Turn, Turn

TURN, TURN — WATCHMAN 33

LYRICS

Intro — low, spoken

Galatians five. First Corinthians six. Read the warning. Then hear the invitation.

Verse 1 — measured, heavy

Don't call it freedom when the chain feels light; The flesh can dress a prison up to look like life. Adultery, fornication, lust without a brake, Uncleanness, sexual sin we celebrate and make. Porn behind a password, vows betrayed in secret; Sex outside of marriage—call it what the Word calls it. Men with men in sexual acts, the text speaks plain; But no one gets to throw that verse and hide their own stain. Idols in the heart and witchcraft at the door, Hatred, bitter quarrels—what are we fighting for? Jealousy and wrath, selfish ambition for a throne, Divisions, false teaching, envy growing in the bones. Murder, drunken nights, wild parties, and the rest; Paul says those who practice these won't inherit heaven's rest. That is Galatians five; don't edit out the weight. The warning is a mercy while there's still time to change.

Hook — forceful, memorable

Turn, turn, while the door's still wide; Drop what kills you, run to Christ. Fear the Lord, leave the dark behind; Mercy meets the heart that turns to light. Turn, turn, don't make peace with chains; Name that sin and call on Jesus' name. The flesh says stay; the Spirit says rise; Turn from the dark and run to Christ.

Verse 2 — tighter, rising intensity

First Corinthians six: don't be deceived; The unrighteous won't inherit what they claim to believe. Sexual immorality, adultery, worshiping a god of gold; Same-sex sexual acts named with the other sins Paul told. Thieves and the greedy, drunkards, slanderers who wound, Swindlers taking bread from somebody else's room. Lying lips need truth; hands that kill need grace; None of us can point at one and say, "I won this case." One fights the screen at midnight, one the bottle at the bar; One slips into an affair, one keeps rage inside his heart. One loves money, one loves power, one wears church clothes over pride; Different battles, same call: bring the hidden things to light. Don't turn a list of warnings into stones to throw at men; Let it search your own reflection, let conviction enter in. "By the fear of the LORD men depart from evil"—Proverbs sixteen, six; "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom"—nine, ten. Consequences aren't a myth. There's a judgment we will face. But the One who tells the truth is still extending grace.

Hook — heavy, drums cut on final line

Turn, turn, while the door's still wide; Drop what kills you, run to Christ. Fear the Lord, leave the dark behind; Mercy meets the heart that turns to light. Turn, turn, don't make peace with chains; Name that sin and call on Jesus' name. The flesh says stay; the Spirit says rise; Turn from the dark and run to Christ.

Bridge — quiet, then music opens

And such were some of you—hear the tense of that word: Were. Washed. Sanctified. Justified in the Lord. Not cleaned by pretending, not saved by a mask; Jesus bore our sin, and his mercy is vast. Confess it, forsake it, let him make you new; The cross is enough for the worst thing you've done too. Come out of the shadows; there's no need to perform. The Spirit gives power for a life to be transformed.

Verse 3 — lighter, hopeful, warm

Walk by the Spirit; don't obey the flesh again; Crucify its passions, take the hand of Christ, my friend. Now love where there was hatred, joy where shame had grown; Peace instead of violence in the rooms we call our home. Patience in the pressure, kindness when it costs, Goodness, faithfulness—he restores what sin has lost. Gentleness with neighbors, self-control when tempted; Fruit that grows by grace in the life that's been surrendered. No boast that I'm above you; I needed rescue too. The same Lord who forgave me is reaching out to you.

Final Hook — bright lift, layered voices

Turn, turn, while the door's still wide; Leave those chains and run to Christ. Fear the Lord, leave the dark behind; Mercy meets the heart that turns to light. Turn, turn, let the old ways fade; Washed in Jesus, walk a different way. The flesh says stay; the Spirit says rise; Turn from the dark and run to Christ.

Outro — spoken

Galatians 5:19–25. First Corinthians 6:9–11. Proverbs 16:6 and 9:10. Read them for yourself.