A friend of mine, Terrell Ferguson, who produced and directed our music video for There Is No Sin That I Have Done, is trying to raise money for a short film called "The Bench." He did amazing work on our music video, and this film is intended both to spark conversation about the justice of God and the relationship between good and evil, and as a way for all of the filmmakers, writers, actors, and others who are involved in the film to showcase their skills in the hopes of advancing their careers. To support this project, simply visit the project's IndieGogo Page.
This song was born out of a devotional time in Ezekiel 36. This chapter is typically known for its new covenant language, for example in verse 26 where the Lord says, "I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you." But there is something bigger happening in this chapter - God not only promises to redeem His people from their sins, and give them new hearts that they might "walk in His statutes," but He tells us why He will do it:
It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. (vs. 22-23)
Surely God redeems people because of His great love and mercy, but here He declares that His redemption is about His honor - His reputation, the glory of His holy name. He cannot let their unfaithfulness go unpunished, or He would cease being the holy and just Judge of the universe. And how does He "vindicate the holiness of [His] great name?" Ultimately, at the cross, where Jesus absorbed all of the holy wrath and jealousy due us because of our sin. He did this in order that God might be able to justify (pardon) His people and at the same time remain just. This is what Paul says in Romans 3:26: "so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
As we contemplate the greatness of God's fame and eternal plans, and the fact that His purpose in saving us is so much bigger than our own lives, we might begin to feel small. But losing ourselves in His glory means finding ourselves in His story - the great story of redemption that will one day culminate when we are able to see His glory face to face. May we sing to our glorious God with humble and awestruck thanksgiving for His saving purposes, and may we long for the day when we can experience the fullness of His glory.
This modern hymn was written for a sermon series in Acts, and is a prayer for strength to accomplish the mission for which God created the church - to spread the gospel of His grace to every tribe and tongue, giving testimony by word and deed of the mercy of God shown in giving His Son to rescue sinners for His glory. As we sing this song, we are triumphantly proclaiming God's rightful rule over us, His people, and expressing our dependency on His Spirit's work in our midst to empower us for His gospel mission. We're not called simply to preach the gospel, but to treasure it, to sing it. We're not called simply to share a statement, but the living Word of God, giving proof of its power to transform people through our own ransomed lives. And when we feel weak, unfit, or scared at the immensity of what God calls us to do and the dangers we face along the way, may he "strengthen hand and heart and nerve" that we might be "champions of Calvary!"
We've been encouraged by the response to the music video we released last fall. And, we'd love to see more people hear the truths of the Gospel presented in this song. We pray those trapped in guilt and condemnation would hear and revel in the glorious grace given to us in Jesus.
To that end, would you consider nominating for "There is No Sin That I Have Done" and then sharing this with your friends? You can submit your nomination here.
We don't often post songs that aren't directly related to Christian worship (though if understood broadly, any song can be a "worship song"), but this time we're going to share a song and ask for your help. A friend tipped me off to a songwriting contest that Martin Guitars is having this month, and though I managed to write a song and submit it the same day I found out about it, there's not much time left for voting. The idea of the contest was to write a 2-3m song with the word "lifespan" in it and post a recording (with guitar) to YouTube. I decided to write a blues song based on Psalm 90 and some themes in Ecclesiastes in order to share bits of the gospel to whomever happens upon this song whether through Martin's website or just through YouTube. While it's certainly not as overt about the gospel as the songs you might find here that are geared towards public worship, I'm still trying to bear witness to Jesus in the world of singer-songwriters.
