Meditating on the Mystery of the Gospel

[The following is an excerpt from the Hymn Workouts book.]

The great apologist, G. K. Chesterton, once wrote, ‘The next best thing to being really inside of Christendom is to be really outside of it.’ His point was that, in the process of a culture gradually losing its Christian moorings, we often take for granted the startling and wonderful truths of the gospel. The drama of our doctrines is flattened out into a set of beliefs that no longer titillate the mind or ravish the heart. If there is anyone on the verge of being able to recite the Apostles Creed without a rush of adrenalin revving his heart, the hymns in this section are for you. They are like silver polish for a set of flatware that has lost its shine. The mind that earnestly grapples with them will discover a joyful, sparkling light dancing on old, familiar truths.

Now there are three main objectives to keep in view while studying these hymns. The first objective is to fill in important gaps of understanding and belief. A lot of Christians, for example, spend very little time reflecting on the importance of Christ’s ascension and his high priestly ministry. We have a clear sense of what Jesus was doing on earth; however, we’re not quite sure what he’s up to now that he’s in heaven. The arrangement of these hymns is intended to stretch the boundaries of thought so that unexplored pastures of the gospel are unlocked and explored.

A second objective is to find new vistas from which to observe old truths. It is one thing to visit the Grand Canyon and observe it from one of the central tourist hubs. It is something else to climb down into the Canyon and view its ridges and walls from within. The Canyon itself does not change if we view it from the top or from the bottom. However, viewing the canyon from a different angle will yield a different perspective. The beauty of the Canyon will be encountered in novel ways if we are willing to move about and change our location.

These hymns have a special power to shift the point of view from which we look at core elements of the gospel. The hymns included on the subject of the cross of Christ bear exceptional witness to this power. As many have noted, the cross is like a diamond. No single angle can reveal the full landscape of its meaning. Thus, studying multiple hymns on the cross is like standing and observing the death of Christ from a number of different perspectives. Each hymn will bring into focus a unique and awe-inspiring vista of what Christ has accomplished through his work at Calvary.

A third objective for studying these hymns is worship. These hymns are food for both the heart and the mind. Each of them was conceived by a worshipping heart, and if used for prolonged and patient prayer, they will continue to generate spiritual life among those who meditate on them. Read them as scripts for devotion. Do not just put on their thoughts; get dressed in their passions. Rehearse them again and again in the mind until their spirit becomes your spirit. Peter’s exhortation ought to be remembered as we dedicate time to reflect on these hymns: ‘Like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good’ (1 Pet. 2:2-3). I can guarantee one thing about the following hymns: they are pure spiritual milk.