Grace Abounding

The Psalms are a collection of hymns for God’s people to sing. The melody for the songs has been lost but the words inspired by the Holy Spirit for all ages. I’m grateful for the band Indelible Grace which has put my favorite psalm, Psalm 73, and others to new music. Listening to this psalm sung meditatively has helped me find hope and understanding in the confusing, broken world we live in.

Listen To Psalm 73
It’s worth your time to listen to Matthew Perryman Jones (my favorite singer/songwriter) sing Psalm 73 in the YouTube video below. You can also download the piano and guitar scores for free here. Last week I preached Psalm 73 at Grace Church of Alexandria; the sermon text had sunk deep into my heart because I’ve been meditating on it through the years in song.

Indelible Grace: Pilgrim Days

The album which includes Psalm 73 is called Indelible Grace 2: Pilgrim Days and has been a constant companion for me, pointing me to the LORD as my refuge and rock. You can learn more about Indelible Grace and buy the album here.

The song “Thy Mercy My God” is a favorite hymn often sung at our local church in Alexandria, Virginia. It’s an old hymn by John Stocker (1776) put to new music by Sandra McCracken (2001). It’s the hymn of the month at Grace Church.

Why do we love this hymn? Because it preaches the gospel to us every time we sing it! The first verse revels with wonder at the transforming grace God has given believers. Verse 2 reminds us that our sin nature and willful sin disqualify us from knowing God and tasting real joy, but God has reversed our sinful condition out of his generous kindness. Verse 3 celebrates that God’s “mercy is more than a match for my heart which wonders to feel its own hardness depart,” a recognition that though we are great sinners, we have a Savior greater than our sin. The final verse thanks the Holy Spirit for applying the work of redemption in the believer’s life.

Get to know this hymn by downloading the sheet music here for free or by watching it worshipfully played on this YouTube video:

Thy Mercy My God
1. Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song,
The joy of my heart. and the boast of my tongue;
Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last,
Hath won my affections, and bound my soul fast.

2. Without Thy sweet mercy I could not live here;
Sin would reduce me to utter despair;
But, through Thy free goodness, my spirits revive,
And He that first made me still keeps me alive.

3. Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart,
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart;
Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground,
And weep to the praise of the mercy I’ve found.

4. Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own,
And the covenant love of Thy crucified Son;
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine.
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine.

©2001 Same Old Dress Music (ASCAP).

Previous songs of the month at Grace Church of Alexandria are listed here.

Today my friend Jordan Minnick shared with me this prayer about the incarnation. It’s a fitting reminder to render praise to Jesus at Christmas for coming to rescue us. This prayer is entitled “The Gift of Gifts” and is drawn from the rich collection of Puritan prayers published in a prayer guide called The Valley of Vision. From time to time we include historic prayers like this in our church services to teach us how to pray. The prayer as listed below has just a bit of modernized wording compared to the original. 

“The Gift of Gifts”

What shall I render to you for the gift of gifts;
Your own dear Son, begotten not created,
My Redeemer, my proxy, my surety, my substitute;
Self-emptying, incomprehensible;
His infinity of love beyond the heart’s grasp.

Herein is wonder of wonders:
He came below to raise me above,
Was born like me that I might become like Him.

Herein is love:
When I cannot rise to Him, He draws near on wings of grace,
To raise me to Himself.

Herein is power:
When Deity and humanity were infinitely apart
He united them in indissoluble unity,
The uncreated and the created.

Herein is wisdom:
When I was undone, with no will to return to Him,
And no intellect to devise recovery,
He came, God-incarnate, to save me
To the uttermost,
As man to die my death,
To shed satisfying blood on my behalf,
To work out a perfect righteousness for me.

O God, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherds,
And enlarge my mind;
Let me hear good tidings of great joy,
And hearing, let me believe, rejoice, praise, adore,
My conscience bathed in an ocean of repose,
My eyes uplifted to a reconciled Father;

Place me with ox, donkey, camel, goat,
To look with them upon my Redeemer’s face,
And in Him account myself delivered from sin;
Let me with Simeon clasp the new-born child to my heart,
Embrace Him with undying faith,
Exulting that He is mine and I am His.

In Him you have given me so much
That heaven can give no more.

Our friends at Alexandria Presybterian Church have invited our congregation and the community to a free sacred concert with Matthew Smith and Indelible Grace, musicians who put old forgotten hymns to new music.

• Who: Matthew Smith & Indelible Grace
• When: Tuesday, October 18, 7:30 pm
• Where: Alexandria Presybterian Church
  2405 Russell Road, Alexandria, VA
• Cost: free

Many of the hymns sung at Grace Church of Alexandria are written by Indelible Grace. The concert includes a full band, and the musicians invite the congregation to sing along. This concert is a great chance to lift up our voices in praise to God, singing hymns often sung at Grace Church.

