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 old hymns.
Today’s song is In Loving-kindness, Jesus Came from 1905.
In loving kindness Jesus came,
my soul in mercy to reclaim,
and from the depths of sin and shame,
through grace He lifted me.
Refrain:
From sinking sand He lifted me,
with tender hand He lifted me,
from shades of night to plains of light,
O praise His name, He lifted me!
He called me long before I heard,
before my sinful heart was stirred,
but when I took Him at His word,
forgiv’n He lifted me. [Refrain]
3 His brow was pierced with crown of thorn,
His hands by cruel nails were torn,
when from my guilt and grief, forlorn,
in love He lifted me. [Refrain]
4 Now on a higher plane I dwell,
and with my soul I know ’tis well;
Yet how or why, I cannot tell,
He should have lifted me. [Refrain]
I remember singing this one quite often up to about a decade ago. It heavily emphasizes God’s grace in giving is the gift of salvation. From our perspective, we are making the decision to commit our lives to Christ. But we don’t take the credit. We thank God for opening up our eyes, our minds, and our hearts. All sorts of debates have gone on over the centuries about the extent to which our salvation is about what we do or what God does. In the early centuri of the Christian church, it was Augustine and Pelagius who debated the issue. In later centuries it was those influenced by John Calvin and and those influenced by Jacobus Arminius. And then, it was John Wesley and George Whitefield. I tend to be on the side of those who emphasize God’s role in drawing us to Him. But why doesn’t He draw everyone? He calls everyone to repent and believe, but some clearly are effectively called.
I spent many years reading about these debates. But many don’t bother delving into the theological or philosophical debates. Yet, the give God the credit for rescuing them from the sinking sands of unbelief.
Interestingly, Charles Welsey, who was Arminian in his theological outlook (those who emphasize our choosing rather than God’s choosing) wrote the following lines in his famous hymn; And Can it Be:
Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth and followed Thee.
So Welsey gives God the credit. We’ll know the ultimate answer to the debates when we get to heaven. Maybe God will just tell everyone to fall into line with my opinions. Or maybe not 😀.
Anyway, here are some other versions of today’s hymn:
