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Of all the Psalms, perhaps only Psalm 23 has been sung more often and in more settings than Psalm 100. The shear exuberance of its adoring praise is a rebuke to those of us with tepid hearts and merely formal love for God. This paraphrase links the major themes of Psalm 100 with another common biblical image: God is our Rock - trustworthy, steady, immovable. "For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." (Ps. 100:5) Lyrics by D. A. Carson Music by Steve James |
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Sometimes the theme of the kingdom of God has been used to support the rawest and meanest forms of triumphalism. One of the striking feautres about God's kingdom, however, is how often the New Testament perceives it to be advancing precisely in the context of brutal opposition, suffering, persecution, even martyrdom. Nowhere is this more dramatically argued than in the apocalyptic language of Revelation 12. There Satan, portrayed as a terrifying dragon, has been cast out of heaven, and knows that his sphere is limited and his time constrained, so he vents his fury against "those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus" (Rev 12:17). How do they "overcome" him? Not by overpowering him! They overcome him "by the word of their testimony" (which does not mean that they give their testimony a lot, but that they bear constant testimony to Jesus: in other words, they evangelize); they overcome him by not shrinking from death itself (Rev. 12:11). For "we extol the triumph of the kingdom of our God." Lyrics by D. A. Carson Music by Mark Hopper |
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In our great urban centers, many of us are removed from nature and do not easily reflect on some of the ways that creation, to the biblically-informed mind, points us to the glories of its Maker. The recurring questions in this song remind us that in the created order things behave according to their nature: lambs gambol in green fields, rainbows display their subtle colors in the eastern sky, forests disclose their multi-faceted beauties. So it is unthinkable that children of God, living this side of the cross, should not disclose their nature. Lyrics by D. A. Carson Music by Geoff Baker |
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What the Bible says about the person and work of the Holy Spirit is extremely rich and enormously encouraging. Sometimes we have focused so narrowly on two or three of his gifts that we have overlooked the profound ways in which the Spirit's work is tied to Jesus and his gospel. John's Gospel, especially chapters 14-16, is especially rich in such themes. And here we celebrate some of them in song. Lyrics by D. A. Carson Music by Mark Hopper |
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Isn't it shocking that we should have to be told by the Lord Jesus to remember his death untill he comes? Lyrics by D. A. Carson Music by Mark Hopper |
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Before we become too sentimental about the words of this song, we do well to remember their original context. They are part of the Lamentations written in the wake of the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 587 BC. All of the stabilizing forces of the culture had been destroyed; ruin and slaughter were everywhere. But sometimes the people of God learn best to lean on him when all other pillars are destroyed. Then, perhaps, we see things in their true proportion, and we repeat the words, "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself: 'The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him'" (Lamentations 2:22-24). Lyrics by D. A. Carson Music by Steve James |
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One of the regrettable characteristics of much of current Western evangelicalism is fear – fear of the future, of the decay of our culture, of growing relativism. Certainly there are things to bemoan, and plenty of incentives to call forth our intercession and our evangelism. But Christians must always draw comfort from the truth that God reigns. He is not frightened or threatened by perverse movements or evil empires. That is one of the important lessons to be learned from the vision of Revelation 4 and 5. The scroll in the Almighty’s hand holds all of God’s purposes in judgment and blessing. In the symbolism of the day, to approach this transcendent God, take the scroll from his hand, and slit the seals, was to bring about all of God’s purposes. No one is found who can do this, no one except the Lion who is also the Lamb. Lyrics by D. A. Carson Music by Geoff Baker |
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“Familiarity breeds contempt,” they say. It doesn’t have to be that way, but it often is. For Christians, the cross, precisely because of its familiarity, is sometimes treated with indifference, if not contempt. But the cross was not an indifferent symbol in Jesus’ day. In the ancient world, the Romans had various ways of executing people. Crucifixion was reserved for the dregs of society. The cross was a symbol of the debased, the despised, the cursed, the damned. At very least we must ask if our cross-shaped ear-rings and lapel buttons merely domesticate the symbol, or preserve its wretched shame. For here is the Master of the universe, dying in agonizing odium for the people he made. Reserve time often to meditate on the cross. Lyrics by D. A. Carson Music by Mark Hopper |
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In Psalms and liturgies, Christians across the centuries have been careful to confess their sin, both privately and corporately. It is written, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Morever, however much we sing these somber words together, we dare not dissolve their power in a corporate “we”: we must examine our own hearts individually, and then each of us must say, “I am ashamed: O Lord, forgive.” . Lyrics by D. A. Carson Music by Ian Brown |
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One of the ugliest entailments of the Fall is that each of us tends to perceive everything around us in terms of how it affects us. We may even shop for religion according to some pathetic formula as to whether or not the advertised "god" pleases us - which on the long haul makes us wonder who is really God! But one of the great truths of Scripture, a truth in which every child of God rejoices, is that God works out every thing, including our own salvation, for the praise of his glory. This hymn is a meditation on that theme, drawing heavily from Ephesians 1. Lyrics by D. A. Carson Music by Paul Boling and Gerald Edmonds |
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