When My Heart Turns Away from God

"Why"
Why would I ever choose a broken cistern over Living Water? (Jeremiah 2:12-13)

Where did you go?
For so long you've seemed so lost, so distant—
Though you try to hide your face
Your eyes betray the emptiness of your soul.

Won't you please come back?
Turn around, before it's too late, time is running…
Approaching dusk is never scary
Until the darkness swallows up all the light.

Don't you see what you'll become?
That twisting, winding, deceivingly wide road
You've never taken. But you know the destruction
That lies on that horrid path.

Remember what it was like before?
You loved the light, you frolicked in it—
The warmth of the sun brightened your eyes, colored your cheeks.
Come again to feel the warmth, what you once loved.

Do you miss the sweetness of satisfaction?
Get out of the mudpit and taste of the cool fountain;
I know you never thirsted when you drank of Living Water.
Quench your restless desires with eternity.

Why did you ever want to leave?
How could you forget the Lover of your soul?

Page CXVI

I recently found a site through another blog that is giving away a bunch of songs for free! The site is called Page CXVI.

These aren't just any songs, though… they are hymns. I know hymns don't SOUND very exciting at first. They carry a connotation of being old and stuffy and maybe even legalistic or overly religious. But the truth is that hymns are just overflowing with wonderful, life-giving, heart-healing TRUTH from the Bible! I know that for my own heart, meditating on Truths from Scripture keeps my mind centered on who I am in Christ, what Christ has done for me on the cross, and helps foster in me a spirit of thankfulness to God for all that He has done in my life. I urge you to take hymns seriously and not dismiss them off as an "old person's" form of worship.

In his book Desiring God, John Piper speaks of the passage in which Jesus says to the Samaritan woman at the well, "The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:23-24) In speaking of the truth aspect, Piper says, "The only affections that honor God are those rooted in the rock of biblical truth," and quotes Romans 10:2, John 17:17, and John 8:32 as biblical proof & support.

John MacArthur, in one of his sermons during the Shepherds Conference, stated, "An invitation to salvation is an invitation to worship Christ. It's all about worship. The Father is seeking true worshipers. When we all get to Heaven we are going to worship… it's all about ascribing glory to Christ… Transcendent worship comes from a depth of understanding."

Worshiping God with true affection, real love, requires that we worship God in truth. Worshiping in spirit AND truth is essential, true worship does not and cannot exclude one or the other… Which is why hymns are so encouraging! They contain all the passion of troubled souls, triumphant souls, and souls simply amazed at the grace and beauty of God, and they are just dripping with truth.

PS—If any of you are curious as to why the project is called "Page CXVI," read on. It's really quite beautiful and inspiring!

For all of you who were wondering where our name "Page CXVI" came from, we'd love to share with you a little bit about it. Page CXVI is a reference to page 116 of our personal copy of The Magicians nephew by C.S. Lewis. It is a poignant passage where Aslan begins to sing Narnia into creation out of a black void. One of the characters, Digory, describes it as, "...it was the most beautiful noise he had ever heard. It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it."

As the hymns project began to form, our hope was to wrap the strong lyrical content of the hymns, with music that portrayed our personal reactions to the life that God has brought to our "black void." The most personal song on the album is by far "Joy" with the counterpart, "It is Well" was written by Horatio Spafford after losing his son to scarlet fever, all of his real estate investments to the Great Chicago Fire, and his 4 remaining children to the sinking of a boat. The contemplative turn from "Joy" into the lines from "It is Well" comes out of our own personal tragedy this past year and combines a Psalm like lamentation with hope. Our intention with all of these songs is to be a source of comfort and encouragement to all who hear them.

Thank you again for listening and sharing.

Page CXVI