
And in His love abide.
[Chorus x3]
All things rest in Your hands, O Lord, Your purpose stands secure;
In every joy and trial of life, Your steadfast love endures.
Commentary