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 Voice of Truth from 2004.
I see the story behind the song on YouTube. I love the reference to Jesus walking on the water – Peter tried, had some success, but sank. Yet he was rescued. It wasn’t his only failure, but he ended up proclaiming the gospel on the day of Pentecost and being a key figure in the early church.
It would be nice to click our fingers and have perfect faith, but we can’t do that. It’s an ongoing thing. We’ll always have forces pulling us away from Jesus. But we look to Him and open our ears to the voice of truth.
Matthew 14:28-33
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
It’s interesting how Jesus didn’t begin his ministry by explaining that He was both human and God or describe the Trinity in theological terms. He generally allowed people to draw their own conclusions. In the New Testament, when anyone showed anything like worship to humans or angels, they were taken to task. Not so with Jesus. If He had been anything other than God, He would have swiftly rebuked people for worshipping Him.
Yet, as a Human, He prayed to the Father and decribed Him as His God. I can understand why some in the early centuries of the church became confused about the Trinity. If you just focus on some verses, you might conclude that Jesus is God and not a real human, a human without being God, or something in between. But He is God as if he were not human and human as if He were not God. He is both, and He remains human. I remember a new Christian wondering if Jesus was absorbed back into God when He returned to heaven – but no. We build our teaching on Scripture rather than our speculation – unless we’re trying to start a cult or some new religion 😀. But that’s forbidden in the New Testament.
Anyway, here are some other versions of today’s hymn:
