Hymns of Worship

I Will Glory In My Redeemer

This song is a newer hymn written by Steve and Vikkie Cook around 2001. It is about the work of redemption Christ accomplished on the cross.

The lyrics of this song point us to the power and majesty of Christ as he accomplishes the work of redemption for His people. Consider this line:

Whose priceless blood has ransomed me.

Doesn't that sound a lot like

1 Peter 1:18–19 ESV

knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

This song should remind us of the precious blood of Christ which ransomed us from our futile and foolish ways. The blood of Christ that was perfectly holy, spotless, and clean free from the effects of the fall. Free of any sin or shame.

This precious blood was poured out not in just some generic sins for anyone who wold come to Him, but in a specific sense for a particular people. It was and is a particular redemption!

And this particular redemption is made a personal redemption when we sing,

This ransom was necessary because,

Mine was the sin that drove the bitter nails

And hung Him on that judgment tree

This work of particular and personal redemption was completed by the One who is all Powerful,

Who crushed the power of sin and death

My only Savior before the holy Judge

How often do you think of your sin being the sin that drove the bitter nails and hung him on that tree? Do we often think about our sin being the reason this redemption was needed? We should! Because, the more we recognize our sins role in redemption the more we will Glory in our redeemer! The more we will be satisfied in Him alone. The less longings we will have for the things of this world. When we ponder and meditate on the truth of the Christ redeeming us, rescuing us and, ransoming us from our bondage to slavery, our spiritual slumber, and the certain judgement we were under the more we will glory in Him!

Glory in our redeemer! The more we will be satisfied in Him alone. The less longings we will have for the things of this world. When we ponder and meditate on the truth of the Christ redeeming us, rescuing us and, ransoming us from our bondage to slaver, our spiritual slumber, and the certain judgement we were under the more we will glory in Him!

It Is Well

This wonderful Hymn was written in 1873 by Horatio G. Spafford. Spafford was an attorney and active member of the Presbyterian Church in Chicago. Many of you may remember the setting in which he wrote this hymn. He penned this hymn in the midst of the loss of all four of his daughters who died in a shipwreck on their way to Great Britain where they were headed for a vacation. Spafford had sent them ahead of him due to some urgent business and was planning to meet up with them after his business was complete. After receiving the news he headed out. While he was on a ship passing the approximate place where his daughters had drowned God gave him the ability to pen this hymn of hope!

Spafford begins the hymn writing of the great peace God has given him deep in his soul. Even when Satan should buffet him, trials would test him he had a confident assurance in his Savior. This brings me to one of my two favorite lines of the hymn.

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And has shed his own blood for my soul.

Brother or sister no matter what suffering you may be experiencing, no matter what trials you my be going through, you can have this blest assurance. That Christ knows what you are going through, He knows you are helpless, and He has poured out His blood for you!

As if that was not enough to drive us to worship, Spafford then reminds us of ---

My sin—O the bliss of this glorious thought!--

My sin—, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more; Praise the LORD Praise the LORD, O my Soul!

There is not a more glorious truth than that. The truth of the substitutionary atonement of Christ for mine and your vial, wicked, and filthy sin. Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross and our sin was placed on him and his righteousness was placed on all who would repent and believe in Him. Doesn’t that make you want to say with David,

Psalm 34:1 ESV

I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Just in case the penal substitutionary atonement of Christ isn’t enough to cause us to want to belt out it is well. How about the day when our faith shall become sight? When the sky splits,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound,

and the Lord shall descend

On this day, we will see the glorious return of our Savior, He will snatch us up, we will be with Him forever, and we will be made like Him. Because we know he is coming again, and we know he has redeemed us, we can sing.

It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well, it is well with my soul!

1 Thessolnians 4:

Let’s sing this great hymn together....