 Here I Am to Worship
w/m - Mark Hayes, Tim Hughes Light of the world You stepped down into darkness Opened my eyes, let me see Beauty that made this heart adore You Hope of a life spent with You Here I am to worship Here I am to bow down Here I am to say that You're my God You're altogether lovely Altogether worthy Altogether wonderful to me King of all days Oh so highly exalted Glorious in heaven above Humbly You came to the earth You created All for love's sake became poor I'll never know how much it cost To see my sin upon that cross This one has been around forever (actually since 2001) and we are adding it to our repertoire this month once again (after some time off). Light of the world, You stepped down into darkness. I can’t help but think of Philippians 2 and the humility of Christ, the King of Kings, coming to earth. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Opened my eyes, let me see beauty that made this heart adore You. Blind. That is how we come into this world, spiritually blind. Just as He opened the eyes of the blind man in John 9, He opens our eyes so that we can see His beauty, making our heart adore Him. We see and we run to Him as our heavenly Father. That’s the great work of regeneration. Hope of a life spent with You. This hope is not a hope like the world has, a wish or a mere intention. Our hope is a steadfast assurance because the object of our hope is sovereign. Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that You're my God. When we view the work of Jesus Christ in His life, death, and resurrection, our only response is to be in awe and praise, and thank and honor Him. We worship His greatness, we bow down to His Holiness, and we dedicate our lives to Him as our God. You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me. The chorus here turns to the writer’s/worshiper's personal view of God in light of His love and mercy. It gives God personal praise for Who He is and what He has done. King of all days, oh so highly exalted, glorious in heaven above. A dozen times, we are reminded in scripture that Jesus, when He was done His work on earth was seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Colossians 3:1 says, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” We also return to Philippians 2 where Jesus is given the name above all other names, LORD. “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Humbly You came to the earth You created. All for love's sake became poor. Jesus humbled Himself and became the Lamb slain in our place. He did it because of His love, not a love of desperation or neediness, but a love of decision, a love that would bring glory to the Triune God. I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross. I must admit, this bridge did confuse me at first. My initial reaction was, “I do know how much it cost… it cost the life of Jesus”. But I think the word “Know” here means more of a full comprehension. I’ll never be able to fully comprehend, to wrap my mind around, Jesus dying in my place. I know it is to bring Himself glory, and to have a called out people who will praise Him for eternity… but why me? That is what I can’t comprehend. All I can do is bow down and worship.
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 Come, Now is the Time to Worship
w/m - Brian Robert Doerksen, 2nd Verse - Bill Itzel Come, now is the time to worship Come, now is the time to give your heart Come, just as you are to worship Come, just as you are before your God Come One day every tongue will confess You are God One day every knee will bow Still the greatest treasure remains for those Who gladly choose You now Boldly we approach the throne of grace Humbly our knees to bow Before the Sovereign One who first chose those Who gladly choose Him now This is a simple little call to worship that we have sung a number of times. Come, now is the time to worship. Truly, it is never time NOT to worship, but this is usually speaking of a corporate worship setting. Come, now is the time to give your heart. 2 Corinthians 6:2 says that “Now is the day of salvation”. This seems to be a call to anyone who hasn’t fully obeyed the words of Jesus in Luke 14:33 (So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple), to do so and trust Him with their whole heart. Come, just as you are to worship. Lines like this are tricky. Yes, we don’t need to “clean ourselves up” before we come to Christ. We come to Him in repentance and He cleans us up; however, it has become a popular teaching by many in evangelicalism that coming to Christ does not require any change. Repentance, by its very nature, is a 180 degree turn in the opposite direction. We can’t continue in our sin AND be ready to worship. Sin puts a barrier in our fellowship with God. 1 Corinthians 11 speaks of an act of worship called the Lord’s Supper in which Paul warns, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” This is a pretty strong warning that worship of God is not a trivial thing. We can't change ourselves, but we do need to BE changed in order to worship rightly. Come, just as you are before your God. Anytime in the Old Testament, when one came near God’s presence, it invoked a sense of awe. People would fall prostrate on the ground as dead men. They understood their unworthiness. We should too. In the New Testament, God took on flesh and was surrounded by people, both full of faith and the faithless, but the ones who truly worshiped, were the ones who had the sense of awe for being in the presence of the Son of God. One day every tongue will confess You are God. One day every knee will bow. Still the greatest treasure remains for those who gladly choose You now. There is a line in our song, “Last man Standing” that says, “Some will bow in faithfulness, and others will in fear.” Yes, every knee will bow, but only those who have turned and trusted in Jesus, and have persevered until the end (Matthew 24:13), will receive the eternal reward. Since this song only had one verse and 1 chorus, it seemed a bit repetitive to keep repeating the same 8 lines for 4 minutes, so I wrote a second verse: Boldly we approach the throne of grace. Humbly our knees to bow. I meant to show the two sides of our relationship with the Father in using the words “Boldly” and “Humbly”. Both are true. