Before the throne of God above
It is imperative that we consistently place ourselves in the hands of our loving Father and allow Him to love us and search us. He pointed out to me that I placed way too much trust in man-made traditions. This misplaced trust sucked the spirit-life out of me, and put me in bondage to the requirements of fellow sheep. This song is simple, beautiful and an excellent reminder of the truth. I listen to it, sing it or find myself humming it often.
One terrible and insidious characteristic of man-made traditions is their basis in scripture. Unfortunately, humans take the scripture from its proper context, and hollow it out to mean almost nothing. We whittle it down to be a concise and pithy cliche, easy to remember, while sometimes unknowingly making it a dogmatic mantra. Then, repeating the powerless and void mantra to ourselves and others, we add some guidelines for application and before long, have fashioned chains for ourselves and anyone else around us. It’s like we have developed a language outside of the Bible and its Author, which most often translates to legalism and bondage.
Lyrics for the song
Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea,
a great High Priest whose name is “Love,”
who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands;
my name is written on His heart;
I know that while in heav’n He stands,
no tongue can bid me thence depart;
no tongue can bid me thence depart.When Satan tempts me to despair,
and tells me of the guilt within,
upward I look and see Him there
who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
my sinful soul is counted free;
for God the Just is satisfied
to look on Him and pardon me;
to look on Him and pardon me.Behold Him there, the risen Lamb!
Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #329
My perfect, spotless Righteousness;
the great unchangeable I AM,
the King of glory and of grace!
One with Himself I cannot die;
my soul is purchased with His blood;
my life is hid with Christ on high,
with Christ my Savior and my God;
with Christ my Savior and my God!