Why this song?
The songwriters (Bob and Devon Kauflin, leaning heavily on Isaac Watts) manage to tackle a pretty meaty theological issue in a matter of 3 verses and a chorus: the theology of the cross vs. the theology of glory. They waste no time in making it clear that man’s works, knowledge, and reason do not hold a candle to what God has done for man. The capstone of this song being the final line of the chorus where, in a clever bit of wordplay, they “nail my glory to his cross.”
Song Breakdown
The song illustrates faith in Christ completely changes the worldview of sinful man. The things that, by our sinful nature, seem good and important, are useless. Our pride, our possessions, our works, our reason. None of these things matter when it comes to our salvation. If anything, they get in the way of us seeing our need for a Savior. Once we encounter that Savior, all of that is loss. Only through the cross of Christ do we find salvation.
Use in Worship
I know there will be at least one person who listens to the recording below and thinks, “We will never use that song in my congregation.” The recording is a loud, in your face, rock arrangement. While there are undoubtedly churches that will find such an arrangement valuable, it is not the only way to perform this song.
At Illumine, we have had success using both an acoustic version of the rock arrangement, but also a piano heavy ballad arrangement. The song is versatile enough to find the styles that work best in your congregation.
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