Not what My Hands Have Done

The Grand Canyon

Another favorite -actually, I think all of these songs have been my favorite- that gives such a poignant reminder of "not what my hands have done". A dear friend of ours from church pointed out how by just reading the beginning of each verse there is such a beautiful picture of redemption.

 Let's see, "Not what my hands have done can save my guilty soul;" no works righteousness, self-help, can save us. Not just plain save us, but save, " guilty soul" us. Guilty before who? God. "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight," {Psalm 51:4}. 

" And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light." Isn't funny to think of all the things the Bible records God said and it happened? That may seem like such a vast and childish thought at first, but go read and ponder. This same Lord that has spoken so much, is the same Lord that, "can speak to me of grace;". In this second verse is the solution to the first verse, "Your voice alone, O Lord, can speak to me of grace;"

  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." {2 Corinthians 4:5-6}

This third verse pretty much fly's in the face of all other thinking (christian or not), "Thy work alone, O Christ, can ease this weight of sin;"  It is Christ, and only Him, that can clean our slate, erase sin, and clear the guilty soul. His sinless life in a sinful and fallen world was, and is, significant. Therefore His death was just as significant because He took on God's full wrath, though there was no sin in Him, yet, "We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God." {Romans 6:9-10} It is Christ's who saves us. Where have we gotten the idea that there is a corner of us that is untainted by sin to choose God? There is nothing here about what we do besides sinning (but later praising and loving).

"I bless the Christ of God; I rest on love divine; ", the  sinner is now resting in the loving and gracious arms of the Savior that he has been speaking of. Not only does he rest in, but also blesses the, "Christ of God". This Christ of God, connects to same God that the sinner can't make peace with in verse 1. Also there is such firm trust and reassurance in this verse.

This last verse, "I praise the God of grace; I trust His truth and might;" is a continued growth from the previous verse. Reminds me of the first question in one of our church's catechism, "What is the chief end of man? The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." He truly is The All in All, the great I AM, and Lord! And He, "calls me His, I call Him mine, My God, my joy and light." This last verse kinda sums up the hymn, reminding, that is God who saves, pardons, and loves. It is only through Christ that we love and forgive. 
"  In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 
{1 John 4:9-10}

Not What My Hands Have Done

Not what my hands have done can save my guilty soul;
Not what my toiling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole.
Not what I feel or do can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears can bear my awful load.

Your voice alone, O Lord, can speak to me of grace;
Your power alone, O Son of God, can all my sin erase.
No other work but Yours, no other blood will do;
No strength but that which is divine can bear me safely through.

Thy work alone, O Christ, can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, can give me peace within.
Thy love to me, O God, not mine, O Lord, to Thee,
Can rid me of this dark unrest, And set my spirit free.

I bless the Christ of God; I rest on love divine;
And with unfaltering lip and heart I call this Savior mine.
His cross dispels each doubt; I bury in His tomb
Each thought of unbelief and fear, each lingering shade of gloom.

I praise the God of grace; I trust His truth and might;
He calls me His, I call Him mine, My God, my joy and light.
’Tis He Who saveth me, and freely pardon gives;
I love because He loveth me, I live because He lives.

-Horatius Bonar