8/13/2019 Hymns of the Church
1/3
Many traditional hymns of the Church speak of our sin and God's
wrath. They
also praise God's character and attributes. They bring
conviction and
repentence as they invoke a sense of awe and wonder at God's
majesty,
ecellency and beauty. Many of these hymns follow a practical
systematic theology of Guilt, Grace and Gratitude. Traditional
hymns,
like those of Martin !uther, "ugustus Toplady, #ohn $ewton
and%illiam Cowper, are rich in theological content and reverence to
the
awesome power and wonder of God. &et the ole ones seemingly
aren't
much in vogue these days. Much contemporary Christian music
appeals
to sensual eperience at the epense of also loving God with our
minds.
(raise and worship music laden with saccharine sentimentality is
a
serious reflection of theological anemia among our assemblies.
Michael
)orton has characteri*ed some of this as #esus, my boy friend
music.
+ubjective, inane eperience comes often at the epense of
rightly
dividing the %ord. &et as disheartening as this is, there
are some
modern Christian songs that appeal to contemporary musical
tastes,
carry sound doctrinal messages and are truly Godcentered worship
and
praise. #onathan -dwards, who knew God's reality with his head
and
passionately felt God's reality in the love of his heart, is
right when he
says, God glorifies )imself toward the creatures also in two
ways /. 0y
appearing to . . . their understanding. 1. 2n communicating
)imself to
their hearts, and in their rejoicing and delighting in, and
enjoying, the
manifestations which )e makes of )imself. . . God is glorified
not only
by )is glory's being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. %hen
those that
see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only
see it. )is gloryis then received by the whole soul, both by the
understanding and by the
heart. Christian music, therefore, should be an epression of
what #ohn
(iper calls thinking truly and feeling duly. +uch music 2
believe can be
found in the work of such contemporary writer3performers as
4eformed
troubadour +teve Camp, balladeer 5on 6rancisco, evangelicals
Michael
Card and 5ennis #ernigan, and 0ritish charismatic Graham
7endrick.
This (age seeks to eplore lyrics of the music of yesteryear and
today
that convey +criptural integrity, sound doctrine and true
worship and
praise.
%)-4-'+ T)- T)-8!8G&9
8/13/2019 Hymns of the Church
2/3
$ote the richness and depth of theology contained in the
traditional hymn
penned over two hundred years ago and the new song based on
#onathan
-dwards' classic sermon in contrast with the lyrics from the
contemporary
praise and worship scene.
T%8 M85-4$ )&M$+
)old me !ord, in &our arms. )old me !ord, in &our arms.
6ill me !ord,
with &our +pirit. 6ill me !ord, with &our +pirit. Touch
my heart, with
&our love. Touch my heart, with &our love.
!ord, 2 love &ou, &ou alone did hear my cry. 8nly
&ou can mend this broken
heart of mine. &es, 2 love &ou, and there is no doubt,
!ord, &ou've touched me
from the inside out.
from %orship +ongs of The :ineyard, :olume /
" T4"52T28$"! )&M$
$ot the labors of my hands Can fulfill thy law's demands; Could
my *eal no
respite know, Could my tears for ever flow, "ll for sin could
not atone;
Thou must save, and thou alone. $othing in my hand 2 bring,
+imply to
thy cross 2 cling; $aked, come to thee for dress, )elpless, look
to thee for
grace; 6oul, 2 to the 6ountain fly; %ash me, +avior, or 2 die.
!et the
water and the blood, 6rom thy riven side which flowed, 0e of sin
thedouble cure, Cleanse me from its guilt and power, 4ock of "ges,
cleft for
me, !et me hide myself in thee.
"ugustus Toplady,Rock of Ages/
