“Here’s my heart Lord take and seal it, seal it for thy courts
above”

God’s amazing expression of love was shown through His Son Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. His death and resurrection was a guarantee that those who would believe will have everlasting life. What could possibly be enough from us to pay back such a act of love? When all that we’ve done has been covered in His blood, the countless times of rejecting His ways to pursue our
own they too have been forgiven. So, because of this, we give to Him our lives (heart), an expression from us that is just basically responding to what he has done.

Romans 12:1 says it’s our reasonable service to Him.

Ephesians 1:12-14 Because the Jews were God’s chosen people I kind of get the impression that their view of God’s grace was a bit different than the Gentiles. It’s just like the analogy of a rich kid and a poor kid. Just because the kid was born to a rich family he may not go through life struggling. The poor kid struggles and gets through life, and when he gets to a higher status quo he tends to be a bit more thankful for what he’s gone through. It’s the same way I view the Jews and Gentiles because they were
born a Jew maybe them giving their heart to God was something they didn’t think needed to be done because after all they were born a Jew and Jews are God’s chosen people. But Gentiles, who at first needed to abide by Jewish
laws in being circumcised before they could be accepted,had to deal with the struggles of being a Gentile in the Jewish community. But no matter Jew or Gentile it was with one Spirit that sealed both to be saved.

“seal it for thy courts above”

When a debt has been paid in full I always ask for “proof” that says I’ve paid my debt in full. Without that “proof” I have no
guarantee that I’ve paid in full. God’s “proof” was giving us His Holy Spirit as the guarantee that we belong to Him and we will be in His presence forever when Jesus comes to redeem us. And it’s for His pleasure that we are saved and spend eternity with Him.

I think of this huge court case and the only proof that will mean either life or death is the evidence that proves the truth. We were given a promise of the Holy Spirit(“proof”) and with that came the eternal seal(“evidence”) that will show who we belong to. In the presence of all witnesses we strive to hear the words” Well done thy good and faithful
servant.”

Because of all you have done for me Jesus I say “here’s my heart Lord take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.”

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“Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the One I love”

From the first time I really listened to the lyrics of Come Thou Fount, I found myself drawn to this line. I love the raw honesty and vulnerability it shows. It recognizes the weakness within and the foolishness of a “Peter-like” mentality when he promised to follow Jesus even to the death. Let me explain this a little clearer:

Galations 5:16-17 says:

16 “So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict.”

What this passage is saying is that without choosing to live according to the Spirit, we are setting ourselves up to give in to our old cravings. I have to recognize that I am not above sin. As much as I know that I am never going to leave my God, or deny Christ… I am just as prone to wander as anyone else in my own human efforts. I have to choose to live according to the Spirit and His desires. In a single moment of weakness, with one wrong decision, I am prone to wander. The crazy thing is that I am so excited at this truth. I love that I have to depend on Him everyday. There is a constant battle within me and that is not a sign of inadequacy or failure. The battle gives me a constant opportunity to prove my love by my obedience. Every time we choose to crucify our sinful deeds, we prove our love.

I am prone to wander. But I am now fully aware of the battle within myself and I know that I have to keep myself in fellowship with the Holy Spirit in order to keep myself above reproach.

“Thank you Lord that You have given Your Spirit as a means to put to death my sinful cravings. That You allow the battle of flesh v. spirit to take place in order to give opportunity for the Spirit to have daily victory. I know that I am weak and prone to stray, but in my weakness, You show Yourself strong and faithful and victorious. All for Your glory, Jesus. “

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“Let thy goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee”

Perhaps the best illustration of a wandering heart is an adulteress relationship. It is flawless in its depiction of God’s people roaming in and out of covenant with the bridegroom (Christ). This phrase displays the idea of being bound to the heart of Christ because of a deep understanding of His Goodness. This line is a perfect thesis statement for Hosea chapter three. He uses the prophet Hosea to depict His goodness towards his people by having Him marry a prostitute. Then woman wanders in and out of covenant with Hosea and yet he still draws her back time and time again. The word goodness seems such an understatement. I find myself searching for a better word then “goodness”. But is this very word, “goodness”, that is used in verse five that will turn the hearts of His people back to Him. We need to constantly reflect on the goodness of God, and allow it to act as the anchor to His heart. I long for a heart that is at rest. It is impossible to be at rest with when your heart is wandering. “Let your goodness act as fetters in binding my heart to Yours.”

