Saturday, March 24, 2007

Grace Upon Grace

The theme of God's grace has surfaced occasionally in my 30+ years of songwriting, but never so clearly as in a song I wrote around 1977, just over two years into my new life with Christ. The lyric was inspired by John 1:16--"For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace."

Grace Upon Grace

All my selfish vanity and pride
I laid beneath the cross where Jesus bled
It was for those very sins that He was crucified
But for His grace should I have died instead
When at last my will to His conceded
Jesus took me in that I might see
All I never had was never needed
To know that He has love enough for me

Now every day I know my Savior leads me
Safely through the battlefield of sin
Helping me to keep my eyes on Calvary
Knowing someday soon He'll come again
But in my fleshly weakness I can falter
When Satan puts the world before my eyes
'Til at the feet of God before the altar
I fall in shame and then I realize

He gives me grace upon grace
All of His fulness is mine
And someday I will share
All of His glory divine
Unworthy servant am I
That He should embrace
All of my sin and my guilt
With His grace upon grace

Blessed are the poor in spirit, Jesus said
Blessed are the merciful and meek
Blest be those who mourn they will be comforted
Blessed is the God by grace we seek
Not a day goes by without His mercy
All creation sheltered by His hand
Members one another of His family
Love so great I'll never understand

Why He gives me grace upon grace
All of His fulness is mine
And someday I will share
All of His glory divine
Unworthy servant am I
That He should embrace
All of my sin and my guilt
With His grace upon grace

copyright 2007 Clay Clarkson

Thursday, March 22, 2007

A Taste of Grace

The idea for this blog emerged from a simple piece of verse that I wrote. It occured to me that the "feast" we await in heaven is to know and experience the fullness of God's marvelous grace when we are in his presence. Here on earth, we can only nibble on that grace, but each taste is a reminder, even a promise, of the forever feast of grace that awaits us in eternity.

One taste of grace can sate a soul
Yet stir within a passion deep
For yearnings yet to be made whole
When wakened from this mortal sleep
To feast on grace forevermore

copyright 2007 Clay Clarkson