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 Worthy is the Lamb. It’s from 2001.
Interesting to see that this video has 21M views. That’s more than my posts get 😢. I’ll have to try to catch up 😀.
Anyway, let’s get to the song. The word lamb appears through the Scriptures, often in the context of sacrifice. Interestingly, sacrifices occurred throughout the ancient world, and humans, even children were often sacrificed in some cultures.
But in the Old Testament, it was animals that were sacrificed. On one occasion, Abraham was tested by being asked to sacrifice his only son, but then God stopped him, and an animal was sacrificed in his place. It’s thought that the location of that sacrifice was the same area in which Jesus was sacrificed many centuries later. And John the Baptist introduced Jesus as follows:
John 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Then, throughout the New Testament, the term lamb is often used of Jesus. This is particularly so in the book of Revelation, which provides the title for today’s hymn:
Revelation 5:12
12 In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
And over the centuries, many hymns have been based on that verse. Here are two examples:
One phrase that surprised me in the lyrics of today’s hymn the “The Darling of Heaven crucified”. Darling isn’t a word that I associate with Jesus. But perhaps it makes more sense when you examine the origin of the word. Here’s what Copilot told me:
“Darling” is an English word used to express deep affection, endearment, or fondness toward someone you care about. It can describe a person who is especially loved, cherished, or precious.
The phrase appears in Puritan‑era devotional writing, such as Thomas Vincent’s The True Christian’s Love to the Unseen Christ, where Jesus is called “the darling of Heaven, delight of the Father, admiration of angels”
So, it’s such an amazing thing that the one through whom the world was created, the one who divides history into AD and BC, the one who is the very Son of God should have become human and sacrificed himself for us. Here’s a passage that sums it all up for me:
Phil 2:8-9
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
And here are some interesting versions of the song:
Hibernia Gospel 