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Yet, James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” God is our Father, and yet, God is also the Creator of the universe. He deserves all the glory and honor, but He loves His children and wants them to come into His presence. Before the Sovereign One who first chose those who gladly choose Him now. We choose God. There is no doubt about that in scripture. If we are to be saved from our sin, we must, in faith, “Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.” Even John 3:16, the most popular verse in the Bible, says that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. This is clear in scripture. We exercise the gift of faith at the point of our salvation. No one is saved apart from faith. However, the Bible is also clear that, long before we came along and exercised faith, “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” Ephesians 1. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 says, “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.” Ephesians 2:8 tells us that faith is a gift of God. So, as the familiar song says, “Oh, how I love Jesus, because He first loved me.” It is because He loved us, and saved us out of our sin, that we come to worship Him.  The Glorious Trial
w/m - Bill & Karen Itzel O glorious trial that we must face That builds our strength to run the race The trial that cannot be compared To heaven’s glory waiting there For God perfects each one He loves And makes us like our Christ above So let us walk each stony mile And praise God for the glorious trial Affliction helps us to endure Endurance brings a hope that’s sure So count it joy when trials come We’ll be mature when they are done O may we never curse the one Whom out of love, the trial has come But bless Him for His love and grace And in the trial trust and obey This song was one of the first hymns Karen and I ever wrote, and was written at a time when I was preparing for spinal surgery. They had to go in through my neck right next to my vocal chords, so there was a slight danger it would affect my voice. Even though the chances were slim, I knew of a friend in the same business who had this very same thing happen, at about the very same age, and it cost him quite a bit of his range. I was prepared for whatever God had in store for me, but I took a lot of time to read the scriptures on the subject of trials. This song was a great comfort to me (as was “Great is Thy Faithfulness”). It proved to be a great comfort to our family and many other families since. O glorious trial that we must face. I wanted to use an adjective that didn’t seem to naturally accompany the word “trial”, yet told of the underlying blessing trials can be in our lives. Trials are not something we can avoid, nor should we want to. We don’t have to learn from them, but we must face them. That builds our strength to run the race. Both Romans 5 and James 1 make it very clear that the purpose for trials is to build patience and endurance in us in areas where we are weak. The trial that cannot be compared to heaven’s glory waiting there. Paul said in Romans 8 that the “Sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” That’s perspective! For God perfects each one He loves and makes us like our Christ above. Job 5:17, Psalm 94:12, Proverbs 3:11–12, and Hebrews 12:6 all speak of God’s discipline for His children. God prunes us because He loves us, and trials are the instrument He uses. Our ultimate goal is Christ-likeness. So let us walk each stony mile and praise God for the glorious trial. Sometimes it seems like each day of this life, each mile of this journey, is harder than the last. If we are growing in Christ-likeness, that is truly the case, for the stronger we become in the faith, the more difficult the trial must be to continue to test us. Our only requirement is to trust God in the midst of the test. Affliction helps us to endure. Endurance brings a hope that’s sure. This is directly from Romans 5, “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” So count it joy when trials come. We rejoice, and as James says, “Count it all joy” for the perfect gift that trials are. We’ll be mature when they are done. The goal is maturity. God uses trials as well as people to disciple us through the trials with spiritual gifts for the purpose of maturity (Ephesians 4:13). O may we never curse the one whom out of love, the trial has come. One of the ways we know we are Christ’s is our response in trials. Do we run to God or run away from God? If someone claims to be a believer and is constantly blaming God for their circumstances, they should “Examine themselves” and make sure they are in the faith. At worst, they are not truly saved, at best, they are believer who is not learning anything from the trial process. But bless Him for His love and grace and in the trial trust and obey. This last line sums up how we are to respond in this process of growing through trials, “Trust and obey.” God does not call us to defeat our trial, or dodge our trial, or blame our trial on Satan and cast it out. God calls for us to trust Him and obey Him. If we do that, we will grow and be found faithful. That is what makes the trial so glorious.  All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
