4th century BC
Plato
- Idealism — forms over particulars
- The Republic ethic: “God is not the author of evil”
Notes
Track five is the song that earns the album the right to all its grievance, because before the record points at anyone, it points at me. For years on end I lived inside the forums late at night - the chat rooms and the comment threads, the places men go to fight. And I came into every one of them with a sword already drawn.
The metaphor is the sword - sharp doctrine, relentless argument, a blade kept honed and bright. And here is the trap the song confesses. I was right, and that was the trouble. I was right about it all. Sovereign grace, the ruin of man, the blood that bought him back - all of it true. And being right became the rag I wiped the cruelty with. A true sword swung in anger cuts a man the same as a false one does. I had the doctrine immaculate and I left people bleeding, and I called it holy zeal.
They had a name for me in those rooms - Darth Gill, the dangerous one, the one to fear - and God forgive me, I was proud of it. I won, I always won. And every round I won I left a living person bleeding, and I never stayed to look. The bridge is the lesson it took me twenty years to learn: it was never the truth that did the damage, it was the man who held it. The sovereign grace I loved was turning out hard and loveless men, and I was one of them. So before this record fills with the blades that came for me, you should know I carried the sharpest one. I have got no clean hand left to point with.
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
For years on end I lived inside the forums late at night
The chat rooms and the comment threads, the places men go to fight
And I came into every one of them with a sword already drawn
I could take an Arminian apart in a paragraph or two
And I did it, and I liked it
[Chorus]
I had the sharpest sword in the room
I kept it honed, I kept it bright
And the doctrine on the blade of it was true
But a true sword swung in anger
Cuts a man the same as a false one does
And I swung it, Lord, I swung it
The sharpest sword in the room
[Verse 2]
And here is the thing it took me twenty years to understand
I was right, and that was the trouble, I was right about it all
Sovereign grace and the ruin of man and the blood that bought him back
And being right became the rag I wiped the cruelty with
I looked straight at the cruelty and I called it holy zeal
[Chorus]
I had the sharpest sword in the room
I kept it honed, I kept it bright
And the doctrine on the blade of it was true
But a true sword swung in anger
Cuts a man the same as a false one does
And I swung it, Lord, I swung it
The sharpest sword in the room
[Verse 3]
They gave me a name in those rooms, they called me Darth Gill
The dangerous one, the one to fear, and God forgive me, I was proud
I won, I always won, I never lost a single round
And every round I won I left a living person bleeding
And I never stayed to look
[Bridge]
It was never the truth that did the damage, it was the man who held it
The sharpest doctrine in the cruelest hands cuts deeper than a lie
The sovereign grace I loved was turning out hard and loveless men
And I was one of them
For years and years I was one of them
[Final Verse and Outro]
So before this record fills with all the blades that came for me
The doors that closed, the men who would not hear
You should know I carried the sharpest blade of all
And I swung it first, and I swung it longest
I have got no clean hand left to point with
I had the sharpest sword in the room
Commentary