Another Blogger Who Will Probably Do This Better

Rich at Sound Doxology has just come on line, and he has some interests in common with mine. He also appears more qualified than I to speak on many of these issues. Welcome to the BlogOSphere, Rich!

"Give us clean hands" doesn't give us a Christ or a cross

7/14/2011: I'M RECONSIDERING WHAT I HAVE SAID IN THE POST BELOW
Ht: Anonymous comment from a couple of days ago.

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Give Us Clean Hands by Matt Redman and Charlie Hall

This song lacks Christ and Him crucified.

We are powerless to do all of the good things proposed in the song. Our hearts are idol factories. And we can have none of this without Christ's death on the cross, his burial and resurrection and our repentance and faith in Him.

Yes, we need the Spirit to make us humble, but first we need Him to regenerate us and give us faith in Christ.

It seems that here "the law" isn't so bad and "the gospel" isn't so sweet.

Michael Horton in Modern Reformation Magazine says

The church exists in order to change the subject from us and our deeds to God and his deeds of salvation, from our various "missions" to save the world to Christ's mission that has already accomplished redemption. If the message that the church proclaims makes sense without conversion; if it does not offend even lifelong believers from time to time, so that they too need to die more to themselves and live more to Christ, then it is not the gospel.

Give Us Clean Hands by Matt Redman and Charlie Hall

We bow our hearts, we bend our knees
Oh Spirit come make us humble
We turn our eyes from evil things
Oh Lord we cast down our idols

So give us clean hands and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Oh give us clean hands and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another

Oh God let this be a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, oh God of Jacob
Oh God let us be a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, oh God of Jacob

We bow our hearts, we bend our knees
Oh Spirit come make us humble
We turn our eyes from evil things
Oh Lord we cast down our idols

So give us clean hands and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Give us clean hands, oh God and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another

Oh God let us be a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, oh God of Jacob
Oh God let us be a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, oh God of Jacob

Oh God of Jacob
(Give us clean hands)

So give us clean hands and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Give us clean hands, oh God and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another

Oh God let us be a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, oh God of Jacob
Oh God let us be a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, oh God of Jacob

Oh God of Jacob
Oh God of Jacob

Give us clean hands and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Give us clean hands, oh God and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another

Oh God let us be a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, oh God of Jacob
Oh God let us be a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, oh God of Jacob

Oh God of Jacob

Simul Justus et Peccator

“Righteous and at the same time a sinner.”
(Martin Luther)

Luther recognized that although we are redeemed by the blood of Christ and judged righteous on this basis, we remain sinners before our ultimate glorification at the end of the age.

The song Amazing Love by Billy James Foote contains these oft-repeated lines:

Amazing love, I know it’s true:
It’s my joy to honor you.
In all I do I honor You.

News flash: In all I do, I do not honor God. I cannot sing these words without lying. I wish those who would impose this song on a congregation would tighten up the theology.