Musical Notes

Hello OCBC family,
“And they sang a new song, saying:
‘You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.’” (Revelation 5:9-10).

What a powerful image we can find in this passage of the book of Revelation. We must pay attention to the phrase, “And have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation” which is the fulfilling of the promise that God made to Abrham of a blessing to all nations. But this promise became a reality just through the merit and power of Christ’s sacrifice. And this is the last phrase of the hymn “Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder.”

This is a wonderful hymn rich in theology that celebrates salvation through Christ with both joy and reflection. And the author is the well-known pastor and former slave trader John Newton, and if you remember well, he wrote also “Amazing Grace.” This hymn was part of a collection of hymns that he created while he was serving as a pastor in Onley, England, in collaboration with his dear friend, William Cowper.

The opening of the hymn is an explosion of praises and wonder for the perfect sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

“Let us love and sing and wonder,
Let us praise the Savior’s name!
He has hushed the law’s loud thunder,
He has quenched Mount Sinai’s flame.
He has washed us with His blood,
He has brought us nigh to God.”

Also, we can read in this hymn the message of Newton about assurance of salvation. Read the third stanza.

“Let us sing, though fierce temptation
Threaten hard to bear us down!
For the Lord, our strong salvation,
Holds in view the conqueror’s crown:
He who washed us with His blood
Soon will bring us home to God.”

One thing that we can see in the words of Newton is that he combines very well emotions with deep theology, which means that you will learn sound doctrine while enjoying the hymn at the same time, for God’s glory.

Now, to close this article, let us go back to the passage of the book of Revelation, and read the last stanza of John Newton’s hymn.

“Let us praise, and join the chorus
Of the saints enthroned on high;
Here they trusted Him before us,
Now their praises fill the sky:
“Thou hast washed us with Your blood;
Thou art worthy, Lamb of God!”
​
In His service,
Israel