rock of ages – a new recording, for greg

a few days after Greg Elliott died (February 2008), i reworked a new version of one of my favourite hymns to perform as an item at church: ‘rock of ages’. it was one of the hardest performances of my life (i wish i could think of a better word than ‘performed’ for a church item – ugh…), because of the lyrics. the final verse in particular is about ‘when mine eyes shall close in death’, and ‘when i soar through realms unknown, bow before the judgment throne, hide me then my refuge be…’ how apt they were for our brother in Christ who’d so recently drawn his final breath and stood before the awful judgment throne of God Almighty, yet hidden in a cleft of rock named Jesus.

since the initial recording didn’t work out too well i’ve just finished re-recording the song. it’s dedicated to Greg, our brother, soaring through realms unknown. those of us hiding in Jesus are looking forward to seeing you again, brother.

you can download the mp3 for free (you’re welcome to use it however you wish, there is no copyright), or hit the play button below.

rock of ages – arranged and performed by peter yock <– (right click here to download)

Rock of ages cleft for me
Hide me now my refuge be
Let the water and the blood
From your wounded side which flowed
Be of sin the double cure
Save from wrath and make me pure

Not the labour of my hands
Can fulfill your law’s demands
Could my zeal no respite know
Could my tears forever flow
All for sin could not atone
You must save, and You alone

Nothing in my hand I bring
Simply to the cross I cling
Naked, come to you for dress
Helpless look to you for grace
Foul, I to the fountain fly
Wash me, Saviour, or I die

While I draw this fleeting breath
When mine eyes shall close in death
When I soar through realms unknown
Bow before the judgment throne
Hide me then my refuge be
Rock of ages cleft for me

annual pilgrimage

‘So I saw in my dream that the man began to run. Now he had not run far from his own door, when his wife and children, perceiving it, began to cry after him to return; but the man put his fingers in his ears, and ran on, crying, “Life! life! eternal life!” (Luke 14:26). So he looked not behind him (Gen 19:17), but fled…’

i’ve just finished my annual pilgrimage through John Bunyan’s ‘Pilgrims’ Progress’. it’s always worth it. for those of you who haven’t read it – shame on you. it’s a rich allegory of the Christian life – of one traveling from his hometown of Destruction to his eternal home of Mount Zion, and all the troubles, temptations and joys he falls into on the way. the above quote is the pilgrim leaving the town of Destruction for the first time, yet his family calling him back to stay, trying to convince him that it’s ‘not that bad’ and he’s gone a little kooky to believe in this place called ‘Zion’.

being a fantasy-nerd this style of writing appeals to me greatly. but it’s the characters and their conversations – regardless of the genre – that make it rich. being full of both Bible quotations and exhortations to keep on the straight and narrow and help each other on the way, pilgrim’s progress always spurs me on.

here’s one of my favourite parts: Christian (the pilgrim’s name) is being encouraged on his way by another believer, who shows him this image:

Then I saw in my dream that the Interpreter took Christian by the hand and led him into a place where was a fire burning against a wall, and one standing by it, always casting much water upon it, to quench it; yet did the fire burn higher and hotter.

Christian: What means this?

Interpreter: This fire is the work of grace that is wrought in the heart. He that casts water upon it to extinguish and put it out is the Devil. In that thou seest the fire notwithstanding burn higher and hotter, thou shalt also see the reason of that.

So he had him about to the other side of the wall where he saw a man with a vessel of oil in his hand, of which he did also continually cast (but secretly) into the fire.

Christian: What means this?

Interpreter: This is Christ, who continually, with the oil of His grace, maintains the work already begun in the heart; by the means of which, notwithstanding what the Devil can do, the souls of His people prove gracious still (2Cor. 12:9). And in that thou sawest that the man stood behind the wall to maintain the fire; this is to teach thee that it is hard for the tempted to see how this work of grace is maintained in the soul.

such a helpful picture.

the christmas files (part two)

the christmas files

wanted

for martha – smashing pumpkins (song of the week)

most say ‘adore’ is the lowlight of the smashing pumpkins’ career. jimmy chamberlain is my favourite drummer, and this is the only pumpkins album he’s not on (he was kicked out for drugs). still, when a particular mood arises, ‘adore’ is one of my most enjoyed albums of all time, and ‘for martha’ is the pinnacle. the song sounds like it could be out of a broadway musical – it’s very un-pumpkins… which, of course, is exaclty what makes it so pumpkins – their constant pushing of genre boundaries inspires me. the screaming guitars in the chorus always grab me, and the ‘wailing guitar symphony’ right at the end is beautiful (especially amidst an almost guitar-less album).

2009 is my 11 year anniversary for having tinnitus. i can pin-point the start of the ringing to one night in June 1998: when i saw the smashing pumpkins on the adore tour. i’m reasonably sure it was this very song (tinnitus is usually caused by one single moment of sound, like a gunshot, or, say, a moment at a concert). even still, i’ve never stopped listening to it.

Joel Osteen’s Latest…

…exactly what the church today needs…

Grace in 1 Timothy

i’ve been reading 1 Timothy for my quiet times in the last couple of weeks. partly because i want to think more about what it means to be a church leader. but also because we’re looking at 1 Tim at church in term 1 2010, and i’m hoping to write a congregational song for scpc each term.

i confess i turned to 1 Tim more because reading it would help me to write a song than because i wanted to read it. in my head 1 Tim is a NT letter that’s all about doctrine and truth, about the characteristics of a leader, and about how women should and shouldn’t act in the church. of course, if that’s what 1 Tim’s about, you won’t be surprised to hear me say i wasn’t looking forward to immersing myself in it. at all. although i’d never articulate it out loud, in my head 1 Tim was a bag of dry bones, and just plain boring.

thankfully, God’s incapable of writing a boring bag of dry bones, and i’ve been surprisingly delighted at how much i’ve been confronted with God’s grace. in particular the 2nd half of chapter 1 and the end of chapter 3 are glorious. i love the reminder that Christ came into the world to save sinners, and that his grace and mercy overflows onto those who have faith in him – even the very worst of sinners – even those who’ve failed to do the things God would have them do – even those who’ve succeeded in doing the things God would have them not do. i love the hymnody at the end of chapter 3 – that Christ appeared in a body, that the Spirit declared him ‘not guilty’, that the angels saw him, that he was proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, and taken up in glory.

God is speaking to me through his words in 1 Timothy, and teaching me that his grace overflows for me in Christ. how could i have thought this would be boring?

monday

moment of surrender – U2 (song of the week)

when i first bough u2′s album ‘no line on the horizon’ i quite enjoyed listening to it – but not much. i assumed it’d be a cd that wouldn’t get much air-time after the first few weeks. having soaked it up for a while i left it untouched on the shelf for months and came back to it last week – i love it. i had a suspicion that’d happen. sometimes the best albums are the ones that sneak up on you. this song in particular’s really grown on me – also ‘cedars of lebanon’.

as for the track ‘white as snow’ – love the words Bono, but you can’t seriously expect us to hear the music as anything but a blatant rip off of ‘O come, O come Emmanuel’, can you?