O Day of Rest and Gladness

O day of rest and gladness,
O day of joy and light,
O balm of care and sadness,
Most beautiful, most bright:
On Thee, the high and lowly,
Through ages joined in tune,
Sing holy, holy, holy,
To the great God Triune.

On Thee, at the creation,
The light first had its birth;
On Thee, for our salvation,
Christ rose from depths of earth;
On Thee, our Lord, victorious,
The Spirit sent from heav’n,
And thus on Thee, most glorious,
A triple light was giv’n.

Thou art a port protected
From storms that round us rise;
A garden intersected
With streams of paradise;
Thou art a cooling fountain
In life’s dry dreary sand;
From Thee, like Pisgah’s mountain,
We view our promised land.

Today on weary nations
The heav’nly manna falls;
To holy convocations
The silver trumpet calls,
Where gospel light is glowing
With pure and radiant beams,
And living water flowing,
With soul-refreshing streams.

New graces ever gaining
From this, our day of rest,
We reach the rest remaining
To spirits of the blessed.
To Holy Ghost be praises,
To Father, and to Son;
The church her voice upraises
To Thee, blessed Three in One.

©1997 Christopher Miner Music.

Visit igracemusic for more quality hymns!

Our Failures, God's Mercy

Our church recently retreated to beautiful Oak Creek Canyon outside of Sedona for our annual summer Family Camp. It was a wonderful weekend of solid messages from God's Word, as well as good food and great fellowship. Pastor Don Lindblad from Kirkland, Washington was our guest speaker for the weekend. Pastor Lindlad's messages were terrific. The weekend's theme was taken from I Samuel 30:6--"But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God." But to explain that one verse, Pastor Lindblad took us back to chapters 27, 28, and 29.

In these portions of Scripture we see the depression of David, God's beloved [future] king of Israel. We see David fall into such a deep pit of unchecked depression that he becomes irrational and disobedient to God (chpt. 27). We are shown King Saul's sin as he ultimately falls away from God (chpt. 28). We are shown God's providential intervention and deliverance of David (chpt. 29). And in chapter 30 we find David recovered from his depression and encouraged in the LORD.

It is a beautiful part of Scripture that I had never pondered so deeply before that weekend. While it is sad to see David in such a miserable state throughout chapters 27 through 29, we understand through it that unlike Saul, David recovered from his inner affliction. As Pastor Lindblad so astutely pointed out, chapter 28 ends with Saul and his men going out into the night, while the next chapter concludes with David and his men rising up in the morning. The symbolism here is clear: Saul, going out into the night, without the Lord's protection or guidance, would soon meet his end. David, however, is rescued from his despondency by God and rises victorious.

After studying these chapters, we should find praise to God rolling from our lips. Like David, we all can fall into self-delusion, depression, or disobedience. But like David, may we too be prompted to strengthen ourselves in Jehovah. There will always be consequences to our conduct (or misconduct), but to those who God calls His own He will uphold and show mercy.

The following verses are from a 20th Century hymn composed by Christopher Miner, but taken from the very words of David in Psalm 51. We sang this song at our camp and it fit well with our lessons on the mercy of God to sinners who continually fall short.

God, Be Merciful To Me

God, be merciful to me;
On Thy grace I rest my plea
Plenteous in compassion Thou,
Blot out my transgressions now;
Wash me, make me pure within;
Cleanse, O cleanse me from my sin.

My transgressions I confess;
Grief and guilt my soul oppress.
I have sinned against Thy grace,
And provoked Thee to Thy face.
I confess Thy judgment just;
Speechless, I Thy mercy trust.

I am evil, born in sin;
Thou desirest truth within.
Thou alone my Savior art,
Teach Thy wisdom to my heart;
Make me pure, Thy grace bestow,
Wash me whiter than the snow.

Broken, humbled to the dust
By Thy wrath and judgment just,
Let my contrite heart rejoice,
And in gladness hear Thy voice;
From my sins O hide Thy face,
Blot them out in boundless grace.

Gracious God, my heart renew,
Make my spirit right and true.
Cast me not away from Thee,
Let Thy Spirit dwell in me;
Thy salvation’s joy impart,
Steadfast make my willing heart.

Sinners then shall learn from me,
And return, O God, to Thee
Savior all my guilt remove,
And my tongue shall sing Thy love
Touch my silent lips, O Lord,
And my mouth shall praise accord.

©1997 Christopher Miner Music. Words: Richard Redhead. Music: Christopher Miner.

Songs for the Ages

Music and lyrics have been an essential part of Christianity since it's conception. Even before Christ's bodily existence on earth, the Old Testament people understood the importance of singing in worship. As Paul admonishes the New Testament Christians in Colossae,
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."

