"Here I Stand"

Was worshipping God with the song, "Here I Stand", when i started to ponder deeply over the meaning of the words ... what made the songwriter write them, etc. And by that, I am not professing to be an expert in songwriting - or songs for that matter; those who know me know that i am the least muscically-inclined person ever ... and that, not an exggeration whatsoever. I just pondered slightly as to the meaning of the words ... and tried - to the best of my ability (in my poor, finite mind) - relating it to Scripture.

The song goes like this:

Here I stand forgiven
Here I stand holy and righteous
You paid the price
When You laid down Your life
Jesus, I surrender all

I walk with You in my heart
I walk with You in my heart
Find me at the cross
Down on my knees
Thank You Lord for saving me

Hallelujah (x3)
Here I stand forgiven

The Scripture that came to my mind as i meditated over the song, if you haven't guessed it already, was that of Romans 12: 1 ... and the preceding 11 chapters for that matter. "Therefore, i urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." (Romans 12: 1)

Dunno why, but this verse hit me powerfully as i let the song run through my mind and heart. I believe it is fair to say that this song, as with Romans 12: 1, forces us to look back at the amazing grace and mercy of God - and compel us to offer Him our heartfelt worship as well as our lives. The reason why i sort of included the first eleven chapters of Romans was due to the simple word, "therefore", in Romans 12: 1. I believe it forces us to look back at all that was written in the preceding eleven chapters ... which, i believe, is simply the mercies of God. Mercies in that the early chapters show us clearly and convincingly that we are sinners - guilty and without excuse whatsover ....... yet, God in His goodness, grace and mercy, took the initiative to save us from our plight. We deserved nothing but punishment - yet He took our place and made a way for us.

So, the song ...

"Here I stand, forgiven ... Here I stand, holy and righteous"
As i pondered over these two lines, i came to realize that's what we are - it describes our state and status. Indeed, we are forgiven ... indeed, we are made holy and righteous (not by our own works, but by faith in the One who justifies). Why is this so? What made this possible? How can we, sinners, be forgiven ... and not only forgiven, but made holy and righteous? The next few lines in the song gives us an answer ....

"You paid the price, when You laid down Your life"
Yes, indeed, as we mentioned earlier (related to Romans 12: 1), it is simply by God's mercy that we have been forgiven and by His grace that made us holy and righteous. We didn't deserve it whatsoever; the only thing we deserved was death and punishment (Rom. 6: 23). But, even then, the penalty for sin had to be paid (otherwise God would not be a just God) ... so, He sent His only begotten Son (Note: through the giving of His Son, God was giving Himself to us) to die our death so that we may live (John 3: 16) and have this abundant life that He has given unto us (John 10: 10) -- thus the lyrics "... You paid the price [the penalty for sin], when You laid down Your life [what the penalty demands] ...".
Thus, God, in His great mercy, had done for us what we neither deserved nor could do for ourselves; He saved us.
The question that is that in view of all these (i.e. the mercies of God), what then? How ought we respond to such great a love and mercy that God has graciously bestowed upon us? The answer, perhaps, can be found in the next line of the song ... as well as in the latter part of Romans 12: 1 ...........

"Jesus I surrender all"
Yeah, as simple as that. That sums up the response it should elicit from our hearts - that of heartfelt surrender to our God and King. As Romans 12: 1 urges us to ... "in view of God's mercy ... to offer [present / surrender] our bodies [to God] as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is our spiritual act of worship". This ought to be our worship unto the Lord - that of surrendering / yielding of ourselves (our lives) to Him.
Lord, help me to truly offer and surrender my whole self to You!!!

"I walk with You in my heart (x2)"
Walking depicts living ... The life we now live ought not to be our own, but Christ's. Indeed, as Paul said, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain", we ought to so live our lives for God - walking with Him daily, in his ways of truth, love, and righteousness. This, i believe, is part of the surrendered life ... it is part of our spiritual act of worship. Walking with Jesus is a very real, personal, and intimate thing that we ought to do. In fact, that is what Christian life is all about - walking closely with the One we love.

"Find me at the cross, Down on my knees, Thank You Lord for saving me"
Not only that, but i also believe that meditation of the mercies of God (as Paul urges us to in Romans 12: 1) will cause us to fall on our knees in worship unto God for His grace in saving us. The words, "find me at the cross", i believe, depicts one who looks back at the grace and mercy of God ... and by so doing, one finds himself brought to His knees in worship ... and spontaneous worship and thanksgiving flow out from our grateful hearts - "Thank You Lord for saving me".

"Hallelujah, Hallelujah ... Here I stand, forgiven"
Oh, the thought of it all is simply overwhelming ... it ought bring about unceasing praise and worship unto our King ... the doxology that He alone deserves ought to continually be at the forefront of our lips. Hallelujah!!! Hallelujah!!! Here I stand, forgiven - because of Your great mercies!!! Oh, how great the love God has lavished upon us - that we should be called children of God (1 John 3: 1)!!!

So, there we have it ... a brief description of my simple mullings over the words of the song - and relating it to Scripture. Oh, the greatness of the mercies of God!!! How great the unsearchable depths of His love!!! Little wonder the apostle Paul, after writing eleven chapters that show, explicitly or implicitly, the mercies of God, urges us to offer ourselves to Him. And with that i conclude ... and urge us (and myself), along with Paul:

"Therefore, i urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - for this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12: 1-2)