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“O to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be”

This is a powerful line speaking on how we are compelled every day to be in Gods debt because of his grace. In Eph 2:8-9 it says:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

We are never to forget that everyday we need Gods unmerited favor in our lives, but it is also important for us to not only rely on the grace of God but move ahead into obedience through faith and act out what the Lord is telling us. Gods grace enslaves those that understand the power of it, but the freedom of that grace enables us to pursue the will of God for our lives and others. Constrained means imprisoned of confined forcefully. Romans 6:18-22

“And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” … “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.”

Before we know the grace of God that sets us free, we are enslaved or constrained by our sin, but being imprisoned by grace allows us the freedom to; one bear fruit, and two, gain everlasting life.

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“He to rescue me from danger, bought me with His precious blood”

This hymn is rich with meaning and so doctrinally sound but poetic at the same time, I will do my best to expound upon this line. The first part, “He to rescue me from danger” I think speaks of rescuing us from eternal separation from God – hell. What could possibly be more dangerous that that? It also made me think about how terrible hell must be for God to give such an incredible sacrifice just to spare us from that penalty. There is also the “danger” of living this life outside of a relationship with God and the only way we can have relationship with the Father is through the Son and through His blood.

In the next line “bought me with His precious blood” the word “bought” stood out to me and I wanted to dig a little deeper to see what that really means. Here is how the dictionary defines it:

bought – to acquire the possession of, or the right to, by paying or promising to pay an equivalent, redeem; ransom.

There it is, we have been bought and if there was any question as to whether we are our own it is answered right there. If He bought us with His blood then we are His, He acquired the rights to our lives, He took possession of us by of the sacrifice He gave on our behalf. How can we then continue to live in such pride and arrogance thinking we can receive the gift of salvation that He paid for without letting Him have the rights to every part of our life? As 1Cor 6:19-20 says:

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

Hebrews 9:14-15 says:

“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”

That word ransom appears both in the definition of bought and in that verse. The dictionary defines ransom as follows – to redeem from captivity, bondage, detention, etc., by paying a demanded price. Basically, there was a price on our heads, a demanded price that had to be paid that we could never pay ourselves and thanks be to Jesus that He paid the price for us. We are only free from captivity, bondage, etc. because He paid the required price with His life. I looked up several scriptures as it relates to the blood of Jesus and they all go back to the theme that we were sinners, trapped in a state of captivity that we couldn’t save ourselves from and headed for the place we deserved but by the grace of God He made a way back to Him through the blood of Jesus. The ultimate price has already been paid on our behalf so how much more should we live our lives in joyous, grateful submission to the one who has rescued us?

The writer of this brilliant hymn goes on to tell us more about that in the next line…….

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“Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God”

I think this is an interesting line of the song because it brings many thoughts to mind. First of all, we have never been or will we ever be a stranger to Jesus from His point of view, although from our point of view until we have a personal revelation of who He is and the magnitude of His sacrifice He is definitely a stranger to us. When contemplating this fact I am taken to Psalms 139:

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb… my frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.”

The whole chapter is emphasizing how the Lord knows each one of us intimately because He formed us in our mother’s womb. Again, this would suggest we have never been strangers to Jesus. That is why I love the use of “sought” meaning Jesus pursued us when we did not know him, even though he knew us. In a weird way it makes me think of a stalker. Someone who watches from afar but not too far that he doesn’t see all of the fine details of your life and not until He shows up and does something crazy do you ever notice He was there. That’s kind of like God. He has always been their observing our lives and not until we desperately need him do we notice he has been pursuing us all along. Upon this revelation Isaiah 55 comes to mind:

“Come, all who are thirsty, come to the waters… Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.”

Jesus has been calling out to each one of us, long before we quieted down our lives long enough to hear. But upon hearing Him, He quenches our deepest sorrows and greatest longings that our souls may LIVE!! This line of the song simply reminds me that Jesus has always been there and will always be, no matter how far we wander from His protection, His fold and when we realize that and return to Him he will spread wide His arms and run to us, upholding and embracing us. True life does not start until you know Jesus personally and He not only knows you but you know Him in return and He will seek us as long as necessary for that to come to pass.

Therefore, Hagar referred to the Lord, who had spoken to her, as “the God who sees me” for she said, “I HAVE SEEN THE ONE WHO SEES ME!” (Genesis 16:13)

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The opening lines to this read like a David psalm although not nearly as whiny and scared, much more at rest. These lines remind me of Hebrews 4 where it speaks of sabbath rest, resting in the accomplishment of Christ as the Father rested in his finished work. Hebrews 4:10 “for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his”. Resting in the sacrifice of Jesus and His work should lead us to sing this verse. God has brought us to a resting place, I rest in His grace and know His hand will bring me home(salvation).