w - Edward Perronet, John Rippon m - Oliver Holden All hail the pow’r of Jesus’ Name Let angels prostrate fall Bring forth the royal diadem And crown Him Lord of all Bring forth the royal diadem And crown Him Lord of all Ye chosen seed of Israel’s race Ye ransomed from the fall Hail Him Who saves you by His grace And crown Him Lord of all Hail Him Who saves you by His grace And crown Him Lord of all Let every kindred, every tribe On this terrestrial ball To Him all majesty ascribe And crown Him Lord of all To Him all majesty ascribe And crown Him Lord of all Oh, that with yonder sacred throng We at His feet may fall We’ll join the everlasting song And crown Him Lord of all We’ll join the everlasting song And crown Him Lord of all This is one of my favorite all time hymns, and has been referred to as the “National Anthem of Christendom”. The lyrics of the first 2 stanzas were written by a missionary to India in 1779 and has been sung by Christians old and young alike since then (The second stanzas were added later by John Rippon). All hail the pow’r of Jesus’ Name. There is power that comes only in the name of Jesus. He (and by extension, His name) is the only one that can bring salvation. Acts 4:12 says, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Jesus Himself said, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father but by Me.” The power spoken of here is the power to save, to give eternal life, and at this name, this Messiah, that even angels hide their faces… Let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all. Philippians 2:9–11 tells of the name given to Christ that is above every other name… ”Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The name that Jesus was crowned with was LORD. It is above every other name. He is the Lord of lords, the one who humbled Himself and went to the grave, defeated sin and death, and is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Ye chosen seed of Israel’s race, Ye ransomed from the fall. This line can be tricky for those of us who believe that the New Testament church and Old Testament Israel are two separate groups. This verse is not referring to the eschatological plans for the church and Israel, but rather what Paul speaks of in Galatians 3. “In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.” John MacArthur puts it this way, “Now, we who are Gentiles are not the seed of Abraham physically; we are the seed of Abraham spiritually because of faith. He was the father of faith in the sense of the pattern of faith as a life pattern. The first real established man of faith, after the flood, when the new world began, was Abraham. And so, he sets the pattern for us. The pattern of faith. And so, we who live by faith in God are, in a spiritual sense, children of Abraham. We do not become Jews in a physical sense, but in a spiritual sense we are the children of Abraham in terms of faith.” This is clear because of the next line which clarifies who he is speaking of as “Chosen seed of Israel’s race” – “Ye ransomed from the fall.” The only right response to such a saving grace is to “Hail Him Who saves you by His grace and crown Him Lord of all”. Let every kindred, every tribe on this terrestrial ball, to Him all majesty ascribe and crown Him Lord of all. Like many modern songs like “May the Peoples Praise You”, this verse calls for everyone around the world to sing the praises of the one Savior and Lord. The Bible is clear in Revelation 7 that there will be people from every tongue, tribe, and nation who are saved and wear white robes. You may say, “What about unreached people groups?” This does not mean salvation comes apart from the preaching of the word, but I believe, even in unreached tribes, there are babies who die and will be standing around the throne singing of the grace of God. The Word of God is true. Oh, that with yonder sacred throng we at His feet may fall. We’ll join the everlasting song and crown Him Lord of all. The final verse builds on the previous verse and the picture in Revelation 7. There will be a great multitude who will forever be praising the one true God for His greatness. He will receive all the glory then, so why not start now and join with the gathered “Sacred throng” in your local church each week and “Hail the power of Jesus’ Name!” Exegeting the Hymns #50- Special Edition - Modern Worship Trends and The Impassibility of God7/9/2018  Modern Worship Trends and The Impassibility of God
