Another Hymn or Two

O Love Incomprehensible
o love incomprehensible that made Thee bleed for me
the Judge of all has suffered death to set His prisoner free

what pain, what soul-oppressing pain the great Redeemer bore
while bloody sweat like drops of rain distilled from every pore

o love incomprehensible that made Thee bleed for me
the Judge of all has suffered death to set His prisoner free

arraigned at pilate's shameful bar - unparalleled disgrace
see spotless innocence appear in guilts detested place

o love incomprehensible that made Thee bleed for me
the Judge of all has suffered death to set His prisoner free

the spotless Savior lived for me, and died upon the mount
the obedience of His life and death is placed to my account

o love incomprehensible that made Thee bleed for me
the Judge of all has suffered death to set His prisoner free

'tis finished!' now aloud He cries - no more the law requires
and now - amazing sacrifice - the Lord of life expires

o love incomprehensible that made Thee bleed for me
the Judge of all has suffered death to set His prisoner free

on Thee alone my hope relies, beneath Thy cross i fall
my Lord, my life, my sacrifice, my Savior and my all!

o love incomprehensible that made Thee bleed for me
the Judge of all has suffered death to set His prisoner free
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1) how amazing, that Christ would suffer excruciatingly for us - His prisoners and natural enemies!
2) "no more the law requires" - "it is finished" means that there is nothing for us to do to accomplish our salvation. there is nothing that Jesus has to do. all is done. we are SAFE.
3) because of 2), that last verse is true: "on Thee alone my hope relies". it is the accomplished work of Christ that saves us, and that alone.
on that note...
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Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder
let us love and sing and wonder, let us praise the Savior's Name
He has hushed the law's loud thunder, He has quenched mount sinai's flame
He has washed us with His blood, He has washed us with His blood, He has washed us with His blood, He has brought us nigh to God

let us love the Lord Who bought us, pitied us when enemies,
called us by His grace and taught us, gave us ears and gave us eyes
He has washed us with His blood, He has washed us with His blood, He has washed us with His blood, He presents our souls to God

let us sing though fierce temptation threaten hard to bear us down
for the Lord, our strong salvation, holds in view the conquer'rs crown
He Who washed us with His blood, He Who washed us with His blood, He Who washed us with His blood, soon will bring us home to God

let us wonder - grace and justice join and point to mercy's store
when through grace in Christ our trust is, justice smiles and asks no more
He Who washed us with His blood, He Who washed us with His blood, He Who washed us with His blood, has secured our way to God

let us praise and join the chorus of the saints enthroned on high
here they trusted Him before us, now their praises fill the sky
'Thou hast washed us with Thy blood, Thou hast washed us with Thy blood, Thou hast washed us with Thy blood, Thou art worthy, Lamb of God'
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1) just think about the RICHNESS of these lines: "He has hushed the law's loud thunder, He has quenched mt sinai's flame." mt sinai, of course, is the place where God gave moses the law. that means that being "heartily sorry" for our sins does not mean fearing the condemnation of the law. that in itself will take me years longer to process, i'm sure.
2) He gave us ears and gave us eyes, the two primary senses used in apprehending the Gospel. talk about providing an end AND a means.
3) i love this epithet for Christ - "our strong salvation"
4) one of the greatest not-inspired explanations of the Gospel, to be sure (pithy, but still reflective of the truth): "when through grace in Christ our trust is, justice smiles and asks no more."
5) the last verse has the fabulously encouraging theme of many of the psalms - that past generations of believers have seen the faithfulness of the Lord, in life and, here, in death ("now their praises fill the sky")

HYMNS

Not What My Hands Have Done
not what my hands have done can save my guilty soul
not what my toiling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole
not what i feel or do can give me peace with God
not all my prayers and sighs and tears can bear my awful load

Thy work alone, o Christ, can ease this weight of sin
Thy blood alone, o Lamb of God, can give peace within
Thy love to me, o God, not mine, o Lord, to Thee
can rid me of this dark unrest and set my spirit free

