An essential part of our worship to God is singing praises to his name (Col 3:16). Every congregation has a songbook or a projector with hundreds upon hundreds of hymns. We usually sing 5 or more songs in just one Sunday morning service, but how often do we actually focus on the words being sung? In this series we are going to focus on the true meaning behind the words of the hymns we sing, and hopefully our worship will grow as a result.
Today’s hymn, “Can He Still Feel the Nails”, you’ve probably heard at some point, but if not I encourage you to give it a listen. Maybe introduce it to your congregation. Here is one of my favorite live recordings from the atrium singings at Polishing the Pulpit, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pdy47C65zY.
The lyrics are:
“Can He still feel the nails, every time I fail?
Can He hear the crowd cry crucify again?
Am I causing Him pain, when I know I’ve got to change?
Because I can’t bear the thought of hurting Him.”
Echoing “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lamb.”
I don’t think we understand how powerful these lines are. I chose to examine this song because I think it gives us another perspective of the effects of our sin. Christ was with God in heaven, but he left his throne and came to earth for us. He suffered one of the most painful experiences known to man, the crucifixion (John 19). Why did he do this? Well, he did this so we could spend eternity in heaven with him. He did this because of his love for us!
Let’s look a little deeper into the lyrics of this song. “Can He still feel the nails, every time I fail?” Christ came to deliver us from sin (Luke 19:10). Everytime I sin, is he reminded of that torment upon the cross? “Can He hear the crowd cry crucify again?” Is he reminded of those who betrayed him? His own people put him to death, when his only goal was to save their souls. “Am I causing Him pain, when I know I’ve got to change? Because I just can’t bear the thought of hurting Him.” When we struggle with sin are we causing him pain? After everything He’s done for us, even making the ultimate sacrifice. We know that God is grieved when we sin against him (Genesis 6:5-6, Ephesians 4:29-30), so no true Christian can bear the thought of hurting our savior. Next time we find ourselves being tempted, reflect back to this hymn. If we don’t change and we remain in sin, we could be hurting the one, who for us, suffered beyond comprehension.