Insight From Our Singing - part 11

Sometimes in our lives we need correctives to the way that we think.  Some of these are abrupt and we need to correct a wrong way of thinking.  Most of these I think however are correctives that involve becoming too committed to a way of thinking and failing to balance this according to Scripture.  One such area in which this occurs is our view of Jesus.  Allow me to test this with a few questions.

When you think of Jesus do you think of Him in terms of the revealed King returning on a white horse to conquer?   Or do you think of Him as the God-man with children gathered around Him?

When you think of the life of Jesus, do you think more about His gentleness with the healing of the masses, or do you think of the temple changers being driven out by flipping tables and whips?

Sometimes we get caught up thinking about one side of the revealed part of Scripture without taking the whole to correct our view so that we are not incomplete.  Sometimes our singing does the same.  We sing about the friend we have in Jesus.  We sing about the love Jesus has for us.  We sing about how His mercies are new.  And we forget about the coming judgment.  Or that He has come to do more than love us, but to change us.  This is why I love the song, "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence".

Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded, For with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth, Our full homage too demand.

Wait a second.  I thought Christ came to earth as a baby all cute and cuddly!  He came to demand my homage?  What a corrective. 

Rank on rank the host of heaven Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of light descendeth from the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanquish as the darkness clears away. 

At His feet the six-winged seraph; Cherubim with sleepless eye
Veil their faces to the Presence As with ceasless voice they cry,
'Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia Lord Most High.

This picture of servitude and worship is one that we desperately need to correct our self-centered, prideful ways.  Christ did come to save sinners, but that was His means of bringing honor to the Father and glory to Himself.  Songs like this can correct our perspective and are much needed to remind us that we are here to bring honor to God.