As I exegete the hymns, I am noticing a trend in a lot of modern worship music that is troubling. Worship music should be about God, His attributes, and His works. When we give a confusing or outright false view of who God is, it isn’t worship. “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth" John 4:24. The doctrine of impassibility/passibility refers to whether God does or does not experience pain or pleasure from the actions of another being. It describes the “emotions” of God. The Westminster Confession of faith says, “There is but one only, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions; immutable.” The idea is that God’s passions are linked to His immutability, the fact that He does not change. God’s happiness or sadness cannot be increased or decreased because He is never changing. Even instances in scripture where it tells of God “Changing His mind”, it must be understood as anthropomorphic language. God was not wrong, then became right. God was not right, then chose better. There is no “better” with God. God is the superlative. So, if God is immutable, if God does not change, then it also must be understood that God does not react. How can an omniscient God be caught off guard? How can a God who knows and plans all things realize a bump in the road and adjust? God’s plan is not a GPS that reroutes every time a creature exercises their will. If God adapts, then God is not immutable. Malachi 3:6 says, “For I, the LORD, do not change”. Isaiah 46:10 makes it clear, “Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.'" Therefore, if God is immutable in His attributes, works, and plans, then His mind, will, and emotions, or passions, must be different than ours. God has a mind; we have a mind. However, it would be unfair, and theologically dangerous to describe the mind of God by superimposing the fallenness of our minds onto Him. For instance, we cringe when we hear someone use the phrase, “The man upstairs is too busy to notice”. We are associating our limits to an unlimited God. Yes, sometimes we get too busy to notice things, but God is omniscient. Similarly, some can’t imagine a God that would willingly send people to hell. They make the false dichotomy that God “couldn’t be all powerful AND all loving” if He chooses to pour out His wrath on them. This is taking a flawed sense of fairness from our human perspective, and ascribing it to a God who has a perfect will, a God who creates and determines what is right and wrong. If imposing human versions of the mind and will to God is wrong, then imposing human emotions to God is equally wrong. I have a dog. Her name is Taters. She loves to see me, or anyone for that matter, when we come through the gate. She jumps up in elation because there is a hope that she will be able to come into the house and be with the family. If I scold her for doing something naughty, her tail goes between her legs. She is an animal who shows emotions. Animals also have minds. She can learn tricks, she can stay when told to stay, and even sit one out of every four tries. However, I would be wrong to side with PETA and say that the mind and emotions of my dog make her on par with humans. We both have minds and feelings, but we are not identical. To relegate my human level of “soul” to an animal would be an injustice. To do the same between humans and Almighty God would be the same. The problem that often arises with this doctrine is that of extremes. One can take the doctrine of impassibility too far and make God just a detached, impersonal force, much like the false god of deism. However, if we take passibility too far, we make God in our image, tossed about by His emotions. God has emotions, but God is not “emotional”. J.I Packer once said, “It means simply that God’s experiences do not come upon him as ours come upon us. His are foreknown, willed, and chosen by himself, and are not involuntary surprises forced on him from outside, apart from his own decision, in the way that ours regularly are.” Psalm 103 is a good example of God the Father’s love for His people, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him.” The Holy Spirit can be grieved, but not surprised by circumstances that cause grief. God the Father will exercise wrath, but not in a way that a child has a temper tantrum. Jesus loves His sheep, but not mere infatuation, not in a way that is thoughtless or careless, or uncontrolled by passion. This brings me to the issue I have with much of modern worship music. Anthropomorphism's (describing God using human characteristics) are used throughout the Bible, but they are inspired by the Holy Spirit. God is permitted to properly describe Himself, but we haven’t been granted that freedom when making up anthropomorphic analogies on our own. Granted, songwriting often uses analogies. It is the very nature of telling a story and describing, in an artistic way, the subject of our music, but we should, and have been warned when we begin to make up our own anthropomorphism's to describe the transcendent God (Revelation 22:18). There is a need in much of modern worship music to “come up with something new” each year. Hymn writers of the past were indeed creative, but did not have the pressure of Wall Street, record companies, charts, and investors to whip up 10-15 potential radio hits on a steady basis. Couple this with the fact that a good number of the ancient hymn writers were theologians, and, in contrast, many of the writers of modern worship are lacking in theological depth and some, given their theology, questions are raised as to the authenticity of their salvation. The New Apostolic Reformation, with artists like Bethel Music and Jesus Culture, put out a lot of worship music each year, but their view of several key doctrines are skewed. They often are in the top charts and are usually nominated for worship song and CCM worship album of the year. Many churches seek to emulate their “worship experience” and in doing so often inadvertently give consent to their doctrines as well. Some of the doctrines in the NAR that