"Poison Tree" - From Depravity To Life

“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." - Luke 6:43-45 ESV

Last week at Love City Church we did a song during worship called Poison Tree. One of the reasons I love the song is because of the striking and powerful lyrics.

The song begins with a profound description of our own depravity - one which pierces to the soul. But then the Chorus takes a turn from the macabre and swells into a beautiful declaration of our hope in the blood of Christ. The whole song reminds me of a quote from Jack Miller, "Cheer up! You’re a worse sinner than you ever dared imagine, and you’re more loved than you ever dared hope."



Here are the lyrics:

Verse 1:
This tree bears strange fruit
There’s blood on the leaves, it’s dead at the roots
The cracked grey branches are decaying within
Just like the black poison that hangs from its limbs

Pre-Chorus:
Come and dig me up
Reach down to the root
Rip the deadness out
And plant something new

Chorus:
I am alive, I will abide
In the life giving blood of Christ
I’m grafted in, You’ve killed my sin
Now I will live, I’ll live in him.

Verse 2:
I tried to tie good fruit
To a tree that had poison all the way through
It rotted and fell off
It was dead to the core
It even killed the ground I was worse than before