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O Great God

This Sunday, we will be singing a new song together and I wanted to share it with you beforehand so you could have a chance to listen to it, read the lyrics, and think about its rich meaning.

CLICK HERE to listen to it.

VERSE 1
O great God of highest heaven
Occupy my lowly heart
Own it all and reign supreme
Conquer every rebel power
Let no vice or sin remain
That resists Your holy war
You have loved and purchased me
Make me Yours forevermore

VERSE 2
I was blinded by my sin
Had no ears to hear Your voice
Did not know Your love within
Had no taste for heaven’s joys
Then Your Spirit gave me life
Opened up Your Word to me
Through the gospel of Your Son
Gave me endless hope and peace

VERSE 3
Help me now to live a life
That’s dependent on Your grace
Keep my heart and guard my soul
From the evils that I face
You are worthy to be praised
With my every thought and deed
O great God of highest heaven
Glorify Your Name through me

 

I’ve been really encouraged by this song and I hope you will too.  It reminds us of the Gospel in that, before the work of the Spirit in us, we were dead in our transgressions – blind and deaf – and by the grace and mercy of God, through faith, we have been given life.

It reminds me of Ephesians 2:
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved athrough faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.


Reign In Us

I wanted to post a bit about a new song we are planning to do this Sunday as part of our worship service called “Reign In Us” by Starfield.

I heard this song originally when it came out a few years ago, but forgot about it until hearing it at the Marriage Conference a few months ago.  The truths this song is about have a lot to do with what we’ve been discussing in our services: God’s sovereignty and God’s omniscience.

Here are the lyrics:

Verse 1:
You thought of us before the world began to breathe
You knew our names before we came to be
You saw the very day we’d fall away from you
How desperately we need to be redeemed
Lord Jesus, come lead us
We’re desperate for Your touch

Chorus:
Oh great and mighty One
With one desire we come
That You would reign, that You would reign in us
We’re offering up our lives
A living sacrifice
That You would reign, that You would reign in us 

Verse 2:
Spirit of the living God fall fresh again
Come search our hearts and purify our lives
We need Your perfect love we need your discipline
We’re lost unless You guide us with Your light
Lord Jesus, come lead us
We’re desperate for Your touch

Bridge:
We cry out for Your life to refine us
Cry out for Your love to define us
Cry out for Your mercy to keep us blameless until You return

If you’d like to listen to it, the song is available on iTunes here.

A good portion of the verse is taken from Psalm 139 – acknowledging the fact that God, in His omniscience, knew us before we came to be. “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (Psalm 139:16). The whole Psalm is telling of this knowledge, omniscience – even David says, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it” (Psalm 139:6). Reflecting on this is so important. It really reminds us that God is not a God of chance. He is purposeful and fully about making His glory known.

The chorus and bridge are such great petitions to God: That He would reign more fully in us and He would refine us, continue His work in us, and that He would make us and keep us blameless until His return.

In the second verse, there is more from Psalm 139 and a rare, but necessary, acknowledgement of our need for the Lord’s discipline in our lives. You don’t see that in many songs and I’m glad it’s there.

I hope that you enjoy this song, find the truths in communicates to be encouraging, and that it may spur us to give praise and glory to God for the reminder of those truths.

Posted in Articles, Songs, Theology, Posted by Mike. No Comments


"Him we proclaim,
warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom,
that we may present everyone mature in Christ."
(Colossians 1:28, ESV)

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