are infused into their worship music are “Dominion Theology” (Dominion theology states that biblical Christianity will rule all areas of society, personal and corporate, and we as the church should bring about a political and religious domination of the world through the implementation of the moral laws, and subsequent punishments, of the Old Testament), “Words of Knowledge” (That the canon of scripture is not complete or sufficient and new revelation is being given to those who seek to “hear a word from God”), and a “Low View of God”. This low view can be seen in the belief that “We are gods… because God reproduces after His own kind” (Creflo Dollar). Miles Monroe and Benny Hinn define prayer as “Man giving God permission or license to interfere in earth’s affairs. God can do nothing on earth without a human giving him permission.” This low view of God is also expressed a “passable” view of God. The Bible often uses anthropopathic language (describing God with human words for emotion) when speaking of God’s emotions. Rather than being shown as the Sovereign God of the universe who has a plan for this world from beginning to end, He is shown as a God who is reactive, reckless, emotional, and needy. God does not need people. Rev. Voddie Baucham says, “By definition, God is self-sustaining, self-existent, and self-sufficient. Therefore by definition, he needs nothing.” Remember, God has emotions, but is not emotional. He is not swayed by events, He is above them. God is passionate in the way He loves us, but not the same as the way we love. It is even popular to refer to the love of God to His children as “Romantic.” Our passions are responsive, they sway us, they can even dominate us to the point of irrationality. That can never be said of God, but this is often the view of God that is created in these songs for the purpose of being “relatable”. "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19). Conclusion: Let’s be cautious when creating or using songs or analogies that are extra-Biblical. God has given us many details about Himself. He has shown us that He has a mind, will, and emotions, but they are not like ours. His mind is omniscient and perfect, His will is Holy and righteous, and His emotions are chosen and immutable. When we attribute human emotions, with all it’s flaws and imperfections to God, we bring God down to our level. Some may say that makes God easier to relate to, but should we sacrifice a Biblical God for a relatable one?  10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)
w/m - Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin Bless the Lord oh my soul, Oh my soul Worship His Holy name Sing like never before, Oh my soul I'll worship Your Holy name The sun comes up It's a new day dawning It's time to sing Your song again Whatever may pass And whatever lies before me Let me be singing When the evening comes You're rich in love And You're slow to anger Your name is great And Your heart is kind For all Your goodness I will keep on singing Ten thousand reasons For my heart to find And on that day When my strength is failing The end draws near And my time has come Still my soul will Sing Your praise unending Ten thousand years And then forevermore This is one of the most recognized melodies in Christian music history. Just hum a few bars and most people who know Christian music will immediately start singing along. That is what a great melody does! This song, like Casting Crowns’ “Oh My Soul” is a conversation between the believer and his own soul. This is common in the Psalms (42, 43, 103, 104, 116, 146). This song is clearly drawn from David’s cry in Psalm 103:1 which begins, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name.” Redman calls on his soul, like David to “Worship His Holy name, Sing like never before, Oh my soul. I’ll worship Your Holy name.” The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning. It’s time to sing Your song again. Too many times, I forget to start the day, first, praising God for giving me another day, and second, focusing my mind on carrying out His will for my life. It’s those days that I usually become frustrated, impatient, angry, resentful, anxious, and basically controlled by the flesh. What a difference it makes on the whole day to start it with a two-way conversation with the Lord through prayer and Bible study. Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening comes. When we start the day in communion with our Savior, the tribulations we face seem smaller, the temptations that come our way are far weaker, and the trials in general lack the intensity the would normally have. Each day, this should be our prayer, to remain faithful, one day at a time, and still be singing His praises from morning until night. You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger. Your name is great, and Your heart is kind. How true this is. God’s love for His children in incomprehensible to our minds. We fail Him every day, but instead of giving us the justice we deserve, He loves us and spreads His kindness all around us. For all Your goodness I will keep on singing. Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find. If we exhausted the vocabulary of every known and unknown language, we could never find enough words to give God adequate praise. He blesses us in ways we aren’t even aware of, and may never be, this side of eternity. And on that day when my strength is failing, the end draws near and my time has come, still my soul will sing Your praise unending. Ten thousand years and then forevermore. One of the best lines in any hymn came from John Newton, “When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun.” What a thought. Eternity never gets any shorter. That blows my mind, but so does the immensity and sovereignty of our God. May our final testimony be that we finished strong and persevered until the end.  