In this series, I explore some of the very modern worship songs as an old guy 😀.
Select the arrow for my “general intro” (which I’m reusing for all the modern hymns that I explore)
I grew up with rock music, so it’s not such a shocking thing for me to explore these. Back in my earlier years as a Christian, we had the old hymns and some modern choruses that originated in the 1970s charismatic movement. As time went on, I started to prefer the older hymns.
Nowadays, I try to maintain an interest in all Christian music. It’s easy to find “trendy” Christian music annoying, even as a Christian 😀. I don’t know why. But I’m trying to overcome that prejudice. Perhaps the older hymns give us a sense of history, but many of these would have been similar to popular music of their day. So maybe people cringed when they first heard some of these too 😀.
Anyway, today’s hymn is Thank You Jesus for the Blood. It’s from 2021.
This is an example of a modern song that takes a very biblical view of sin and how the blood of Jesus cleanses from sin. Some traditional churches criticize modern worship songs, thinking that they lack theological content. It might be true of some songs, but I’ve explored many randomly, and I haven’t found it to be the case. I like old hymns, but sometimes their language is quite obscure. So, I like to listen to hymns from all eras.
And with worship, the key thing for me is feeling the sense of God’s presence and expressing my love and thanksgiving. I can do that with very simple words or sometimes without any words at all. Think of love between people. If someone meets their girlfriend off a train, they’ll chat about trivial things and delight in each other’s presence. It would be a strange girlfriend who expected him to recite a series of Shakespeare sonnets to her 😀. But I suppose if she requested it, he’d do it. But I don’t see anything in Scripture about God expressing a preference for pre-21st or pre-20th century hymns.
The blood of Jesus emphasizes his sacrifice; the price he paid to redeem us. Many liberal protestant churches avoid talk of sacrifice and blood. But it’s heavily emphasized throughout the Old and New Testaments. Here are five examples:
Matthew 26:27-28 (Jesus speaking at the last supper)
27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Ephesians 1:7
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
Ephesians 2:13
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
1 Peter 1:18-19
18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
Revelation 5:9-10
9 And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign[a] on the earth.”
And here are a couple of traditional hymns about the blood of Jesus:
For anyone who wants to dig deeper into the theology of the atonement, Wayne Grudem has four lectures on his Systematic Theology page. Scroll down to The Doctrine of the Atonement on that site.
I’m a big fan of theology, but I would imagine that many believers have a simple child-like faith. They don’t attempt to understand all the theories, debates, and facets of the atonement, but like the dying thief, they simply reach out to Jesus in repentance and faith. And they thank him for paying the price of sin on Calvary.
Thank You Jesus, for the blood applied
Thank You Jesus, it has washed me white
Thank You Jesus, You have saved my life
Brought me from the darkness into glorious light
Here are some interesting versions of the hymn:
Hibernia Gospel 
Thanks! I think there are a lot of Christians who don’t realise there are other soteriologies. I like Rene Girrard. There’s a book – Saved From Sacrifice, a theology of the cross by S. Mark Heim, which I am just starting. I like watching Girrard interviews, he was such a treasure store of biblical knowledge, along with thoughtful analysis.
I like the modern songs for worship, but also some older songs… Amazing Grace and Abide With me, to mention just two. And, I nearly forgot- Bread of Heaven. We is of Welsh ancestry. 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person