In lieu of Wednesday Community Group on 10/19, all Grace Church attenders are invited to attend the concert instead. I hope to see you there. Invite friends with this Facebook event!

This month at Grace Church of Alexandria, we’re singing “Jesus, I Come,” a song pointing to the comfort and hope found in Christ.

As our Savior, Jesus has rescued us from our guilt, freed us from our fears, and granted us incredible joy in him. This is an old hymn put to new music that captures the reversal of fortune that those who come to Christ experience by knowing him and being redeemed by him.

Listen here to “Jesus I Come” sung by Matthew Perryman Jones. It’s the first song on the album.

Download the sheet music here at Indelible Grace’s site for free.

Buy it here on iTunes.

Jesus, I Come

1. Out of my bondage, sorrow and night,
Jesus, I come; Jesus I come.
Into Thy freedom, gladness and light,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of my sickness into Thy health,
Out of my wanting and into Thy wealth,
Out of my sin and into Thyself,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

2. Out of my shameful failure and loss,
Jesus, I come; Jesus, I come.
Into the glorious gain of Thy cross,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of earth’s sorrows into Thy balm,
Out of life’s storms and into Thy calm,
Out of distress into jubilant psalm,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

3. Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
Jesus, I come; Jesus, I come.
Into Thy blessed will to abide,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of myself to dwell in Thy love,
Out of despair into raptures above,
Upward forever on wings like a dove,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

4. Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
Jesus, I come; Jesus, I come.
Into the joy and light of Thy home,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold,
Ever Thy glorious face to behold,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

© 2000 Greg Thompson Music.

Listen to other songs we sing at Grace Church of Alexandria here.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged…” that adults don’t really like music that’s produced for kids. That’s why we have all these albums of mainstream pop music recorded with kid’s singing instead of will.i.am or Taio Cruz. Let’s be honest, when I’m in the shower and a song pops into my head, I’d like it to be “No Line on the Horizon” or “Penny Lane,” rather than “Oh, Where Has My Puppydog Gone?” or “I’m Bringing Home a Baby BumbleBee.” But as they say, Trix are for kids, and so is kids music. It really is ok if I find it mildly annoying as long as the kids are enjoying it, right? My bigger concern is when kids music that’s supposed to be “Christian” turns out to be full of moralistic therpeutic deism or just plain silliness (I can only take so much “Where is My Hairbrush?”).

Nothing wrong with kids being silly, obviously, but the bigger problem is finding music that doesn’t just teach kids “obey because I said so,” “don’t pout,” and “clean your plate.” We need music that will saturate our kids with God’s Word and help them apply it to their lives. Here are a few resources that my family has found helpful (and I even don’t mind these songs popping into my head during shower time).

Sovereign Grace Music
Sovereign Grace Music is a division of Sovereign Grace Ministries, a family of churches whose offices are located just around the corner from us in Gaithersberg, MD. For the past 20 years, alongside their efforts to plant gospel-preaching churches around the world, they have been striving to produce music for the Church that is both theologically rich and musically compelling. In recent years they have produced two children’s albums which I highlight here.

To Be Like Jesus is SGM’s first kid’s album, and it is phenomenal. If you’re familiar at all with SGM’s other musical offerings, you will know to expect great music, and this album does not disappoint. But even more importantly, this album is full of biblical truth, specifically aimed at kids. Each song focuses on a different fruit of the Spirit as found in Galatians 5:16-26. But the fruit of the Spirit is not denigrated into helpful suggestions for a happy life. As the title track indicates, these are all about the desire “To Be Like Jesus.” Two immediate benefits from this album:

Read the rest of this entry »

When you’re facing temptation, discouragement or defeat, where do you turn for help? How are Christians supposed to battle these experiences and emotions that can so easily bring us low? We must run to the one place–the cross– and the one Person–Christ– who defeats our fiercest foes.

In the month of May, we’re singing “I Run to Christ,” a modern hymn that shows us how to run to Christ and find in him our refuge. In their song, the hymnwriters have given us words to pray, to sing, to cry out to Jesus to guide our hearts to him. For me, this song helps me appropriate 1 Corinthians 1:18 in my life: “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Thanks to our friends at ChurchWorksMedia.com for this hymn that points us to Christ.

I run to Christ when chased by fear and find a refuge sure.
“Believe in me,” His voice I hear; His words and wounds secure.
I run to Christ when torn by grief and find abundant peace.
“I too had tears,” He gently speaks; Thus joy and sorrow meet.

I run to Christ when worn by life and find my soul refreshed.
“Come unto Me,” He calls through strife; fatigue gives way to rest.
I run to Christ when vexed by hell and find a mighty arm.
“The Devil flees,” the Scriptures tell; He roars, but cannot harm.

I run to Christ when stalked by sin and find a sure escape.
“Deliver me,” I cry to Him; temptation yields to grace.
I run to Christ when plagued by shame and find my one defense.
“I bore God’s wrath,” He pleads my case—my Advocate and Friend.

