01Read along
The study behind the song
Built on Mark 6:30–32 and Psalm 23:1–3.
The Intermission is built on two quiet invitations from Scripture. In Mark 6, the apostles come back from their first mission full of reports, but the crowds are so thick that they have no time even to eat. Jesus says, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while." In Psalm 23, the Shepherd leads his sheep beside still waters, the "waters of quietness," and restores the soul. The song sets those two pictures side by side.
In the verses, a weary bondservant walks past the faded city to a wooden bench at the edge of dawn, with the Word in his lap. He confesses years spent keeping up the pace and "putting on a big show," until the Master said stop. The chorus drives home the point that rest is not quitting. It is an intermission, a pause held "in the palm of His will," away from flatterers and applause.
Within No More Clownin', the song is the breath between acts. It is peace after the storm and strength gathered for the last mile.
02Sing along
Lyrics
The city street is faded, the tall buildings are gone
Walking out where the highway meets the coming of dawn
Found a little wooden bench beneath a rustic porch light
Just a resting place to sit and watch the edge of the night
No more trying to move a mountain, no more running a race
Just a weary bondservant staring into His grace
I got the Word in my lap and the wind in my hair
Breathing in the quiet of an unanswered prayer
This is my intermission, just a moment to breathe
Far away from the webs that the flatterers weave
The theater is empty and the concrete is still
Just resting my feet in the palm of His will
No applause in the desert, no marquee in the sky
Just a sweet holy silence as the shadows pass by
Mark chapter six told the weary to run
To the desolate places when the labor is done
Psalm twenty-three says He leads me right by
The waters of quietness under the sky
I spent too many years trying to keep up the pace
Putting on a big show, running place after place
But the master said stop, sit down for a line
Let the intermission heal your heart for a time
Just resting.
The storm is over.
Getting ready for the last mile.
Doulos of Jesus.
Yeah... peace in the quiet.
03Keep listening