Monday, February 05, 2007

A new favorite

Not what my hands have done can save my guilty soul;
Not what my toiling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole.
Not what I feel or do can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears can bear my awful load.

Your voice alone, O Lord, can speak to me of grace;
Your power alone, O Son of God, can all my sin erase.
No other work but Yours, no other blood will do;
No strength but that which is divine can bear me safely through.

Thy work alone, O Christ, can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, can give me peace within.
Thy love to me, O God, not mine, O Lord, to Thee,
Can rid me of this dark unrest, And set my spirit free.

I bless the Christ of God; I rest on love divine;
And with unfaltering lip and heart I call this Savior mine.
His cross dispels each doubt; I bury in His tomb
Each thought of unbelief and fear, each lingering shade of gloom.

I praise the God of grace; I trust His truth and might;
He calls me His, I call Him mine, My God, my joy and light.
’Tis He Who saveth me, and freely pardon gives;
I love because He loveth me, I live because He lives.

This was written by a Scottish minister named Horatius Bonar in 1861, which I believe he wrote during a notable revival in Scotland (can't remember the name).

In his newest cd, Nathan Clark George sings this hymn. I can't stop singing it and thinking about it. The words really speak to my heart's need for security in the cross. I struggle so much to let go of my need to measure up and dig deeper into the relationship that God wants with me. The more I struggle, the more I know that this is God's work and I need to trust Him to finish what He's started.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

THIS IS BEAUTIFUL AND REMINDS ME OF MY FAVORITE LINE FROM ROCK OF AGES - "NOTHING IN MY HAND I BRING, ONLY TO THY CROSS I CLING"

Katherine McClure said...

Hello Karen! I just wanted to thank you for leaving a comment for me; it was so nice to hear from you and follow the links between blogs to see what so many familiar faces are doing. My quiver only has the one little arrow so far but we are hopeful!

Katherine (Chandler) McClure