“Holy Spirit End our Sadness…”

The following are the words of Lutheran minister Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676), considered by many to be Germany’s greatest hymn writer. We will be singing it this coming Pentecost Sunday. My favorite lines are in the first stanza: “Come, O Source of sweetest gladness; Breathe your life and spread your life.” Only through the new birth and the sanctifying power of the Spirit shining the life and light of Christ into our souls, can we ever hope to experience the sweetest gladness that the Lord has laid up for His people in the person of His Son. May this be your prayer as you prepare your souls to worship the Lord on this Pentecost Sunday.

Holy Spirit, end our sadness;
Pierce the clouds of sinful night;
Come, O source of sweetest gladness,
Breathe Your life and spread Your light!
Hear, O hear our supplication,
Loving Spirit, God of peace!
Rest upon this congregation,
Great distributer of grace!

From the height which knows no measure
As a gracious show’r descend.
Bringing down the richest treasure
We can wish, or God can send!
Help us flee what e’er would harm us,
Both from error and from sin.
Guard us, less the world alarm us,
Holy Fountain, cleanse within.

Be our friend on each occasion,
God, omnipotent to save!
When we die, be our salvation,
When we’re buried be our grave.
Seat us with Your saints in glory,
When from out the grave we rise,
Then forever we’ll adore You,
Round Your throne above the skies.

Jesus Long Awaited Prophet- A Hymn on the Threefold Offices of Christ

The following is a hymn I recently wrote on the threefold offices of Christ.  It is set to the tune of “Cwm Rhondda” (Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah). You can access the tune here.  We will sing the text this coming Lord’s Day.

Jesus, long awaited prophet;
Purify our sinful minds;
Open hearts by Satan darkened;
Rise, O Lord, and on us shine!
Truth Incarnate, Truth Incarnate
Give us eyes that we may see!
Give us eyes that we may see!

Jesus, Great High Priest for sinners;
Hear our supplicating cry;
Substitute for vile transgressors;
Plead thy righteousness divine!
Friend of sinners, Friend of sinners,
Grant us faith to rest in Thee!
Grant us faith to rest in Thee!

Jesus, King of Grace and Glory;
Son of David, Son of God;
Nations fall and bow before Thee;
Crowning Thee the Lord of all!
King of Heaven, King of Heaven,
Thou shall reign eternally!
Thou shall reign eternally!

Prophet, priest, and King forever;
All perfections in Thee meet;
None on earth and none in Heaven;
Loveth sinners more than Thee;
Brightness of the Father’s glory,
Grace and truth so full and free!
Grace and truth so full and free!

Incarnate Savior God Divine- An Advent Hymn

Incarnate Savior, God Divine,
The Father’s Son before all time,
True God of God in ages past,
Creator God, the First, the Last.

Begotten of the Father’s love,
Pure Light of Light, eternal Lord,
In Mary’s womb my flesh assumed,
To seal the ancient serpent’s doom.

Thou kept the co-ve-nant of life,
And in thy flesh didst reconcile,
Thrice holy God and sinful man,
To conquer Satan, death and sin.

Thou bore the wrath reserved for me,
By dying on the cursed tree,
Cut off, forsaken, left to die,
My sinful flesh thou cru-ci-fied.

Thou rose victorious from the grave,
And in thy re-surr-ection raised,
All those the Father gavest Thee,
All thy elect, from death to free.

Lo, in thy Person death hast died,
And Thou wilt come to glorify,
The church from every land and tongue,
Alone, in Thee, our victory’s won.

Take All Thy Anxious Fears and Cares

The following is a new hymn I wrote which surveys the ground of Christian hope and perseverance for those laboring under the weight of anxiety.  I hope it proves edifying and encouraging as you encounter fears and cares in your own life.

Take all thy anxious fears and cares,
All thy despondent sighs and tears,
Before the throne of sovereign grace,
Where Jesus ever lives to save.

Yea, each and every sheep he knows,
He feeds and nourisheth his own,
Not one of all the chosen race,
Will he despise or e’er forsake.

He wears my flesh in heav’n above,
With sympathy and tender love,
He intercedeth in my name,
And pleads His blood for my soul’s sake.

His Spirit gives to cheer and bless,
To work in me true righteousness,
With groans divine lifts up my cries,
And all my prayers He sanctifies.

My guilty conscience purifies,
In his perfection justifies,
Adopts me as an heir and son,
In Christ alone my victory’s won.

On that great day my flesh He’ll raise,
And call my body from the grave,
With all the saints of God I’ll rise,
To meet my Savior in the skies.

His law-exalting righteousness,
Shall cover me and be my dress,
No goodness of my own I’ll claim,
But wholly boast in Jesus’ name.

All sin and sorrow conquered then,
When death shall meet its final end,
The tears that once fell from my eyes,
Shall by Christ’s gentle hand be dried.

Lo, when in glory I shall see,
The pier-ced wounds which bled for me,
I’ll praise the wisdom that ordained,
The bitter cross of grief and pain.

