"Oh to Grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be.
Let thy goodness, like a fetter
bind my wandering heart to Thee!"


Thursday, February 28, 2008

Sweet Redemption

It’s the most amazing thing that has happened yet.
It’s a mystery Father, that I still don’t get.
How is it Lord, that you have set me free
From the most trapping of sin that was enslaving me?
You see, seems just days ago I cried out to Thee
Because my heart was succeeding in deceiving me.
And now my heart rejoices with such liberty
That you allow me to take part in this ministry.

Because You, my Lord, are in the business of
Reconciling sinners back to their first Love.
Beckoning us to come, even when the road looks dark
And we see nothing but sin entangling our hearts.
So helplessly, we ask you to help us flee
From the idols of our youth, oh Lord, come please!
Because if left alone, our flesh takes over with ease
Leaving us with an emptiness this world vainly leaves.

But you longsuffer, Lord, and thankfully so
Redeeming the wrath that we rightfully sow
Intervening on behalf of the children you chose
Washing us clean from our head to our toes.
And so my friends, with a grateful heart I now say
That the most dreadful of sins cannot keep Him away
If you’re His, you are His til the last of the days
As He compels you to follow in His Son’s holy ways.

So to the sinner who sits and with sorrow cries out
Because unbelief is so real to their heart filled with doubt
To the one who just can’t seem to do what they say
Instead keeps going back to the most ungodly of ways
I tell you, look up, and be reminded again
That the Lord can set you free from this mindset of sin
No longer a slave to the world or its friends
You died with Christ, and so now live in Him.

Resist the devil and he will flee from thee
But how can you resist him when you are under his decree?
So I ask you dear sinner, has your soul been set free?
Are you a child of the Most High and He’s just chastening thee?
You see, the problem is you still love your sin
And you follow your lusts over and over again
I tell you this truth in love as a friend
You must repent and trust, you must be born again.

There is a war out there, and the battle is for your soul
You must put on the armor of truth, not it part, but in whole
Conforming to the image of Christ is the goal
But I tell you the first step is the old idols must go.
Put on the new nature, the nature of Christ
And watch as the Lord does His work in your life.
I tell you the truth it’s the most wonderful thing
Being set free from my chains by my Savior, my King.

2 comments:

Jen2 said...

Absolutely recommend it.....the works of Jonathan Edwards, especially Religious Affections have been probably the most inspirational of any author for my Pastor John Piper.

If you ever listen to pastor Piper online, you will recognize much of the thought when you read Edwards.
It is precious and deep truth.....
agh.
It's what started the reformation of my faith.
I was like "what?, you mean, that I'm not autonomous?"

Joyful, yet sorrowful reading.
In Christ Jesus with you,
Jen

Nick Allen said...

Hi Susan,

My name is Nick Allen and I live in New Zealand. I stumbled upon your blog, quite by accident, while looking for some sermons by Paul Washer. I see that you have posted a few sermons of his, and others, on YouTube. Do you have the original (ie mp4 or wmv) files for those?

I am the youth leader at my church and would really like to show these to some of the youth. Unfortunately, the internet is pretty slow down here in NZ, and streaming videos can be a bit of a problem.

If you could email me at nicholas.peter.allen@gmail.com I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks so much.

In Christ,
Nick Allen

PS. That is a truly beautiful poem.