Calvary's Anthem - A Meditation (1)

 

 

Calvary’s Anthem is the title of a prayer in The Valley of Vision, edited by Arthur Bennett and published by Banner of Truth. I have often found solace, comfort, encouragement, and inspiration in this collection of prayers and Calvary’s Anthem has spoken to me more than once. Over the past few days I have heard its Voice anew.

 

“Heavenly Father, Thou hast led me singing to the cross where I fling down all my burdens and see them vanish, where my mountains of guilt are levelled to a plain, where my sins disappear, though they are the greatest that exist, and are more in number than the grains of fine sand…”

 

I love speaking the word “Father” to our Father, I love calling Him “Abba” (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). Jesus teaches us to call Him “Father” in the Lord’s Prayer (Mt. 6:9) and if we listen to Jesus, if we watch Jesus, we come to know that He is indeed our Father and His Father, our God and His God (John 20:17; Hebrews 2:10 – 13). In one sense, the entire Gospel of John is about the Father, it is about the Son living in the Father and the Father living in the Son and you and I living in them in and through the Holy Spirit.

 

The Christian life is a life of communion with the Father, of constantly speaking His Name, of enjoying life in Him, of receiving His life and offering our lives to Him in and through Jesus Christ the Son.

 

While my Father is truly my Heavenly Father, He is very much here on earth with me. He is not far away; He lives with me and within me (John 14:23) – isn’t this a mystery? He teaches us to live in the heavens and on earth, our source of life is above, flowing from the Presence of the Trinity; we learn to express this life on earth, living in koinonia with the Trinity and with one another.

 

If we have joy in special friendships, how much more joy should we have in our friendship with our Father? How ought we to cherish every day with Him?

 

The image of singing as we approach the cross speaks of our praise to God for His love and redemption for us, inviting us to fling our burdens down and watching them vanish. We are reminded:

 

“He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:10 – 12).

 

We are also reminded that “This is the Day which the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it” is the Day of the Cross, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone, this is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” (See Psalm 118:22 – 24).

 

When we read concerning the writer’s sins, ”though they are the greatest that exist, and are more in number than the grains of fine sand” we may think, “Surely whoever wrote this could not have the greatest sins that exist, surely they could not really be more numerous than are the grains of sand on earth – whether by the oceans or in the deserts.”

 

If we think that whoever wrote Calvary’s Anthem could not have had the greatest sins that exist, if we think they could not have been as many as the grains of sand on earth, we may be right, but there is only one way in which we can truly be right and it is not a pleasant way.

 

We can only truly be right if we have come to look into the mirror and realize, “I have the greatest sins that have ever existed, my sins are more numerous than the grains of sand on earth.” For when we see ourselves outside of Christ, when we see ourselves outside of Him as we truly have been, our sins overwhelm us and we see no one else’s sin, for our sin alone engulfs us in sorrow and despair and repentance.

 

We go “singing to the cross” when we realize:

 

“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:8 – 10).

 

What song will you sing to God today?

 

To be continued….