Death Was Arrested w/m - Ryan Heath Balltzglier, Adam Kersh, Paul Taylor Smith, Brandon Coker Alone in my sorrow and dead in my sin Lost without hope with no place to begin Your love Made a way to let mercy come in When death was arrested and my life began Ash was redeemed only beauty remains My orphan heart was given a name My mourning grew quiet my feet rose to dance When death was arrested and my life began Oh, Your grace so free Washes over me You have made me new Now life begins with You It's your endless love Pouring down on us You have made us new Now life begins with You Released from my chains I'm a prisoner no more My shame was a ransom He faithfully bore He cancelled my debt and He called me His friend When death was arrested and my life began Our Savior displayed on a criminal's cross Darkness rejoiced as though heaven had lost But then Jesus arose with our freedom in hand That's when death was arrested and my life began Oh, we're free, free, forever we're free Come join the song of all the redeemed Some songs are straightforward in their lyrics, and others, more poetic. This one falls in the middle. The lyrics are well crafted yet the message is clear. Musically, the song crescendos well with the pictures painted in the verses. Alone in my sorrow and dead in my sin, lost without hope with no place to begin. Actually, this is a great place to begin. When giving a testimony of the gospel’s changing power in one’s life, the obvious place to start is one’s own depravity. Ephesians 2 says we are dead in our sins and without Christ, we have no hope. We can’t even begin the process, for no one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws him (John 6:44). Your love made a way to let mercy come in when death was arrested and my life began. The act of love on the cross was what redeemed God’s people from their sins. It truly was an act of mercy, for it is not something we deserved. The term “arrested” is not one we use a lot, unless we are speaking of being hauled off to jail. However, this is a different meaning. The word “arrested” here, means to stop or suspend. When Jesus died and rose again, he defeated death. 1 Corinthians 15 says, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ash was redeemed only beauty remains. The curse and power of sin that leads us all to the grave is conquered for the believer. The old is passed away, the new has come. My orphan heart was given a name. Revelation 2:17 and 3:12 speak of a new name we will be given, and Ephesians 1:5 speaks of our adoption as sons when it says, “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will”. My mourning grew quiet my feet rose to dance when death was arrested and my life began. When we make peace with God, available to us becomes the peace of God. The world cannot know this peace for it is only available to those who are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Oh, Your grace so free washes over me. You have made me new now life begins with You. It’s your endless love pouring down on us. You have made us new now life begins with You. This song takes the pattern of the old hymns and teaches doctrine in the verses, then culminates with an outpouring of praise, for what God has done, in the chorus. Released from my chains I'm a prisoner no more. My shame was a ransom He faithfully bore. Before we are saved, we are bound in the chains of our sin. We serve sin, but when Jesus breaks those chains, we no longer are under the guilt and shame associated with those chains. We are free. He cancelled my debt and He called me His friend when death was arrested and my life began. We no longer have to worry about paying a debt we could never pay. Jesus’s blood covers all of our sins. Our account is paid in full. Our Savior displayed on a criminal's cross. Darkness rejoiced as though heaven had lost, but then Jesus arose with our freedom in hand, that's when death was arrested and my life began. The death Jesus died was not one He deserved. It is one we, in our sin, should have died. Jesus was not a criminal, not a sinner, but He was crucified between two thieves. When He was raised from the dead, He became the first of many. His resurrection assures ours. We are truly free, forever free! Click here to see how you can be a part of the Itzels New CD  Because of Your Love
w/m - Paul Baloche As we come into Your Presence We remember every blessing That You've poured out so freely from above Lifting gratitude and praises For compassion so amazing Lord, we've come to give You thanks for all You've done Because of Your love, we're forgiven Because of Your love, our hearts are clean We lift You up with songs of freedom Forever we're changed because of Your love A good writer will write with a mix of long and short sentences. They offer different benefits and keep a paragraph from getting monotonous in the reader’s mind. Songs should be the same way. We have a mix of slow and fast songs in our worship set. If every song were fast or slow, nothing would stand out and the service would be tedious. Speakers use rise and fall, loud and soft in their delivery for the same purpose. We also use songs that have a lot of theology, a lot of words, and songs that are simple in their presentation. This song is one of those. It’s basically a verse and a chorus, but it is fun to sing and does teach some good truths. As we come into Your Presence, we remember every blessing that You've poured out so freely from above. It starts out with a reminder that regardless of the week we’ve just had, we can find rest in the arms of God and in the fellowship of the saints. God is good! He has done so many things for us. So often in scripture, singing is connected to thankfulness, which leads us to peace. Colossians 3 says, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” Lifting gratitude and praises for compassion so amazing. Lord, we've come to give You thanks for all You've done. Compassion is shown by God in the mercy He displays. 