4th century BC
Plato
- Idealism — forms over particulars
- The Republic ethic: “God is not the author of evil”
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
I drove out past the city glow
To where the dark gets honest
Cut the engine, tipped my head
And made the sky a promise
I'd stop pretending I was big
I'd let the bigness win
And every pinprick overhead
Came pouring softly in
[Chorus]
A billion little suns
And He calls them out by name
Not one of them forgotten
Not a flicker out of frame
And if He keeps a billion suns
From falling out of place
Then surely, surely, surely
He is holding up my face
[Verse 2]
The atheist looks up and shrinks
And feels like no one's there
But I look up and somehow
I have never felt more cared
The same hand flinging galaxies
Is the hand that combs my hair
Immense became a lullaby
The night became a prayer
[Chorus]
A billion little suns
And He calls them out by name
Not one of them forgotten
Not a flicker out of frame
And if He keeps a billion suns
From falling out of place
Then surely, surely, surely
He is holding up my face
[Bridge]
So small, so small, so small
And so completely known
The God who hung the heavy stars
Came down to call me His own
[Final Chorus]
A billion little suns
And He calls them out by name
Not one of them forgotten
Not a flicker out of frame
And if He keeps a billion suns
From falling out of place
Then surely, surely, surely
He is holding up my face
He is holding up my face
Commentary