I also find the use of God’s “hand” here especially poignant. Wherever God’s hand is at work in our lives is where we are weakest and He is strongest. When the hand of God touches us in healing, restoration, purification, it’s His holiness, His majesty, His glory falling upon us. So God’s strength will bring us home, not our works, but his grace and accomplishment has become our strength if God’s hand is at work. I think this verse does much in the way of illustrating salvation by grace through faith.

I’m really excited about the next chapter in this exposition, it’s my favorite part of the song, stay tuned.

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Praise His name I’m fixed upon it, name of God’s redeeming love” 

I’m amazed how this song mixes a psalmist sense of poetry with a strong declaration of doctrinal truth. The author, Robert Robinson, comes from a place I think we can all relate. Daily indebted to God’s grace and stirring up within ourselves our desire to remain fixed upon Christ. I was telling my pastor as we sang this last Sunday as each line passes I feel regret for not meditating on it at that moment. Each line so rich of truth.

There is a story I read online about the author who, as he says later in the song was prone to wander away from God. It was some years after his writing of the song and he was on a stagecoach as a female passenger sat next to him and began to converse. She was telling him of her faith and he spoke as though he didn’t know of Christ and had fallen away. The woman began quoting the hymn Come Thou Fount to him and told him, “These words might help you as they have helped me”. Robert began to weep and replied, “Madam, I am the poor, unhappy man who composed that hymn many years ago. I would give a thousand worlds if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then”.

What power is in the Holy Spirit as we profess the goodness of God and what he’s done in our lives. My heart broke for Robert as I read that story, that he was unable to remain fixed upon Christ, but that again through God’s unending mercy and grace He sent this woman. God sent this woman to recite the very things God had done in him years ago as a reminder of his goodness and love. In God’s persevering grace he hunts us down, Ezekiel 34:11 says “I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.”. God was searching for Robert. One of my favorite examples of Christ’s love for the lost is Matthew 18, verse 12-14 reads

“…If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about the one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way the Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost”

The Father in heaven is not willing that Robert should be lost. I love that even as we are unfaithful to what we’ve prayed and sung to heaven, that God is always faithful. That He does not cast aside our prayers as we often do. God uses our own words to remind us of our own heart, He sends people to remind us of what He’s been trying to get through to us as he sent Samuel to Eli.

It’s fitting that this story comes with this verse, cause God literally was teaching Robert to sing as he sings and showing him what being fixed upon really looks like. Those melodious sonnets came back full circle as the words Robert wrote to God, now being sung back to himself by a good and loving God, through a servant of Christ, to remind him of who he should be fixed upon.

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“Streams of mercy never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise”

The same Hebrew word (hesed) used for mercy is also translated as love. I have a much easier time comprehending God’s unending love than his unending mercy. Then to see that love and mercy are interchangeable, that mercy and grace are God’s demonstration of love, forces me to confront a limitation I’ve put on God. That limitation being that while God’s love in unending that his mercy has bounds, that sooner or later God’s going to say, “enough is enough with this guy”. Again I must realize that it’s all about Jesus and his accomplishment, not my merit. I’ve not earned anything, since God’s mercy and grace was appointed before time (2 Timothy 1:8-9), I have no authority or ability to earn persevering grace in my life. God in his unending love has extended unending streams of mercy, thank you Lord.

I love the imagery of being washed in streams of mercy as we’ve been covered in the blood of Jesus. Jesus’ accomplishment on the cross, the defining moment in human history, DEMANDS response. His continued, renewing mercy calls for songs of loudest praise. We’ve not felt the transforming power of Christ if we are not called to songs of praise. We all have major sins in our lives  we’ve been forgiven and healed from earmarked as evidence of God’s grace and mercy upon us. If we’ve been washed in his mercy and grace, God’s tuned and transformed out hearts, our spirit responds the the Holy Spirit’s call, and we give praise.

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“Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace”

God led me to this scripture in John 1:16, “From the fullness of His grace we have received one blessing after another”. Through grace I have received continued blessings. This line challenges me to put into proper perspective my life, past, present and future. That everything good, every blessing has it’s origin in grace. From the breath of life to the birth of my children, God has extended abundant grace the depths of which I can’t comprehend but pray for God to reveal.

That in response to grace that my heart would be tuned to sing thy grace. God has created in me a new heart that thirsts for him. Out of the overflow and outpouring of my heart, my mouth would sing thy grace, how could it not. I can testify now that is my deepest desire, that my life would be a song of God’s grace. By His grace my heart be tuned, molded, formed that the outpouring of my life would be a song of grace, love and hope.

I love that this line demonstrates everything empowered by God. We the believer accomplished nothing here. God in his goodness gives us every blessing, then in continued grace tune’s our hearts that we may reflect that very grace. Stay tuned(no pun intended) for line 2 tomorrow.

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