My hope is in the Lord,
Who gave Himself for me,
And paid the price
Of all my sin at Calvary.
Chorus:
For me He died;
For me He lives,
And everlasting life
And light He freely gives.”
This was the first song we sang as a congregation yesterday morning. Having been out of church for the past two Sundays (Chronicled in last week’s posts), my heart rejoiced as we declared our faith in the cross work of Jesus Christ! (Romans 3:21-25; 5:6-11; Colossians 2:13-14; 1 Peter 1:18-19)
Next, we declared our position in Christ as complete because He has done all that is necessary for a sinner to be delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of light (John 19:30; Colossians 1:12-14).
Complete in Thee! no work of mine
May take, dear Lord, the place of Thine;
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And I am now complete in Thee.
Chorus:
Yea, justified! O blessed thought!
And sanctified! Salvation wrought!
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And glorified, I too, shall be!
We concluded our congregational singing with “His Robes for Mine.” The lyrics of this hymn describe the exchange that takes place when in my sinful state, by faith I receive Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9), the Righteous One (1 John 2:1), and for all eternity my standing before God is that I am accepted (Ephesians 1:6), clothed in Christ’s righteousness (Romans 3:23-26; 5:9-11; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21).
His robes for mine: O wonderful exchange!
Clothed in my sin, Christ suffered ‘neath God’s rage.
Draped in His righteousness, I’m justified.
In Christ I live, for in my place He died.
Chorus:
I cling to Christ, and marvel at the cost:
Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God.
Bought by such love, my life is not my own.
My praise-my all-shall be for Christ alone.
What caused such rejoicing in my heart was threefold:
- The doctrine in the lyrics resonated in my own heart because I know Christ as my very own personal, Lord and Savior (John 1:12; 3:16; Romans 10:9-13; 2 Timothy 1:12).
- There is something special about corporate worship that cannot be duplicated in the world (Psalm 100; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 2:12), especially through doctrinal hymns and songs.
- The preparation of my own heart before coming to church. As I sat in the quiet of our family room, the sun pouring in, I read Psalm 147 and especially these words recorded in verses 1, 7a:
Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Yes, it was glorious Sunday morning of worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24), and in anticipation of what it will be like for all eternity. What a glorious forever day that will be!!
From A Pastor's Heart 