O thou my soul do not repine,
For thou art Christ’s and Christ is Thine,
Fret not thy days on earth away,
Thy Lord and God is strong to save.

Cast All Thy Burdens on the Lord (Revised and Finished)

Here’s the revised and finished version of the hymn I posted last night.  We’ll be singing it this coming Lord’s day to the tune of “Germany” (commonly sung with “Jesus Thy Blood and Righteousness” or “God in the Gospel of His Son”).  You can listen to the tune here.  The hymn begins with the call to cast our burdens upon the Lord (first stanza), moves into the context in which the prayer is made (second stanza), and then surveys the foundation upon which the prayer in stanza 1 is built:  Jesus is Immanuel (3), Jesus is Incarnate God for the sake of his people (4), Jesus intercedes and sings over us in heaven as the ascended Lord (5), Jesus will soon come to remove all the anxious cares we daily encounter (6).  The last stanza is a resolve to bless and praise the faithfulness of the Lord in the light of everything we’ve just sung.  The Son of God who wears the flesh of his people can no more forsake them than He can undo His Incarnation.  He will not, yea cannot, leave his church a prey to hell.

Cast all thy burdens on the Lord,
And lean upon His gracious Word,
Thy anxious cares lay at His feet,
Repose in Christ, the Prince of peace.

For I am weak and sore distressed,
And prone to doubt Thy faithfulness,
My mind besieged by unbelief,
My heart bowed down with pain and grief.

In Thee my sweet Immanuel,
All fullness of true God does dwell,
The Lamb of God before all worlds,
Whose blood avails amid the storm.

Thou clothed thyself in human flesh,
To usher in my Sabbath rest,
For me all fierce temptations faced,
And on thy head God’s wrath was laid.

In heav’n before the Father’s throne,
Thou intercedeth for thy own,
I hear thy tender pardoning voice
It sings oe’r my poor soul with joy.

Soon, when in glory I shall see,
My Prophet, Priest, and Reigning King,
All tears and cares shall melt away,
Before the Light of endless day.

So in the fiery trial I’ll bless,
The glories of Thy faithfulness,
For thou cannot forsake my soul,
And leave thy child a prey to hell.

Cast All Thy Burdens On the Lord

The following is a short hymn/meditation I wrote on the subject of anxiety which begins with a call to trust in the Lord and concludes with the hope of new creation when our faith becomes sight.  Christ and Christ alone is the divine antidote for those anxious cares which plague the minds and hearts of believers living as exiles in a sinful world.  Christ and Christ alone gives us the rock solid confidence that soon all our worldly sorrows will melt away in the light of eternity.

Cast all thy burdens on the Lord,
And lean upon His gracious Word,
Thy anxious cares lay at His feet,
Repose in Christ, the Prince of peace.

For I am weak and sore distressed,
And prone to doubt Thy faithfulness,
My mind besieged by unbelief,
My heart bowed down with pain and grief.

In Thee my sweet Immanuel,
All fullness of true God does dwell,
The Lamb of God before all worlds,
Whose blood avails amid the storm.

Soon when in glory I shall see,
Thou my true bridegroom, God, and King,
All anxious cares shall melt away,
In glory bright, in endless day.

So in the fiery trial I’ll bless,
The glories of thy faithfulness,
For Thou cannot forsake my soul,
And leave thy child a prey to hell.

 

Communion Hymn for Lord’s Day 10/29/2017

As I mentioned in a previous post, I wrote this as a communion hymn for those believers laboring under the weight of guilt and shame as they approach the table. We’ll be singing it this Sunday before receiving the Supper to the first tune of “Just as I am” on p. 431 in the Trinity hymnal.  You can listen to the tune here.

One of the key insights of the Reformation- heralded forth by both Luther and Calvin, in spite of their disagreement over the mode of Christ’s presence- is that the Lord’s Supper is gospel, a gift of divine grace for sinful believers in need of assurance.  The Lord’s Supper is not so much a sign of our devotion to God as it is a sign of God’s devotion to his people in the person of Jesus.  While the elements of bread and wine are not transformed into the physical flesh and blood of Jesus Christ so that his flesh is locally present in the elements, these elements, nevertheless, have been given to us so that we might, by faith, receive the sanctifying body and blood of our Savior.  Though Christ is in heaven and we are on earth, by the power of the holy Spirit we are raised to commune with the whole Christ in the heavenly places, receiving- in union with Him-the full assurance of pardon and cleansing.  In the Lord’s Supper, a feast is set before weary and sinful souls, a heavenly banquet that invades this present evil age and provides us with a foretaste of the age the come.  As James F. White observes:

“The eucharist is always on the edge of time, looking to the eschaton by proclaiming ‘the Lord’s death until he comes’ (1 Cor. 11:26).’  It is a foretaste of the final culmination of things when Christ’s beloved will feast with him in his heavenly banquet. It sums up all God’s previous work (commemoration) and thrusts us onwards to what follows creation and redemption in the final consummation. It not only helps us envision what lies ahead but helps us already participate in it in a limited way.”

