I’ve been exploring some of the very modern worship songs as an old guy 😀. But now, I’ve decided to alternate between very modern hymns, old hymns, and in-between hymns, namely the worship songs from the 60s to the 90s that feature in hymnbooks such as Mission Praise. Today it’s the turn of the very modern hymns.
Today’s song is Broken Vessels (Amazing Grace). It’s from 2014.
It’s one of several modern hymns that include some lines from Amazing Grace and echo its sentiments. Broken Vessels is an interesting title. Why Broken Vessels? You get a clue from some of the verses:
All these pieces, broken and scattered
In mercy gathered, mended and whole
Empty-handed but not forsaken
I've been set free, I've been set free
You take our failure, You take our weakness
You set Your treasure in jars of clay
So take this heart, Lord, I'll be Your vessel
The world to see, Your life in me
So through sin, humanity is broken, but God can put us back together and use us for His glory. I think of these few verses:
John 15:5
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Philippians 4:13
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
2 Cor 4:7
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
I’d really like if more of the fans of old hymns checked out some of the new hymns and vice versa. This one is a nice bridge between the old and the new. Think of how John Newton would feel to see young people in the 21st Century singing out his lyrics. I don’t imagine that many songs from 1772 have had such an impact, unless you count Auld Lang Syne, Rule Britannia, and Yankee Doodle Dandy 😀.
Anyway, here are a few other interesting versions of today’s hymn:
Hibernia Gospel 