I've Graven You

I love the words of Isaiah. This week we've been studying chapters 40-49. Isaiah 49:15-16 says, "I [will] not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms upon my hands."

Tainui touching the palms of "Jesus" is one of my favorite shots of "Always Remember"

This is one of my favorite Isaiah scriptures--if not one of my favorite all-time scriptures. I pulled from it when I wrote the words for "Always Remember" (please go watch this if you haven't already!) and one of my favorite hymn texts, "I've Graven You," which I wrote with Michael Young. Here are those words:

I've Graven You

By Michael Young & Angie Killian

I’ve graven you upon my hands;

Continually I keep

Your walls before me, small and grand,

With eyes that never sleep.

I count the hairs upon your head

And know your joy and pain.

I sense the tears your eyes have shed

And weep with you like rain.

I’ve graven you upon my feet;

These wounds I still retain.

With love, I’ll succor and redeem

Your scars that yet remain.

I count the sands that line the shore

And birds that fall or fly,

Yet see your worth as so much more

Than sparrows in the sky.

I’ve graven you upon my side

Where, like a mother hen,

In my embrace, you may abide.

Come gather once again.

I know the number of your days

And all your life can be.

I plead with you to walk my ways

And find your rest in me.

I’ve graven you on every pore

With blood to pay the price

Of sin and suffering evermore:

A pure lamb sacrificed.

As mothers who cannot forget

Their children borne in pain,

I’ll hold your memory, not your debt,

And by your side remain. Would you be interested in seeing the hymn setting I wrote for this text?