God has gifted Keith and Kristyn Getty to be able to write many new hymns for worship, and many of those songs have great relevance to the Easter-time sorrow, celebration, and meditation. I had not heard this song until this week, and it was powerful in drawing my heart and mind to think about the incarnation of Jesus–Jesus, both God and man, His love for His fallen creation. Today, of course, we celebrate His resurrection. And yet, I know that I also need to think deeply on what happened in Gethsemane, what happened on the cross. And today, we rejoice and celebrate what happened so that we can proclaim, “Christ is Risen from the Dead!” Lyrics To see the King of heaven fall In anguish to His knees, The Light and Hope of all the world Now overwhelmed with grief. What nameless horrors must He see, To cry out in the garden: Oh, take this cup away from me Yet not my will but Yours, Yet not my will but Yours. To know each friend will fall away, And heaven’s voice be still, For hell to have its vengeful day Upon Golgotha’s hill. No words describe the Saviour’s plight – To be by God forsaken Till wrath and love are satisfied And every sin is paid And every sin is paid What took Him to this wretched place, What kept Him on this road? His love for Adam’s cursed race, For every broken soul. No sin too slight to overlook, No crime too great to carry, All mingled in this poisoned cup ‚ And yet He drank it all, The Saviour drank it all, The Saviour drank it all. Keith Getty shares more about the song here.
Read MoreO Great God!
Thankful to think on these words this week: O great God of highest heaven Occupy my lowly heart Own it all and reign supreme Conquer every rebel power Let no vice or sin remain That resists Your holy war You have loved and purchased me Make me Yours forevermore I was blinded by my sin Had no ears to hear Your voice Did not know Your love within Had no taste for heaven’s joys Then Your Spirit gave me life Opened up Your Word to me Through the gospel of Your Son Gave me endless hope and peace Help me now to live a life That’s dependent on Your grace Keep my heart and guard my soul From the evils that I face You are worthy to be praised With my every thought and deed O great God of highest heaven Glorify Your Name through me. (words and music by Bob Kauflin)
Read MoreNot What My Hands Have Done
Last Sunday we sang this hymn (sung by Aaron Keyes, words below the video):
Read MoreA Deeper Sorrow, A Surer Hope
I know a lot of people who are going through deep waters, sorrow, and grief. Some of them I only know online, some of them I don’t know well, some I’ve just met and been introduced to their sorrows as I’ve been introduced to them, and others are my dearest friends and their sorrow is mine, too. Some of the trials right now are intensely personal and private; others are public and can receive some comfort and attention from others. I, too, have recently felt the deep pangs and pains of my own heavy heart. Sometimes the sorrow stems from more than just personal hurt, but from the knowledge of, or even personal involvement in, a community or connection of abuses, tragedies, and atrocities. In light of that, I have been thinking a lot about how believers sorrow. Often, there’s a false notion that when 1 Thessalonians 4:13 says, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you do not grieve as others do who have no hope,” it’s somehow intended to mean that believers don’t sorrow at all and must muster up a cold stoicism to whatever hurt they would otherwise experience. This verse is speaking specifically about the deaths of loved fellow-Christians, and it certainly doesn’t mean believers don’t grieve even the earthly loss of fellow-believers. Carolyn Custis James says it well in Half the Church: [P]erhaps the difference between how we and the world sorrow is that we sorrow more, not less, and in our sorrowing we are entering in some mysterious way into God’s sorrow. We grieve individual losses, estrangements, prodigals, broken-down lives, the shattered dreams; he grieves a world of losses, a world of shattered dreams. We suffer the blinding ache of a parent over a prodigal child; he feels the same ache for a prodigal planet. His is the distress of a master craftsman over a masterpiece destroyed–for the way things are is not the way he meant for them to be. As we grow in likeness to Jesus, we will be gripped by the same sorrow over what is wrong in this world and over our part in it, and we too will weep. One day, we will together experience true shalom. A note on shalom (and further expansion on it here): The Hebrew word shalom is an extremely rich concept—it means full human flourishing in every aspect. When…
Read MoreStill
Thinking about how God has led us through this past year and the lessons He has taught us; thinking about the words of this hymn: Still my soul be still And do not fear Though winds of change may rage tomorrow God is at your side No longer dread The fires of unexpected sorrow God You are my God And I will trust in You and not be shaken Lord of peace renew A steadfast spirit with me To rest in You alone Still my soul be still Do not be moved By lesser lights and fleeting shadows Hold onto His ways With shield of faith Against temptations flaming arrows Still my soul be still Do not forsake The Truth you learned in the beginning Wait upon the Lord And hope will rise As stars appear when day is dimming ~Keith and Kristyn Getty, Stuart Townend (Still, My Soul Be Still).
Read More