Thy grace alone, o God, to me can pardon speak
Thy power alone, o Son of God, can this sore bondage break
no other work save Thine, no other blood will do
no strength save that which is divine can bear me safely through

i bless the Christ of God, i rest on love divine
and with unfaltering lip and heart, i call this Savior mine
His cross dispells each doubt, i bury in His tomb
my unbelief and all my fears, each lingering shade of gloom

i praise the God of grace, i trust His truth and might
He calls me His, i call Him mine, my God, my joy, my light
tis He who saveth me and freely pardon gives
i love because He loveth me, i live because He lives
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
yeah, love that last line. but the whole thing is an amazing explanation of the Gospel - it is only in Christ that i have any hope at all. "not what i feel or do can give me peace with God" - thank GOD this is true, cause if that's where i had to put my hope, i'd be in serious trouble.

i love the possessiveness in this hymn: "He calls me His, i call Him mine..." this is the language of lovers, but it is true of an even deeper and wilder relationship - between God and His child.
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Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted
stricken, smitten, and afflicted, see Him dying on the tree
tis the Christ, by men rejected - yes, my soul, tis He, tis He
tis the long-expected Prophet, david's Son, yet david's Lord
by His Son God now has spoken, tis the true and faithful Word

tell me, ye who hear Him groaning, was there ever grief like His?
friends through fear His cause disowning, foes insulting His distress
many hands were raised to wound Him, none would interpose to save
but the deepest stroke that pierced Him was the stroke that justice gave

ye who think of sin but lightly, nor suppose the evil great
here may view its nature rightly, here its guilt may estimate
but the Sacrifice appointed, see Who bears the awful load -
tis the Word, the Lord's Annointed, Son of man and Son of God

here we have a firm foundation, here the ransom of the lost
Christ, the Rock of our salvation, is the Name of which we boast
Lamb of God for sinners wounded, Sacrifice to cancel guilt
none shall ever be confounded who on Him their hope have built
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my favorite line here is the last of verse 2: "the deepest stroke that pierced Him was the stroke that justice gave." how amazing is it that when justice demanded payment for sin, it was Christ who payed - He was the "Sacrifice appointed." blows my mind.
and the fact that "none shall ever be confounded who on Him their hope have built" is pretty incredible.
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O Sacred Head Now Wounded
o sacred head, now wounded - with grief and shame weighed down
now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thy only crown
how pale Thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn
how does that visage languish, that once was bright as morn?

what Thou my Lord has suffered was all for sinners' gain
mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain
lo! here i fall, my Savior - tis i deserve Thy place
look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

what language shall i borrow to thank Thee, dearest Friend -
for this, Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
o make me Thine forever, and should i fainting be
Lord let me never, never outlive my love to Thee
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in this hymn (written by bernard clairveaux in the 12th century!) we find a very clear and yet mysteriously beautiful description of "the great exchange" - Christ swapped places with me! so often i think we forget what this means, particularly if we grew up in the church and really have been Christians either for a very long time or since we were quite young. we forget what it means to have the wrath of God justly fixed upon us. and this is truly tragic, for it robs us of the Gospel itself - it keeps us from understanding that Christ took all the reasons that God should punish us and with them stood in the way, so that He both took the sin and the punishment for it on Himself. talk about "pity without end"!!
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Man of Sorrows, What a Name!
'Man of sorrows,' what a name for the Son of God Who came
ruined sinners to reclaim - hallelujah! what a Savior!

bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned He stood
sealed my pardon with His blood - hallelujah! what a Savior!

guilty, vile, and helpless we; spotless Lamb of God was He
'full atonement' - can it be? hallelujah! what a Savior!

lifted up was He to die; 'it is finished' was His cry
now in heaven exalted high - hallelujah! what a Savior!

when He comes our glorious King, all His ransomed home to bring
then anew His song we'll sing - hallelujah! what a Savior!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ok, so this one i feel like is loaded because it is so simple. let's take this one a little more slowly, though not exhaustively to be sure.
1) let's just think for a second about the implications of God Almighty becoming the "Man of sorrows." as andy peterson wrote in 'the silence of God,' "the Man of all sorrows, He never forgot what heartache is carried by the hearts that He bought." not only is Christ's death in our behalf an act of sacrifice and commitment, but of complete identification.
2) what was He doing all this for? "ruined sinners to reclaim." i cannot express how much i love that phrase, especially today, when i am feeling all the more a "ruined sinner." hallelujah! what a Savior, to reclaim such a ruined sinner...
3) "full atonement" is an incredible doctrine. it means absolutely NOTHING can separate God from His people again.
4) "it is finished" is so important for us - our salvation is accomplished. it is completed. we belong to God - signed, sealed, and sure to be delivered.
5) the most exultant part of this is the last stanza - Jesus is coming back, "all His ransomed home to bring." that would be us! we get to go home with Jesus, and it's not like your boyfriend taking you home to meet his parents for the first time. it's like Christmas break, but with perfect love from the God of all grace - and lasting forever!
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i can't resist. one more tonight.
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How Deep the Father's Love for Us
how deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure
that He should give His only Son to make a wretch His treasure
how great the pain of searing loss; the Father turns His face away
as wounds which mar the Chosen One bring many sons to glory

