Posted August 7th, 2004
What a gloious truth - that we have been called the "friend of God!" (James 2:23) Even more specifically, because Jesus became a man, he is able to understand our weakness for He himself both experienced the results of sin (though not His own) and bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24). In this song we remember the truth that Jesus is our "friend" despite our lovelessness. Hebrews goes on to tell us: "We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:15-16). Because of what Jesus has done, and all that he suffered - taking on frail flesh and dying, giving up his heavenly throne for a time, and knowing no earthly comforts - we can find fullness of joy praising His name!
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Posted August 7th, 2004
This is a powerful, moving hymn about the depth and beauty of God's great love. A very emotional and personal text, this song can help us comprehend "what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:18-19) In verse 1, the vastness, fullness, and envelopment of God's love is explored, while in verse 2 God's love is tied specifically to the work of Jesus on our behalf and the praise that work brings forth from believers. In conclusion, we sing the most amazing thought, that God's love is a "heaven of heavens" to me, as if to say that God's love is so far beyond any other love that it is a heaven's-measure above all.
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Posted May 28th, 2004
The text of It's All of Grace is perhaps the strongest and deepest text that we have ever worked with. Watts is arguably the best hymn-writer of the western world, and these verses show his mastery of poetry and theology. Many of us that have a very strong conviction about God's sovereignty in salvation have struggled to feel the joy and tenderness in this choice. Watts takes us through the gospel story, beginning with confessing our sin, and moving through acknowledging that we are saved only by sovereign grace, in a way that is very touching. Of particular note is the second verse (which was borrowed from another Watts hymn in the same collection) - He "fixed our standing more secure than 'twas before we fell". We understand that to speak of the fact that since we have fallen and then been restored and are now secure in Christ, we have more hope and stability than before we (mankind) had fallen into sin. How amazing! Watts' conclusion is powerful as well - he refers to Ezekiel 37 about the Spirit breathing life into our dry bones, then reminds us of the certainty of appearing before our Father justified.
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Posted May 28th, 2004
One of the mysteries of God's love for us is why He loves us at all! Romans 9:12-13 shows that God chooses to love us before we were even born, knowing full well that we would turn our backs on Him and spurn His gracious will to worship the God of self. This hymn writer captures this truth beautifully. In order to extend and encapsulate this idea in a chorus, Ephesians 2:5 was used: "In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will". We have no other reason given in God's Word as to why He chose to love us - and we can rest content in that.
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Posted May 28th, 2004
This is a song about confession of sin and the cleaning that God provides through Jesus. 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." We are ultimately forgiven at the time of our justification (conversion), but John shows us that our cleansing is not just a one-time event. We need to be forgiven of the guilt of our sin - the effect that our sin has on our relationship with God. As Psalm 32:5 says "I acknowledged my sin to You ... and You forgave the guilt of my sin." Let our prayer echo that of Horatius' - "Wash now my soul this day".
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Posted May 27th, 2004
This popular hymn has several modern settings, but the depth and beauty of these lyrics deserved yet another treatment. This is a general song of praise from Psalm 103 where we see the gospel truths of our restoration in Christ, God's faithfulness to His covenant people through all generations, His tender fathering, and a command to all of creation to adore Him. Praise Him has a unique chorus structure - the responsive "Praise Him" with a different second line after each Chorus. This is based on the original hymn. Also note that the alternate chords shown for the third verse are optional, but add a more personal feel to this more personal verse. The echo part is sung by Abigail Ward, not quite 6 yrs old.
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Posted May 27th, 2004
This song helps us accomplish two purposes of singing in worship: Remembering and declaring the gospel. There is hardly a more wondrous story than that of Jesus' death on the cross for our sins. This song lays out the gospel very clearly - that Jesus died for us, his lost sheep. We sing of our lost state, that we were bruised, faint, and cowering in fear. Though our Christian journey will at times be filled with despair and sorrow, we are comforted to know that our Shepherd is with us (Psalm 23:4). Once we are in Christ, nothing can take us from the Father's hand of protection (John 10:29) - even the great enemy death, described here as a river (like in Pilgrim's progress). We have the glorious hope that God will lead us safely through death to be with Him and our believing loved ones forever!
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Posted May 27th, 2004
A vital part of our worship must be that of confession and repentance, for if we are not maintaining a healthy, reconciled relationship with God, our time of praise and adoration will be hypocritical and contrived. Different traditions insert a time of confession in their gathered worship at different times and in different ways, but all seek to focus our attention on our sinfulness in order to remember and enjoy the forgiveness God has applied to those very sins. Robery McCheyne said that "for every one look at your sin, take 10 looks to Jesus." We can spend the rest of our time of worship celebrating and enjoying God's glory - his name and works. Our fresh experience of the forgiveness of sins will make the rest of our time of worship more real, intimate, and exciting. This song is a song of desperation - because of our weakness, fear, vileness, and worthlessness, we have nothing left to except cry like the tax collector in Luke 18:13 "God, be merciful to me, the sinner!"
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Posted February 22nd, 2004
"I Sing the Mighty Power of God" is one of the most beautiful hymns we have that describes God's glory and power displayed to us in creation. Romans 1:20 (NASB) says "since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made." God has displayed ample evidence of his nature and his power so that unbelieving people are without excuse. In fact, creation speaks so loudly of a creator that men often end up worshiping the creation (Rom 1:23). Meditating on God's goodness to us, shown even in creation, will help us worship God as he intends. The whole testimony of scripture is filled with evidence of worship as a result of beholding God's creation (see Psalm 8 for example). In this song, a chorus was added to add emphasis to the fact that God is not only our creator but also redeemer. He hasn't simply left us with the testimony of creation, but has furnished his son, the Lord Jesus, who came to redeem us, as proof of not only His existence, but his lovingkindness.
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Posted October 10th, 2003
The phrase "cross-centered" has become popular recently. We have a continual need to keep the cross of Christ before us and for this central act that secured our salvation to saturate our life of worship. As the writer of Hebrews challenges us, we should be "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb 12:2 NASB) This song reminds us of what Jesus did on our behalf and of the future and final salvation that awaits us because of Him. As we contemplate the significance of the cross we can truly celebrate the blessings God has poured out on us through Christ - that "all our sins [were] on Jesus laid", and that a "full redemption [is] flowing from the sacrifice He made". Praise God!
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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.