2 Corinthians 1 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort”. Everyday, even after we are saved, we fall short, but God’s mercy never fails. Because of Your love, we're forgiven. Because of Your love, our hearts are clean. For by grace we have been saved through faith. None of that comes from us, but is a gift of God. We can’t work for it, He gives it freely. We are forgiven and are positionally holy, righteous, and clean because of His work, because of His love. We lift You up with songs of freedom. Forever we're changed because of Your love. The change from the old to the new is radical. The old is gone, the new has come. We may still live within a body of fallen flesh that is a constant source of temptation, but we are free to do something we couldn’t do before we were saved… be pleasing to God. We can serve Him and be pleasing to Him, but not in our own power, it’s because of His love.  Before the Throne of God Above
w/m - Charitie Lees Bancroft Before the throne of God above I have a strong and perfect plea A great High Priest whose name is love Who ever lives and pleads for me My name is graven on His hands My name is written on His heart I know that while in heav’n He stands No tongue can bid me thence depart No tongue can bid me thence depart When Satan tempts me to despair And tells me of the guilt within Upward I look and see Him there Who made an end of all my sin Because the sinless Savior died My sinful soul is counted free For God the Just is satisfied To look on Him and pardon me To look on Him and pardon me Behold Him there, the risen Lamb My perfect, spotless Righteousness The great unchangeable I AM The King of glory and of grace One with Himself, I cannot die My soul is purchased by His blood My life is hid with Christ on high With Christ my Savior and my God With Christ my Savior and my God These words were written in the 1800’s and contain so much good theology, not just for our understanding of God, but for living a life that trusts in His works. Before the throne of God above I have a strong and perfect plea. If the song ended there, this would be one of the most false statements I’ve ever read. Before the throne of the thrice Holy God, our unrighteousness cannot stand. Our pleas would be too late. Sin must be punished, and our deserving end would be eternal hell. However, the song continues… A great High Priest whose name is love, Who ever lives and pleads for me. Our sins separate us from God, but the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, that once for all pays for our sins, stands in the way of God’s wrath. He paid the debt He did not owe and intercedes in our behalf before the Father. My name is graven on His hands. My name is written on His heart. I know that while in heaven He stands no tongue can bid me thence depart. The torture and death that Jesus bore on our behalf, having the nails driven in His hands and feet, not to mention the wrath of God being poured out on Him, was not for His own sins, but ours. He went to the cross, and was the sacrifice for us. The Good Shepherd laid down His life for His sheep (John 10:11). When He cried, “It is finished”, the work was done. It can’t be undone. Eternal life is… eternal. Jesus, our Prophet, Priest and King reigns from heaven. His Kingdom will know no end. When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within. How many times have we looked at our past sin, and rather than being assured because of the work of Christ, we become distressed because we dwell on our failures. Yes, our failures are real, our transgressions against the Creator serious, and our disobedience to Christ traitorous, but “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20). Upward I look and see Him there Who made an end of all my sin. If we confess our sin, God forgives us (1 John 1:9). God can do that, not because He turns a blind eye to sin. He would be a terrible judge, and justice would not be served if that were the case. Instead, God looks at us and sees the clean record, not of us, but of Christ. Christ put an end to our sin at the cross. It truly was finished. Sin was paid for. Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free, for God the Just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me. Behold Him there, the risen Lamb, my perfect, spotless Righteousness. Our righteousness adds nothing to our salvation, for they are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). God views us as spotless because Christ was spotless. God looks at the Lamb who took our sin, and gave us His perfect life. The great unchangeable I AM, the King of glory and of grace. Yes, Jesus claimed several times to be God in the flesh, even referring to Himself as the “I Am”, a name reserved for the Creator God. One with Himself, I cannot die. My soul is purchased by His blood. We have security, not in our own works or power, but because of Jesus’ works and power. We are His, He bought us, owns us, commands us, and will see us safely home. My life is hid with Christ on high, with Christ my Savior and my God. What a blessed thought, that our eternity is guaranteed, eternal life, before the throne of God above.  He Will Hold Me Fast