behold the Man upon a cross, my sin upon His shoulders
ashamed i hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers
it was my sin that held Him there until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life; i know that it is finished

i will not boast in anything - no gifts, no power, no wisdom
but i will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection
why should i gain from His reward? i cannot give an answer
but this i know with all my heart: His wounds have paid my ransom
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i think this hymn sorta sums up the rest of todays hymnal adventures. it adds a few new facets though - the idea that the Father's love is so huge for our salvation. He is no mean taskmaster that Jesus has to calm down and soothe for us - it is His passion and desire to have us to Himself - to 'make a wretch [that would be me] His treasure' - that instigates all of the action here.
also signficant is the idea that the Father turned away from the Son on the cross. He did this so that He would never have to turn away from us.

wow. the Gospel is so amazing. :)

Ooh Wee - A Jahari Window

alrighty, folks. i'd like it if you did this. i'm utterly curious.

tonight's the night - you will see at least 3 hymns appear on this site. :)

Update

so my back/neck/arm fiasco isn't over yet, and right now is one of the few intervals in which my left hand has the strength to type. (it takes a long time to type with one hand.) my grandmother died today, so i'll be headed to the memorial service soon and in the meantime trying to get all the work done that needs doing.

my life is nuts. thank God that He is running this show, not me. i know that He loves me and that He is good, and that's all i need to know right now.

the hymns will make a reappearance i promise.

ayiyi

so i have chronic weird undiagnosed back problems, and that is having a huge impact on my left side right now, making typing a task that is very difficult. i am obviously behind on the whole lent-hymn thing... i hope to catch up soon.

anyway, i'm a mess. that God He is a pro at cleaning up messes.

Lenten Spring Break

So it's alot harder to pull of the internet thing when you're in the mountains and you don't even have cell phone reception and you can't figure out the dial-up than i expected it would be. here are the saturday, sunday, and monday hymns. the rest will show up whenever time permits, but i'll be typing them on the computer.

hark! the herald angels sing

hark! the herald angels sing
"glory to the newborn King!
peace on earth, and mercy mild -
God and sinners reconciled."
joyful all ye nations, rise
join the triumph of the skies
with angelic hosts proclaim -
Christ is born in bethlehem
hark! the herald angels sing
"glory to the newborn King!"

Christ, by highest heaven adored
Christ, the everlasting Lord
late in time behold Him come
offspring of the virgin's womb
veiled in flesh the Godhead see
hail the incarnate Deity
pleased as man with men to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
hark! the herald angels sing
"glory to the newborn King!"

hail the heaven-born Prince of peace
hail the Son of righteousness
light and life to all He brings
risen with healing in His wings
mild, He lays His glory by
born that men no more may die
born to raise the sons of earth
born to give them second birth
hark! the herald angels sing
"glory to the newborn King!"

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'veiled in flesh the Godhead see' - i just like that phrase

'mild, He lays His glory by; born that men no more may die' - pretty phenomenal that Jesus laid His glory by so men no more may die...

nuff said i think

Thou Who Wast Rich Beyond All Splendor

Thou, Who wast rich beyond all splendor, all for love's sake becamest poor
thrones for a manger did surrender, sapphire-paved courts for stable floor
Thou, Who wast rich beyond all splendor, all for love's sake becamest poor

Thou, Who art God beyond all praising, all for love's sake becamest man
stooping so low, but sinners raising heav'nward by Thine eternal plan
Thou, Who art God beyond all praising, all for love's sake becamest man

