Thursday, April 09, 2009

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday: On this day four events are commemorated: the washing of the Disciples' Feet by Jesus Christ, the institution of the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the agony of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Christ by Judas Iscariot.



There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel's veins
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains

Lose all their guilty stains
Lose all their guilty stains
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day
And there may I, though vile as he
Wash all my sins away

Away
Away
Wash all my sins away

E'er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be till I die

And shall be till I die
And shall be till I die
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be till I die

Wash all my sins away
Wash all my sins away
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be till I die

Song originally written by William Cowper
And here are two stanzas from the original not included in this modern version:

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power
’Til all the ransomed church of God
Be saved to sin no more.

When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave,
Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I’ll sing Thy pow’r to save.

Thank You, Father, for the gift of music and those who are able by Your grace to compose it and write it. For many of us who You were pleased to give other gifts to, we rejoice to express with these words and these songs the truths that You enabled these dear men and women to articulate in ways that we long to but probably never could. Thank You for the diversity of the body of Christ in which we are all united because of the body of Christ broken. In His precious name, Amen.

2 comments:

Mel said...

God is moving amongst His people to wake us up to the beauty and power of these timeless songs. Several people I know, including myself, have been revisiting these, and nothing could make me happier. I got to sing "How Great Thou Art" with a group the other day, the first whole hymn I've sung with a group in, I don't know... Maybe 15 years. I could hardly sing because tears were clogging my throat. I love looking up the words online and finding the verses that aren't normally sung. It's like finding buried treasure. Have you ever looked up the words to "O Sacred Head Now Wounded"? You might want to.

Happy Monday!

pilgriminconflict said...

Hey Mel,

The hymns are great, aren't they? We are blessed at my church to have a blend of contemporary music as well as traditional hymns, sometimes reset to new tunes and sometimes the original. It is truly a blessing to be able to span the centuries of musical devotion! I think we might have sang "O Sacred Head Now Wounded..." at our Good Friday service. If so, it was my first time. We sang so many songs that night that I can't even remember! The words are rich. Thanks for the pointer.

Happy resurrection Monday! (Because He is risen today, too!)