I am thankful that God has placed me within a congregation which seeks to adhere to the idea of worshipping the Lord through the singing of "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs." I am thankful for our church leaders and their discernment in this area. In a day when music in worship is such a divisive subject for many churchgoers, it is good to know that there are indeed those church bodies which seek to follow God's principles of corporately worshipping Him. Reformed Baptists in particular are well-known for their keen sensitivity to the Word of God in this subject. Growing up in a Reformed Baptist church, I believe that the Bible alone should be our guide for what is acceptable in worship. It only makes sense, doesn't it, that God's own Word should provide the standards for what the way God wants to be worshipped by His people? Of course.

I have heard many good brothers and sisters of mine tell me that they too are a part of a reformed church. In hearing this, I always get excited for there are relatively few truly "reformed" churches out there. And yet I have come to the point where I no longer get my hopes up. Too often when people say they are reformed, what they really mean is "Calvinistic."
There IS a difference.

We have friends who call themselves "Charismatic Calvinists." Without going into much detail in this post, let me just say that it is oxymoronic to be both Reformed and Charismatic. Simply put, Reformed theology involves full subscription to a confession of faith which also puts forth the Regulative Principle of Worship. The Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW) is contrary to a belief in modern revelatory gifts such as speaking in tongues and ongoing prophesy. Additionally, the RPW goes against the modern methods of individual church congregations deciding what is right in worship.

Here is an exerpt from the Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America's (ARBCA) position paper on the RPW:

The regulative principle emphasizes the instituted elements of worship as the priority. Scripture reading, significant exposition of Scripture, prayers, congregational singing, the sacraments, etc., mark the priority of worship according to the regulative principle. Worship according to the regulative principle examines the order, elements, priorities, and musical selections from a regulated biblical perspective. It does not reject an old hymn simply because it is old nor does it reject new hymns and songs simply because they are new. Reformed hymnology was “new” when it was instituted. Worship according to the regulative principle does not jump on the bandwagon of high church liturgy, exclusive Psalmody, contemporary music, or normative additions of any kind from the motive of personal tastes. It examines the order, elements, priorities, and musical selections from a regulated biblical perspective. God regulates his worship. Worship is prescribed and commanded, and the elements of his worship are revealed. . . .

In determining what music is acceptable in worship, we must acknowledge that the words that we sing ought to be as biblical as the prayers that we pray and the words that we preach. As we study the psalms we generally note that they possess certain qualities: God-centeredness, dignity, biblical ideas, theme, order, resolution, etc. The hymns and songs we sing should follow that pattern.

Our church regularly uses the Trinity Hymnal (Baptist Edition) in worship. This hymnal also includes many psalms. To add to our wealth of music resources, we have also embraced a good handful of modern hymns (1900's--present day) and Scripture songs.

In conclusion, music is an important part of worship to God. Therefore, it should be an important part of worship to us as well. There are so many good resources out there to highlight reformed hymnody. I hope to post more on this topic in the future. But for now, check out this short slideshow of Christians around the world singing to the Lord from their hymnals. Keep on singing!

The Gospel in a Hymn

"Not What My Hands Have Done"

by Horatius Bonar

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.

Your voice alone, O Lord, can speak to me of grace;

Your power alone, O Son of God, can all my sin erase.

No other work but Yours, no other blood will do;

No strength but that which is divine can bear me safely through.

Thy work alone, O Christ, can ease this weight of sin;

Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, can give me 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.

I bless the Christ of God; I rest on love divine;

And with unfaltering lip and heart I call this Savior mine.

His cross dispels each doubt; I bury in His tomb

Each thought of unbelief and fear, 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 and light.

’Tis He Who saveth me, and freely pardon gives;

I love because He loveth me, I live because He lives.

Featured Hymn #1

For the last few years our church has been faithful in introducing a "new" or relatively unfamiliar hymn to the congregation each month. After the first of the year, we take one Sunday evening service to sing all twelve hymns that were featured the previous year. Beginning with this post, I plan on featuring various hymn lyrics that may or may not be known to my readers. But I pray that the words of each featured hymn-writer--whomever he or she might be--will encourage, convict, and/or teach your heart. Enjoy!

Send Thou, O Lord, To Ev'ry Place

Words: Ma­ry Cor­ne­lia Bi­shop Gates, 1890.
Courtesy of The Cyber Hymnal

Send Thou, O Lord, to every place
Swift messengers before Thy face,
The heralds of Thy wondrous grace,
Where Thou Thyself wilt come.

Send men whose eyes have seen the King,
Men in whose ears His sweet words ring;
Send such Thy lost ones home to bring;
Send them where Thou wilt come.

To bring good news to souls in sin;
The bruised and broken hearts to win;
In every place to bring them in
Where Thou Thyself wilt come.

Thou Who hast died, Thy vict’ry claim;
Assert, O Christ, Thy glory’s name
In every place to bring them in
Where Thou Thyself wilt come.

Gird each one with the Spirit’s sword,
The sword of Thine own deathless Word;
And make them conquerors, conquering, Lord,
Where Thou Thyself wilt come.

Raise up, O Lord the Holy Ghost,
From this broad land a mighty host,
Their war cry, “We will seek the lost
Where Thou, O Christ, wilt come.”