Thou, Who art love beyond all telling, Savior and King, we worship Thee
Emmanuel, within us dwelling, make us what Thou wouldst have us be
Thou, Who art love beyond all telling, Savior and King, we worship Thee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
one thing i think it is important to remember was that in the incarnation, Christ traded glory for torturous pain and suffering, in order to bring more glory to Himself by buying us back from among the damned. as a good edwardsian, i revel in the concept that God has so bound Himself to His people (us!) that His glory and our good are completely interconnected. the best thing that can happen for me is that God be glorified. fascinatingly enough, because i am His, and He is love beyond all telling, it is also true that my good is the best thing that can happen for God's glory. whoa. trippy. ;-)

Joy to the World

joy to the world! the Lord is come. let earth receive her King!
let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and heaven and nature sing

joy to the earth! the Savior reigns - let men their songs employ,
while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy, repeat, repeat the sounding joy

no more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found, far as, far as the curse is found

He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove
the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love, and wonders of His love, and wonders, wonders of His love

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here again we visit one of my favorite themes - the way that Christ's sacrifice redeems not only the elect but all of creation. not only are there now vices - there are now thorns as well. there is now toil, not just God-given work. and the thing is that as deeply as this world is broken, even more deeply is the healing power of the blood of Christ mending the brokenness... He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found...

hallelujah!

Lent Day #48

today's hymn is what Child is this?, also known as greensleeves...

what Child is this, Who, laid to rest on mary's lap, is sleeping
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet while shepherds watch are keeping
this, this is Christ the King, Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
haste, haste to bring Him laud - the Babe, the Son of mary

why lies He in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding?
good christian, fear - for sinners here the silent Word is pleading
nails, spear shall pierce Him through; the cross be borne for me, for you
hail! hail! the Word made flesh - the Babe, the Son of mary

so bring Him incense, gold and myrrh; come, peasant, king, to own Him
the King of kings salvation brings - let loving hearts enthrone Him
raise, raise a song on high; the virgin sings her lullaby
joy, joy for Christ is born - the Babe, the Son of mary
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this baby speaks for itself, like yesterday's hymn. this is a good thing, because i am exhausted from a week of midterms and other fun stressors. (i even said "i ain't got no..." today! something is rotten in the state of lauren's brain...)

i will make the following comments on this hymn:
1) there is an eagerness in the words of this song - an eagerness for the buying-back of souls from death.
2) the reason he's "lying in such mean estate" is for our redemption. the incarnation was about the cross.
3) the mentioned response to the incarnation is for the "good christian" is to "fear" because "for sinners here the silent Word is pleading." it's not just Christ's death that saves us - His life covers our life, His death pays for our deserved death, and His resurrection assures our defeat of the temporal state of death (though we who are set free by Christ will never again be truly dead).
4) the reaction to the King of kings bringing salvation ought to be His enthronement in our hearts
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spring break is here! let the people rejoice!

i don't know who thought up spring break, but i would like to kiss their feet. it is such a beautiful thing to have in the middle of a semester. i fully expect this one, for example, to further whet my appetite for heaven, to be filled up with fabulous fellowship time, to rejuvenate me, and to teach me to rest.

spring break is like a week-long sabbath.

reminds me of "well done, good and faithful servant ... come and share in your Master's happiness...." (matt 25:21)

also reminds me of "come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (matt 11:28) i think wake students qualify as those who 'labor' and 'are heavy laden.'

so the exciting news is threefold - this spring break is going to rock; my sister gets to come for a little!; and i am bringing absolutely NO homework.

Grace Upon Grace

i am addicted to a new sandra song (shocker) called "grace upon grace." it's on her new cd, the builder and the architect. she wrote it based on a fabulous collection of puritan prayers called the valley of vision. i am so in love with this song. here are my current favorite lines (i think they are tied for favorite right now):

"grace upon grace, every sin repaired, every void restored..." - the fall had ramifications beyond one sin nature per zygote whose daddy was descended from adam. there are ugly things now - like depression, cancer, AIDS, chicken pox, loneliness, grief, and car accidents. and even voids in our abilities are filled by Christ - not that i can swing more than a c+ in calculus, but that, well... check out the next line. it will kinda pick up here

