Of Songs that sing of the Blood, Repentance, Salvation

By Elizabeth Prata

My church service in Sundays goes from 2-2:45 (Sunday School), then the main service from 3:00-4:30. I love the afternoon schedule. It gives me time to prepare my heart in the morning, arrive unrushed at church, and enjoy the day in a different way than the usual10-12:30 timing of other churches.

On the way home from church one Sunday I stumbled onto a radio station which I had not heard before. Driving home from a sweet service filled with good music, I want to keep that atmosphere going. It's hard with today's radio programming.

In being frustrated one day with the quality of radio stations I had set on my buttons, I took some time to really search around and found WWQE "The Life". It's a Dove-award winning station. During my drive home there is a particular show called Gospel Vinyl Gold. These are Southern Gospel songs from the 50's onward that are considered classics.

I love older Southern Gospel songs, I always have. That is strange because I didn't grow up in the South and I didn't become converted until I was 42. Even as a newbie I liked these older songs. The radio station played some good ones.

Newer songs are good too. Matt Papa and Keith Getty write good lyrics. Some of these are included in the new hymnal John MacArthur and others created called Hymns of Grace. I am not against new songs. But oftentimes newer songs leave out important doctrines.

I wrote previously about a song I heard back along while driving that struck me so much I had to stop the car. It was a song of eschatology, where the rapture happened and a father was left behind. The man turned out to have been having a dream, but the song focused on the scripture from Matthew 7:21-23 where (in his dream) he discovers he is a false convert. He faces Jesus and Jesus tells him 'Depart from me, I never knew you.' When the man in the song awoke to discover it was only a dream, he hastened to fall on his knees and really repent.

How often do we hear a doing like THAT these days? How often do we even hear a sermon like that? Rarely. The essay I wrote about that song was titled "Sorry, I never Knew You" - Should we Sing Songs of Judgment?"

My pastor friend posted this morning from Patheos (a site I don't generally recommend for women) and the section of that online magazine called Church for Men. The article was titled, Where did the Call-to-Repentance Songs Go? by David Murrow.

The author is reminiscing about singer-songwriter Ketih Green. Murrow says,
As my wife and I listened to Green’s music, we were struck by how strange his late 1970s lyrics sounded to our 2019 ears. Green employed a lyrical technique that used to be common in Christian music, but is virtually absent today: the call to repentance, or CTR. CTR songs are designed to convict the singer of his own sin. 
Here are two reasons CTR songs sound so out of place today: 
1. While most contemporary worship songs focus on comfort and assurance, CTR songs point out our shortcomings. CTR songs are anything but positive and encouraging.
2. While most of today’s praise songs are sung from the perspective of the disciple, CTR songs are sung from the perspective of God (or a prophet). In praise and worship, we are the speaker, telling God how we feel about him. With CTR, God is the speaker, telling us how he feels about us. 
CTR songs are sometimes hard to listen to. Too much CTR can lead to discouragement and even legalism. However, I can personally testify to their effectiveness. Keith Green’s songs were the slap in the face I needed as a young believer.
Slap in the face is a good way to put it. When I heard Sego Brothers And Naomi's song Sorry, I Never Knew You, it WAS a slap in the face. I was dumbstruck. Lyrics like that catch your attention and re-orient the mind toward eternal things, holiness of Jesus, and our own sin. It's good to get back to that occasionally.

Bible Studies aimed at women, the publishing industry aimed at the female demographic, the songs aimed at ladies these days, tend to focus on phrases and concepts that assure women of their worth, that they are loved, that they have power and abilities, that they are esteemed, and so on. Where are the songs that call us sinners to repentance? Remind us that we are sinners? Remind us of the eternal consequences of sin? Largely absent.

I agree with Murrow that a steady diet of call-to-repentance songs would lead to dispirited attitudes and/or legalism. But a stead diet of affirming-only songs also isn't healthy. Those simply puff us up and don't always point to the real hero, Jesus. We must forget what is past but also remember we are sinners called to daily repent - as the Lord's Prayer says. (Philippians 3:13-14; Matthew 6:12). We look forward to eternity but examine ourselves now to see if we are in the faith. (2 Corinthians 4:18; 2 Corinthians 13:5).

Sorry I Never Knew You

I told the Lord that I had been
A Christian all the while
But through his book he took a look
and sadly shook his head
then placed me over on his left
and this I heard him say,
"Sorry, I never knew you.
I find no record of your birth."

Oof. A gut punch.

Bob Kauflin at Worship Matters wrote a few essays that I enjoyed on this topic. Here is his essay,Should we sing songs about God’s judgments?

Songs that Reference God's Judgments, is Mr Kauflin's follow up to the previous.

Don't avoid songs with hard truths. Ones that sing of the blood, redemption from sin, salvation. Here are a few:

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
There is a Fountain
The Old Rugged Cross
Alas and Did My Savior Bleed
When we survey the wondrous cross
All for Jesus! All for Jesus!

New arrangement:




Traditional arrangement

Comments

  1. I've been listening to the CD In the Company of Angels by Caedmon's Call recently and have been surprised at the depth of the songwriting...here are a few examples:

    LADEN WITH GUILT

    Laden with guilt and full of fears
    I fly to Thee my Lord
    And not a glimpse of hope appears
    But in Thy written word
    The volumes of my Father's grace
    Doth all my griefs assuage
    Here I behold my Savior's face
    In every page

    This is the field where hidden lies
    The pearl of price unknown
    That merchant is divinely wise
    Who makes the pearl his own
    Here consecrated water flows
    To quench my thirst of sin
    Here the fair tree of knowledge grows
    No danger dwells within

    This is the judge that ends the strife
    Where wit and reason fail
    My guide to everlasting life
    Throughout this gloomy vale
    O may Thy counsels, mighty God
    My roving feet command
    Nor I forsake the happy road
    That leads to Thy right hand

    GOD WHO SAVES

    There is life in the blood of the Lamb who was slain
    There is power, there is power in His name
    There is love pouring out of the wounds that were made
    Pouring out, pouring over our shame.

    So praise the God who saves
    Praise the God who bled
    Praise the God who was nailed to a tree
    And bore our sins upon His head

    I BOAST NO MORE

    No more, my God, I boast no more
    Of all the duties I have done
    I quit the hopes I held before,
    To trust the merits of Thy Son

    Now for the loss I bear His name,
    What was my gain I count my loss
    My former pride I call my shame
    And nail my glory to His cross

    The best obedience of my hands
    Dares not appear before Thy throne
    But faith can answer Thy demands
    By pleading what my Lord has done

    THE DANSE

    Jesus dansed into the world
    singing His heavenly song.
    He taught the danse to those who would listen
    and learn as He moved along.
    But the steps of His danse led to a cross
    where He died while the haters mocked on.
    But He dansed through death's arms
    and over hell's gate and in three days
    dansed forth from His tomb.

    I don't usually like contemporary Christian music, but a friend gave me this CD and I figured I would try to give it a fair hearing. I'm glad I did; it's been a real blessing to me.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for sharing, those are really good! A friend on our church GroupMe messaging system recommended Resurrection Letters Vol 1 & the Prologue by Andrew Peterson. I tried it, and like you, I'm glad I did. It's good to expand ourselves a bit. Usually the experiment fails because of poor doctrine or poor execution, but sometimes we're surprised by quality and it turns out all right.:)

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  2. Can you imagine what it will be like when every single believer who has ever lived will be together and we'll all be singing the same songs and every single one of us will be in harmony, both musically and mentally?? :)

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