Words by Chris Anderson; Music by Greg Habegger. ChurchWorksMedia (2010). Used by permission. CCLI #2928610.

Want to listen or download the music? The piano score & guitar chords are available in a .pdf here. Here’s an insert for a church’s order of worship. Also, listen to the congregation sing it at the church where Chuck Swindoll pastors, or hear it played on piano here.

At Grace Church of Alexandria, we try to choose songs for Sunday worship that flow out of Scripture and point us to Jesus Christ. Graham Kendrick’s hymn The Servant King ably does this, so we’re singing it several times together in March.

Verse 3 portrays especially vividly how much the Son of God served us: “Hands that flung stars into space / To cruel nails surrendered;” then the chorus calls for us to serve Christ as he has served us. This hymn points us to the cross so we can live as Christ lived, “for even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

Listen here (click on the 22nd song in the list) or watch an old video (1991) of the song here.

The Servant King

From heaven You came, helpless babe,
Entered our world, Your glory veiled,
Not to be served but to serve.
And give Your life that we might live.

This is our God, the Servant King;
He calls us now to follow Him;
To bring our lives as a daily offering
Of worship to the Servant King.

There in the garden of tears
My heavy load He chose to bear;
His heart with sorrow was torn,
Yet not my will, but Yours he said.

Come see His hands and his feet,
The scars that speak of sacrifice;
Hands that flung stars into space
To cruel nails surrendered.

So let us learn now to serve,
And in our lives enthrone Him.
Each other’s needs to prefer,
For it is Christ we’re serving;

Words and music by Graham Kendrick. ©1983 Kingsway’s Thankyou Music.

Listen to other songs we sing at Grace Church of Alexandria here.

On Sundays at Grace Church of Alexandria, we sing carefully selected songs and hymns that draw our attention to the majesty of God and the glory of his grace. This winter we’re singing “A Debtor to Mercy Alone” on several Sundays so that we get to know it well as a congregation.

I invite you to meditate on these lyrics to remember the extend of God’s love for his people through Christ:

A debtor to mercy alone, of covenant mercy I sing;
I come with your righteousness on, my humble off’ring to bring.
The judgments of Your holy law with me can have nothing to do;
My Savior’s obedience and blood hide all my transgressions from view.

The work which Your goodness began, the arm of Your strength will complete;
Your promise is yes and amen, and never was forfeited yet.
The future or things that are now, no power below or above,
Can make You Your purpose forgo, or sever my soul from Your love.

My name from the palms of Your hands eternity will not erase;
Impressed on Your heart it remains, in marks of indelible grace.
Yes, I to the end will endure, until I bow down at Your throne;
Forever and always secure, a debtor to mercy alone.

Original lyrics are by Augustus M. Toplady from the 1700′s. You can listen to the music and alternate lyrics by Bob Kauflin (1998) here.

On Sundays in the month of January, we’re singing an old, forgotten hymn put to new music, called “Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah.” Singer and songwriter Jeremy Casella who was in concert at Grace Church of Alexandria last year has recorded a wonderful rendition of this hymn. Listen by clicking here, then selecting Track 7. Download the sheet music in .pdf format here.

This hymn draws phrases and themes from Psalm 146 to remind believers of our Lord’s certain and generous care for us. It goes along with our new sermon series on the attributes of God, called Knowing God: His Greatness & Goodness. I’m thankful for Indelible Grace for resurrecting old, unsung yet theologically rich hymns like this and rekindling the church’s interest in singing them to God’s praise. Join our church family Sundays at 10:30 am as we meet for worship in Cameron Station in Alexandria’s West End and sing hymns like this to our Lord.

Hallelujah, praise Jehovah,
O my soul, Jehovah praise;
I will sing the glorious praises
Of my God through all my days.
Put no confidence in princes,
Nor for help on man depend;
He shall die, to dust returning,
And his purposes shall end.

Happy is the man that chooses
Israel’s God to be his aid;
He is blest whose hope of blessing
On the Lord his God is stayed.
Heaven and earth the Lord created,
Seas and all that they contain;
He delivers from oppression,
Righteousness He will maintain.

Food He daily gives the hungry,
Sets the mourning prisoner free,
Raises those bowed down with anguish,
Makes the sightless eyes to see,
Well Jehovah loves the righteous,
And the stranger He befriends,
Helps the fatherless and widow,
Judgment on the wicked sends.

Hallelujah, praise Jehovah,
O my soul, Jehovah praise;
I will sing the glorious praises
Of my God through all my days.
Over all God reigns forever,
Through all ages He is King;
Unto Him, thy God, O Zion,
Joyful hallelujahs sing.

©1982 Darwin Jordan Music. Used by permission. All rights reserved. CCLI License #2928610.