God gives us the gift of music as only one of the ways we can worship Him. Today I want to discuss the song Untitled Hymn by Chris Rice. Listen to a portion of this song at the iTunes Music store by clicking on the link at the left and searching for “Untitled Hymn” in your iTunes software.

This is one of my favorite songs because it summarizes the entire life of a Christian: from the time they recognized the need for God and their acceptance of Christ for salvation, all the way to their final breath when the enter into the presence of the eternal Father. I also like it because it’s played as a beautifully gentle piano solo with a mild crescendo at the end, so it can be played sweetly in any setting.

Hopefully you will have a chance to listen to it first. Let’s walk through the lyrics:

Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus – Come to Jesus – Come to Jesus and live!

We are dead in our sin. Spiritually dead, that is. We are lost in this world, not looking with any hope for the future, much less eternity. But the sinner’s heart is pricked with the Gospel call: love passes by. Love came down to lift us up, to change our heart of stone into a heart of flesh and give life to our dead soul. We come to Jesus, and we live!

Now your burden’s lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus – Sing to Jesus – Sing to Jesus and live!

As in the book, Pilgrim’s Progress, we no longer have an amazing burden on our back: the burden of sin, guilt, condemnation. We also are not burdened with having to perform unending good works to earn our way into heaven or make ourselves “good enough” before God. The job is done. Jesus has lifted this burden and carried them as far as the East is from the West. His sacrifice on the cross has washed away the stain of our sin: past, present, and future.So what do we do? Naturally we want to “Sing to Jesus” in thanks and praise.

And like a newborn baby
Don’t be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall…so
Fall on Jesus – Fall on Jesus – Fall on Jesus and live!

The Christian life is a journey. Whether you accept Christ when you’re seven or seventy-seven, you crawl at first, like a baby. Later you can run or jog and sometimes you will fall. You may fall back into sinful behavior, you may fall and flounder in your faith, but God is faithful and he will catch you when you fall, dust you off, and help you to keep walking!

Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus – Cry to Jesus – Cry to Jesus and live!

We live in a painful world. With the fall of man all of creation groans under the shadow of sin and death. This is not normal. This is not the way it was supposed to be. This is one of the reasons Jesus wept when he went to raise Lazarus from the dead. Death, pain, and suffering, are not reflective of God’s final purpose for His creation.

The world can very well be filled with pain, and you may feel alone in your suffering, but God has provided a solution by coming to earth in the form of a man, the Christ, that we may reach out to Him, cry to Him in our suffering, and live!

Another thing this verse is to lead you to consider is Jesus’ teaching that the path to eternal life is narrow. You will be persecuted. The way can be lonely and painful, especially if those you love do not know Christ. They can reject you or ridicule you. You may feel alone at times and you will weep over your Jerusalem but everything works ultimately, for God’s glory and goodness. Two verses that acknowledge this are:

Matthew 7:14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Matthew 10:21-22 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Read further in Matthew for more of what Christ warns, but don’t forget the eternal prize, and stay confident that God is in charge. (Romans 8:28)

O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can’t contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus – Dance for Jesus – Dance for Jesus and live!

There will be a time, hopefully earlier in your walk than later, that you will feel God’s love spill over in your heart. You will realize through some great moment in your life or perhaps through some trial that He is with you; He has always been with you; and he has chosen you from before you were conceived in the womb. Read Psalm 139 for a wonderful confirmation of God’s hand in, around, and through your life.

And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory’s side, and
Fly to Jesus – Fly to Jesus – Fly to Jesus and live!

Are you homesick? Our hearts are imprinted with eternity. We know there is a better life awaiting us. With our final heartbeat we can kiss the world goodbye and be welcomed home into the arms of our Father.

Singing His Tune,

-Anthony