Augustus Toplady, theological champion of the so-called Particular Baptists of the 18th century, wrote many hymns so full of theology they seem to be exploding with truth. The hymn "From Whence This Fear and Unbelief" is no different, and it is strange that this hymn is not as well known or celebrated as his "Rock of Ages" or "A Debtor to Mercy Alone." In this hymn, Toplady sets out to not only defend the doctrine of particular redemption, but to show that it is a holy occasion for praise. In perhaps the most powerful verse, he declares (lyrics have been modernized), "If pardon You have now secured and freely in my place endured the whole of wrath divine, God cannot payment twice demand, first at my bleeding Surety’s hand, and then again at mine." If Jesus' death paid for the sins of every person irrespective of whether they come to put their faith in Him as their Savior, it would be unjust of God to punish unbelievers for their sins since they would have already been punished at the cross. Either God must save everyone, or Jesus' died for a particular people, as Jesus says in John 10:14-1: "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." And again, in Matthew 28:20: "the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Though this song is named "My Sin," it could really be named "My Savior" since the song is really about all the ways that Jesus saves us from our sin. Sin is man's most deadly enemy - a sickness far beyond any bacteria or virus we've ever encountered. Sin has run its course through every part of man - body, mind, heart, and soul. And sin is not like a normal sickness - just something we catch from others or the environment. We were both born natures already infected with sin, and are complicit and morally responsible for what our sin natures cause us to do. Sin is such an important biblical concept that the Lord gives us many metaphors to help us understand it and its effects. This song explores three of those metaphors, and how the Father and Son relate to us in those metaphors. As you read, listen, or sing this song, think not simply about how powerful your sin is, but more importantly, all that your Savior Jesus is to you and that he is able to save you from every aspect of sin's terrible force in your life.
A friend of mine sent me this text, saying her church had just sung this hymn and though the music was not very engaging, the words were extremely powerful and would I write a new melody? I read through the text and saw what she was talking about. What a faith-filled hymn! Written by Samuel Rodigast in 1676 to comfort a sick friend, he lays out what it means to deal with the problem of pain from the perspective of faith. Our God is sovereign and full of love, and though he takes us through adversity, his plans are right and true. His promise is that he will not leave us in the circumstance through which he is taking us. Samuel's response is to trust that God will hold him and to be content through the pain. May we all be blessed with such a response that can only come as a result of the Spirit working in us. I pray this song would help our people through whatever trial God is taking them, knowing that some sweet day, we will all be free from the pain of this world.
Christmas is upon us yet again, and though most of our service planning is probably finished, I'd like to point out a few of our songs that relate to the incarnation of Jesus.
The song When Adam By Transgression Fell was written to accompany a Scripture reading from Genesis 3 about the fall of man into sin. The Anglican liturgy of Lessons and Carols includes this reading at Christmas
Last Christmas Eric Schumacher, Jeff Bourque, and I collaborated to write a new tune (and some new lyrics) to Eric's already existing Christmas hymn How Beautiful the Mystery. Here's the new tune, and here's the original hymn text.
I wrote the song My Precious Savior Gave His All a few years ago to describe what Jesus gave in order to redeem His people from their sins. The first verse refers to the incarnation when it says "He left His majesty behind- The King became a slave!"
This is a much older song, in fact, one of my first hymn re-writes: The Everlasting Lord. The text is by Charles Wesley and features the verse "Equal He with God most high, mild, He laid His glory by; He,...
This is a versification of Psalm 1 that fits the tune SOLID ROCK (written for the hymn "My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less"). Setting the Psalms to hymn meters (therefore tunes) is one way to make them accessible for congregational singing.
Reformed Praise is a music ministry dedicated to providing songs for corporate worship which are rich in theology, diverse in musical style, and centered on the gospel of grace, that our praise might be informed by Biblical truth.
Reformed Praise presents Martin Luther's setting of Psalm 130 in a fresh, reflective, piano-driven setting suitable for a wide range of worship music styles.
"The uniting of unchanging truth with contemporary expression is an idea as old as the Word of God itself. What a joy it is to see more songwriters bringing new life to hymns rich in theology and biblical doctrine."
"One of the most difficult challenges for pastors today is locating music that is not only lyrically orthodox and spiritually edifying, but also that speaks to the heart of the contemporary worshipper. Reformed Praise accomplishes this beautifully. I know of nothing like it, and commend it enthusiastically to anyone willing to listen."
Reformed Praise is a music ministry dedicated to providing songs for corporate worship which are rich in theology, diverse in musical style, and centered on the gospel of grace, that our praise might be informed by Biblical truth.
Reformed Praise presents Martin Luther's setting of Psalm 130 in a fresh, reflective, piano-driven setting suitable for a wide range of worship music styles.