"all that You ask Your grace will supply" - it's never like God tells us, 'gee, I'd like you to go to portugal and set up an orphanage, and I think I'll come along.' He goes before us too. what He asks of us is what He gives us the ability to obey - and the wherewithall. my Bible study last semester discussed this phenomenon, and we had a really weird example that worked. it's as though we are on a rollercoaster that is running through croquet wickets. God sets out these good deeds for us to do (the wickets) and we do them! but the thing is that we are freaking on a rollercoaster, so it's not like we just decided to do what God wanted us to out of the goodness of our hearts. it's more like our lives take the turns we take because of the ride we're on...

obviously a less than perfect analogy (disobedience, anyone have a problem with that?), but i like it and it helps me.

the passage that got us started on this was ephesians 2:10, which says this: "for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

spring break starts TOMORROW! (can you IMAGINE the glee on my face?)

Lent Day #39

In keeping with the incarnational theme i started yesterday, today's hymn is O Come, O Come Emmanuel. We will be camping out on this theme for a while - four more days after today. :-D

disclaimer: i'm being selective about verses. there are a bunch of verses to this song, and you know that means a BUNCH since i'm the kid who whines about wanting to sing all 6 verses of psalm 51 at RUF...

o come, o come Emmanuel
and ransom captive israel
who mourns in lowly exile here
until the Son of God appear

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, o israel

o come Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
our spirits by Thine advent here
disperse the gloomy clouds of night
and death's dark shadows put to flight

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, o israel

o come Thou Key of david, come
and open wide our heav'nly home
make safe the way that leads on high
and close the path to misery

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, o israel

o come Thou Rod of jesse, free
Thine own from satan's tyranny
from depths of hell Thy people save
and give them vict'ry o'er the grave

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, o israel

o come Desire of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mandkind
bid Thou our sad divisions cease
and be Thyself our King of Peace

~~~~~~~~

to be honest, most of this i feel is self-explanatory. to expound on a few points...

1) there is an awful lot of longing in this song after Christ's appearing. makes me wonder how much we ought to be longing for His reappearing...
2) Jesus is here depicted as a long-awaited hero, complete with dragons (of sorts - you didn't miss a verse) to slay. He will free His people from exile, cheer and uplift their hearts, "close the path to misery" (which i can only assume means that He cuts off hell from our futures), open wide the doors of heaven, make the path to heaven safe for us to travel, rescue His people from hell (sinners in the hands of an angry God, anyone?), conquer for us death, unify us as a people, and bring peace. that is an awful lot.
3) as much as this is a song about desire, about longing, there is a ringing promise throughout it: "Emmanuel SHALL come to thee, o israel."

also of note: israel=us. just to clarify if you didn't know.

Lent Day #40

I figure we should be counting down, seeing as the "big event" we are celebrating is the resurrection of Christ.

So now i unveil the plan: every day of lent i will be blogging a hymn (and on it) that deals with the doctrine of propitiatory atonement. In other words, Jesus' life covers our lives, His death pays for the deaths we deserve, and His resurrection defeats death.

Today's hymn: "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus"

come, Thou long-expected Jesus, born to set Thy people free
from our fears and sins release us - let us find our rest in Thee
israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth Thou art
dear desire of ev'ry nation, joy of ev'ry longing heart

born Thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a king
born to reign in us forever, now Thy gracious kingdom bring
by Thine own eternal Spirit rule in all our hearts alone
by Thine all sufficient merit raise us to Thy glorious throne

~~~~~~~
ok this hymn is flat out nuts. i know it's technically a "christmas hymn" but i don't buy that for a second, as you will quickly notice in the next few days. so many hymns we treat as seasonal really ought to be sung year round... the Gospel is true every day, after all.

i picked this hymn for several major reasons:
1) the emphasis on the destiny of Christ. He was so clearly born FOR certain things, born TO a certain life - a life that redeemed us from hellfire.
2) i love the plea in the second line - "from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in Thee" because i can be so easily bound and entangled by my fears and sins. it is that very kind of freedom and rest that Jesus came to give us... :-D
3) i love the language about Jesus being the hope of the world. after all, though i'm a rather die-hard calvinist, there is no doubt in my mind that the only hope the world has is Christ. it is through Christ that creation is being redeemed - it's not just us! and every heart that truly longs after God will have Him, for He Himself placed that longing in that heart.
4) i love the line "born a child and yet a king" because it reminds me just how human Jesus was - 100%, baby!

See y'all here tomorrow!