There But For the Grace of God

 

It’s easy to point, it’s easy to blame

And to think we’re untainted by human shame

But the same wild wind blows through every heart

We’re just one choice from falling apart. 

Oh, the world is heavy with the chains we wear

The broken roads that would lead to despair

I feel the cold, I see the dark draw nigh

And know that there, but for the grace of God, go I.

Yes, there, but for the grace of God, go I.

For we are all but actors in an existential play 

Show me the choices that would lead astray

I will be one unholy mess if depart

The guidance of your heart within my heart

I see the broken reaching out to me

Lord may I never act without mercy

Lest destruction befall me in my pride

Show me that there, but for the grace of God, go I.

Yes, there, but for the grace of God, go I.

Bridge

It’s not the strength of my own two hands

That keeps me standing where the righteous stand

It’s a fragile thread, a mercy given

A bridge of light between earth and heaven

For the seed of the shadow is in us all

Waiting for the dark to make us fall.

So let my eyes stay clear, let my heart stay low

When I watch the bitter waters overflow

No pride in the safety, no scorn in the sight

Just a quiet prayer in the fading light.

Oh, the world is heavy with the chains we wear

The broken roads that lead us to despair

I see the cold, I see the darkness drawing nigh

And know that there, but for the grace of God, go I.

Yes, there, but for the grace of God, go I

Keep my feet steady on the narrow way

Hold my hand if the night o’er runs my day

Hold me to truth that I may forsake the lie

For there but for the grace of God go I.

For there but for the grace of God go I.

September 17, 2026

Anthony Foster