4th century BC
Plato
- Idealism — forms over particulars
- The Republic ethic: “God is not the author of evil”
Lyrics
[Intro - Both, layered]
The Author sees every frame
Before the first one ever runs
The story written start to end
Before the sun
[Verse 1 - Male]
Before the foundation of the world
Your name was on the page
The cross was thought before the tree
Before the law, before the rage
[Verse 1 - Female]
I lived a frame I could not see
I sinned and stumbled, doubted, fell
But the page that held me from the start
Said I was His, said all was well
[Pre-Chorus - Both, harmony]
The Author sees what time conceals
He held the frame before the throw
What I learned at thirty-five
Was true before I came to know
[Chorus - Both, harmony]
Every frame, every frame
The justification was already done
Every frame, every frame
The verdict was rendered before the run
The film was finished in His mind
Before the projector's light began
He saw me free, He saw me whole
Before I drew a single human breath
[Verse 2 - Male]
The cross rendered into time
What was true in the decree
The blood made visible at noon
What was settled in eternity
[Verse 2 - Female]
The day I trusted I did not buy
What was already mine
The trust was the frame catching up
To the substance, the design
[Pre-Chorus - Both, harmony]
The Author sees what time conceals
He held the frame before the throw
What I learned at thirty-five
Was true before I came to know
[Chorus - Both, harmony]
Every frame, every frame
The justification was already done
Every frame, every frame
The verdict was rendered before the run
The film was finished in His mind
Before the projector's light began
He saw me free, He saw me whole
Before I drew a single human breath
[Bridge - Call and response]
(Male) Before the first frame, the verdict
(Female) Before the first frame, the love
(Male) Before the first frame, the cross
(Female) Before the first frame, the dove
(Both, rising)
The whole strip already runs in His mind
The saint is walking through what is already true
Every wound He saw and held
Every joy He set in view
[Final Chorus - Both, soaring]
Every frame, every frame
The justification was already done
Every frame, every frame
The verdict was rendered before the run
The film is finished in His mind
The light has been there all along
He sees me free, He sees me whole
He has been singing this same song
[Outro - Both]
Every frame
Every frame
He saw me there
He saw me here
Every frame
Every frame
The verdict was rendered before
The first reel turned
Commentary