Ada Habershon, Matthew Merker When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast; When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast. I could never keep my hold through life’s fearful path; For my love is often cold; He must hold me fast. He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast; For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast. Those He saves are His delight, Christ will hold me fast; Precious in His holy sight, He will hold me fast. He’ll not let my soul be lost; His promises shall last; Bought by Him at such a cost, He will hold me fast. For my life He bled and died, Christ will hold me fast; Justice has been satisfied; He will hold me fast. Raised with Him to endless life, He will hold me fast ‘Till our faith is turned to sight when He comes at last! He Will Hold Me Fast has become a favorite among the modern hymn movement. The first two verses of this song were written in the late 19th century by Ada Habershon. The third verse was added by Matt Merker in 2013. The song is a song of comfort and assurance that our Heavenly Father loves His children, not because we are always faithful, or always obey His will, but because of His sovereign choice to love us in spite of our failures. It builds on the truth in Jude 24 “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy.” It is God’s preserving grace that keeps us, not our works, or our faithfulness. In fact, when we are faithless, He remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13). This song has been an encouragement to our family in recent years as we have faced some hard challenges. It is the theological truths presented here that have been a firm anchor in the storms. When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast; When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast. As disciples of Christ, we are called to mortify the flesh, but that doesn’t always happen. We are constantly tempted by the one who knows our greatest weaknesses. If we are honest, there are probably many times each day when we sin in our thoughts, motivations, words, and actions. We may, and should, strive for perfection, but we will always fall short. I could never keep my hold through life’s fearful path; for my love is often cold; He must hold me fast. Jesus never fails to love and forgive when we come to Him in repentance. His faithfulness is perfect. He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast. For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast. This song is not about us, it is not about what we can do. It’s about what we can’t do, and what God always does. Those He saves are His delight, Christ will hold me fast; precious in His holy sight, He will hold me fast. The Good Shepherd loves His sheep. He knows them and they know His voice. He gives His life for the sheep, He protects them, He leads them by still waters; however, not everyone are His sheep. If it is natural to say that you love your own children more than a stranger’s, why do we expect that God would not have a special love for His children? While there is a general sense that God loves the whole world (John 3:16, 1 John 2:2, Romans 5:8), there is a special love reserved for those who have an intimate relationship with Him as Savior and Lord. John 14:21 says, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” God has a special relationship with those who are His. He’ll not let my soul be lost; His promises shall last; bought by Him at such a cost, He will hold me fast. This speaks to the doctrine of eternal security. If we truly are saved, our souls cannot be lost, not because we do good works and earn that right, but because Jesus paid that cost. Nothing can separate us from the love of God when we are saved (Romans 8:38-39). Jesus’ work on the cross does not fail. For my life He bled and died, Christ will hold me fast; justice has been satisfied; He will hold me fast. When Jesus bore the wrath of God on the cross, shedding His blood, and dying as our substitute, the demands of the righteous God were met. Legally, our debt was paid in full and justice had been served. Raised with Him to endless life, He will hold me fast. ’Till our faith is turned to sight when He comes at last! When Jesus rose again on the third day, He was the first fruits of those who sleep (1 Corinthians 15:20). One day, we will be raised with Him. Romans 6:4 says, “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” It is that hope we have, that our present life is not worth comparing with the eternal life ahead. We can have rest in the here and now, knowing it is not our faithfulness that we rely on, but His, that holds us fast. |
AuthorBill Itzel has been a worship leader and singer/songwriter for almost 30 years and is based in Westminster, MD. His family tours and leads worship, not only in their home church (Mt. Airy Bible Church), but around the country. This is a blog about congregational worship and the latest news in the The Itzel's ministry. 
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