Each time I post a new song, I write a reminder that the songs we sing have great meaning and purpose. We can’t just shrug off lyrical content because “it’s just a song.” This is an important principle because lyrics teach. After corporate worship, it’s more likely that a song will stick in our heads than an exact quote from the sermon. Naturally, the theological implications and application from the text will still resound in our minds, but the melodies and lyrics of the songs are what we end up singing to ourselves. Songs provide a means for us to recall rich biblical truth in a way that spoken words sometimes cannot.
Colossians 3:16 tells us, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
It is important that we analyze the lyrics we sing. Are we faithfully admonishing each other in truth with the words we sing? Do the words we sing evoke in us awe and reverence for the God of the universe? Do they convey the gratitude in our hearts for the grace God has extended to us in the gospel – the person and work of Jesus Christ?
Questions like these are my starting point when considering a song for the King’s Chapel catalog. This week we will be adding another song to our repertoire, “Boldly I Approach” by Rend Collective. Let’s take a look at it together.
V1: By grace alone somehow I stand
Where even angels fear to tread
Invited by redeeming love
Before the throne of God above
He pulls me close with nail-scarred hands
Into His everlasting arms
Verse 1 begins where we always should; awed by God. Being blown away by the thought of being in His presence. It’s by the grace we’ve been shown in the gospel that we are able to stand before a holy God. Even angels fear to tread before the Almighty. But we’re actually invited in! How is this even possible? “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh” (Hebrews 10:19–20). It’s possible because Jesus made the way through his atoning sacrifice on the cross. When we trust in his work and put our faith in Him, we’re not begrudgingly let into Heaven, rather we’re enthusiastically welcomed into the everlasting arms of our Savior. Such an amazing truth needs to be pressed into our hearts because we are so prone to forget that we are loved by God. Which leads us to verse 2.
V2: When condemnation grips my heart
And Satan tempts me to despair
I hear the voice that scatters fear
The Great I Am the Lord is here
Oh praise the One who fights for me
And shields my soul eternally
Though we are new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) we still fight a daily battle against sin. Sometimes in guilt, we allow that sin to define us. We forget all that Christ has done, and the voice of Satan creeps in to tempt us to deeper despair. But when we remember the gospel, that Christ has defeated sin, has washed us white as snow, and his righteousness is our righteousness we silence the voice of the tempter with the even louder voice of our God, the Great I Am. The one who created everything, who freed the Israelites from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh in Egypt, who parted the Red Sea, brought water from a rock, fights for us. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Romans 8:31, Psalm 18:2).
C: Boldly I approach Your throne
Blameless now I’m running home
By Your blood I come
Welcomed as Your own
Into the arms of majesty
I love the picture painted here. What started with trepidation in verse 1 turns into a joy-filled sprint. We’re blameless in the sight of God because our debt has been paid by the blood of Jesus. We’re welcomed home. We are no longer strangers or aliens but God’s very own children. Rejoice in that!
V3: Behold the bright and risen Son
More beauty than this world has known
I’m face to face with Love Himself
His perfect spotless righteousness
A thousand years, a thousand tongues
Are not enough to sing His praise
Verse 3 takes the attention off of us and our state and focuses in on the beauty and majesty of Christ. Nothing we’ve ever seen in this world compares to the Lamb who was slain. That’s something we’ll never fully grasp on this side of glory, but we await that day with great anticipation. When will we get tired of being in his presence? When will the awe wear off? Never. Singing his praises for even a thousand years isn’t enough. He’s worthy of unending worship. The One who gave all deserves all praise and glory!
B: This is the art of celebration
Knowing we’re free from condemnation
Oh praise the One, praise the One
Who made an end to all my sin
Where does the source of joy stem from? It comes from the truth of the gospel! We’re free from the condemnation of sin (Romans 8:1)! What’s our response to such an amazing truth? Celebration and praise! When we see the full picture of the gospel we recognize our sinfulness, and it should sober us. But we also see our victorious savior, and that should move us to triumphant celebration. May this song bring you joy and encouragement in the gospel.
