Not What My Hands Have Done
Horatio Bonar hit a home run with this hymn. It has been one of my favorites since I first sang it some 35 years ago. It numbed me that a person could express in words the deepest realities of the gospel I was learning.
When I changed music style in the 90’s I knew I was losing some songs that could really help a believer through weighty lyrics, and now this song has come back through the work of songwriters who want to join deep truths with modern tunes and cadences. I still like that old song, but the new one is good too. You can listen to the Indelible Grace version here.
For anyone who wonders about the necessity of the gospel for every part of the Christian life, consider the second verse.
Thy grace 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 my dark unrest,
And set my spirit free.
What can free me from what lurks within? The cross alone transforms the heart. My only hope. Want more? Two lines from the next verse say it stronger, “Thy power alone, O Son of God, can this sore bondage break.”
More than forty years have I lived in His light. I still want to take care of myself and do it myself. Now that my body is experiencing the effects of having grown up children, I still try to live in my own strength and my pride is sharper. I can not hope for self improvement. And the little bits of the outside that I can effect do nothing deep within.
My only hope is Jesus.
I praise the God of grace,
I trust his truth and might,
He calls me his…. Can you still find voice after God says, I call you mine? I am undone.
Astonished.