And so, as we approach the table of the Lord on this coming Lord’s day, let us remember that no matter who we are or what we’ve done, if we are receiving and resting in Jesus Christ alone, his heavenly body and blood are the everlasting portion of our souls and nothing- not even our most grievous sins- can separate us from this precious gift.  As we offer up our feeble prayers, songs, and praises, we are assured that there is a perfect worshiper in heaven who purifies our prayers, sweetens our songs, and perfects our praises.  As we worship Christ in heaven, He worships with us and for us as our vicarious high-priest, offering up to the Father what we cannot offer up in ourselves.

My soul bowed down with fear and shame,
To Christ the Lamb lift up thy face,
His wounds, His cross, His blood, His death,
His everlasting righteousness:

Forever thine inheritance,
Thy life, thy goodness, thy defense,
Thy safety, thy eternal bliss,
Thy peace, thy joy, thy hope, thy rest.

So come my soul well fur-ni-shed,
To feast on Christ the living Bread,
To drink, by faith, His precious blood,
To taste His grace, to see His love.

For Christ the perfect worshiper,
Thy praise perfects, thy prayers makes pure,
Thy songs He sweetens with his voice,
Thy thanks to God He sings with joy.

From God’s right hand He lifts thy head,
To see in Him thy soul’s true friend,
In heavn’ly places raises thee,
To reign with Him, the King of Kings.

So why art thou bowed down with shame?
And his sweet mercy fear to to claim?
Thy name is graven on his heart,
He cannot, from thee, e’er depart.

 

Sweet Friend of Lonely Sinners Come, Contd.

I added these four verses to the text I posted a few days ago as I was thinking and praying about an individual in our church laboring under the weight of a debilitating illness which causes very severe pain.  The gospel does not, in this age, deliver us from the sufferings of this present life.  But those sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed to us (Rom. 8:18).  Very soon our tears will give way to eternal joy.  Until then, we rest in the everlasting arms of our Savior who carries us safely through every valley we encounter.

O soul rage not against his will,
Thy mind be calm, thy heart be still,
For Christ shall soon from heav’n descend,
And on that day thy pain shall end.

So do not doubt thy Savior’s grace,
Look up and see his smiling face,
For thee he lives, for thee he died,
And all thy sorrow sanctifies.

In this dark moment it may seem,
That bitter tears shall never cease,
But when thy earthly race is done,
Ye will rejoice in heav’n above…

And praise the wisdom that ordained,
The sanctifying cross of pain,
Til then, O soul, be not alarmed,
For thou art safe in Christ’s strong arms.

Sweet Friend of Lonely Sinners Come

The following is a text in long meter (8.8.8.8) I wrote a few years ago on the healing and sanctifying power of Christ’s high-priestly ministry for those in the midst of mourning and grief.  I’m reminded again of how the Incarnation of Jesus Christ is gospel for weak and weary sinners struggling through the wilderness of this world.  The good news of his vicarious humanity is a healing balm for wounded souls:

Sweet friend of lonely sinners come,
Revive the work thou hast begun,
Drive out all unbelief and fear,
With stores of comfort, Lord, draw near.

Thy smile, O Lord, I cannot see,
Dark clouds of pain loom over me,
So bruised by grief and doubt untold,
So crushed by evils manifold.

Yet Christ, on earth, was tempted sore,
My shame he took, my flesh he wore,
My tears he wept, my grief he felt,
And every trial of mine he met.

Now from his resurrection throne,
He lives to help and save his own,
So to the mercy seat I’ll flee,
And rest in Him who lives for me.

 

 

My Soul Bowed Down With Fear and Shame

I wrote this text as a communion hymn for those believers who approach the table with feelings of guilt and shame. It’s a hymn devoted to the all-sufficiency of Christ with particular attention given to his priestly office. It’s in 8.8.8.8 meter and can be sung to a variety of familiar tunes.

My soul bowed down with fear and shame,
To Christ the Lamb lift up thy face,
His wounds, His cross, His blood, His death,
His law-exalting righteousness-

Forever thine inheritance,
Thy life, thy goodness, thy defense,
Thy safety, thy eternal bliss,
Thy peace, thy joy, thy hope, thy rest.

So come my soul well furnished,
To feast on Christ the living Bread,
To drink, by faith, His precious blood,
To taste His grace, to see His love.

For Christ the perfect worshiper,
Thy praise perfects, thy prayers makes pure,
Thy songs He sweetens with his voice,
Thy hymns to God He sings with joy.

From God’s right hand He lifts thy head,
To see in Him thy soul’s true friend,
In heavn’ly places raises thee,
To reign with Him, the King of Kings.

So why art thou bowed down with shame?
And his sweet mercy fear to to claim?
Thy name is graven on his heart,
He cannot, from thee, e’er depart.