Music is a gift. Music can quite often soothe a troubled spirit (cf. 1 Samuel 16:14-23). There is something about music that eases the heart and mind. I have certain “go to” music when I need a bit of a lift in my own spirit, and perhaps you have the same thing. It can be instrumental masterpieces that pull together an entire orchestra in perfect harmony. Or it can be a simple acoustic song that has lyrics that perfectly fit the moment.
Yesterday I listened again to Sandra McCracken’s The Builder and the Architect album…and it’s wonderful. The second song on that album is called “Grace Upon Grace.”
In every station, new trials and new troubles
Call for more grace than I can afford
Where can I go but to my dear Savior
For mercy that pours from boundless stores.
Grace upon grace, every sin repaired
Every void restored, you will find Him there
In every turning He will prepare you
With grace upon grace.
He made a way for the fallen to rise
Perfect in glory and sacrifice
In sweet communion my need He supplies
He saves and keeps and guards my life
To Thee I run now with great expectation
To honor You with trust like a child
My hopes and desires seek a new destination
and all that You ask Your grace will provide.
The verses that this immediately brings to mind are John 1:14 & 16: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. We receive from the Lord grace upon grace. He has taken the sin of his people upon himself, but he has done more than that. His grace is abundant beyond any abundance we know - more than the abundance of wheat at the harvest. We have been given so much that it is impossible to comprehend, but absolutely worth giving God praise and it is more than enough to calm our anxious spirits.
[For a little extra this morning - go through the song and find all the Scriptural allusions]