Worship - November 2021
One of the awesome things about fall is that right smack dab in the middle of November is DNOW. As part of DNOW I get the amazing privilege of putting together a band and leading worship for our students as they spend the weekend diving into God’s Word and growing
together. This is also a great time to introduce them to some new music, which sometimes is actually pretty old music. Last year, along with some other songs, we taught the students All the Way My Savior Leads Me, I Stand Amazed in the Presence, and a modernized version of Be Thou My Vision. But we didn’t stop there. During the course of this school year the student band has been leading worship at their Sunday night student gatherings, and our young people are continuing to sing these songs, including a modernized version of The King of Love My Shepherd Is. The tempos are different, the accompaniment is different, and on a couple of them the melodies are even different. But the gospel truths, which have been sung by the church for generations, are the same.
This year we have some more music picked out for them, and we are continuing to prioritize songs that are rich with biblical teachings and the power of the gospel. By God’s grace these songs will be a discipleship tool for these students, and this young generation will carry these songs with them as they are sent out as lights into a dark world.
I am very excited about the music we have picked out for them this year, including one of my favorite hymns. We will be teaching them Rock of Ages, although it’s quite a bit different from the tune most of us think of. Honestly, you may not even recognize the song if it were not for those powerful words, but we are going to teach our students those wonderful words that have been sung for generations. And when I say these words have been sung for generations, I mean something like ten generations. The words were originally published 245 years ago in 1776, although the tune we all know and love would not be composed until about 55 years later. I did not realize it at first, but the tune the students will be learning was actually written about 170 years ago and has fairly commonly been used with Rock of Ages in Europe over the last century and a half.
I don’t know how many times we sang Rock of Ages during the four years I was serving in western Kentucky, but like I said, it’s one of my favorite hymns. What I found peculiar, though, was that every time we sang it people would tell me that it’s a funeral hymn. Now don’t get me wrong, I think it is a wonderful song to sing at a funeral. It reminds us that our hope, comfort, and security is found only in Christ, and that even when we behold Him on His glorious judgment throne one day, still we will be hidden in him. However, these gospel saturated words are pertinent in all seasons of life, not just during times of bereavement. They help us to “seek the things that are above,” as Paul instructs us to do in Colossians 3, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God”
(vv. 2-3). This hymn helps us to turn our attention to the things above by reminding us Christ has given us His righteousness and has redeemed us that we may live in a manner worthy of the gospel (Philippians 1:27).
I love Rock of Ages because it helps us to sing the gospel, and we need the gospel every day. We don’t just need it at the beginning of our spiritual journey and at the end of this life, but every day in between, and then for all eternity. Verse 3 reminds us, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling… Foul, I to Thy fountain fly. Wash me, Savior, or I die!” No matter how long we have been saved, we are still wholly dependent on the righteousness of Christ, not anything good that we have done since the day we received Christ. The cross doesn’t just give us fresh start and a clean slate, leaving us to our own devices after that. The blood of Christ is “of sin the double cure” because it both saves us from the wrath of God and it makes (and continues to make) us pure. Our goal is not to become less dependent on Christ, it is to glorify God through our dependence on Christ. This precious hymn with which we are arming our students reminds us that we never outgrow our need for Christ and we never outgrow the gospel!