3 Sacred Songs to Prepare Our Hearts for Deeper Easter Worship

Most Christians are familiar with the book of Psalms in the Bible. But did you know that apart from this official songbook of scripture, there are over thirty songs that range from hymns, praise songs, victory songs, chants, and dirges?

God’s people have always used music to mark sacred events. These songs were passed down through the ages so that each new generation would remember God’s mighty acts, His loving kindness, and His supreme power. Many Biblical songs are even prophetic in nature.

As Jesus poured out the wine and broke the bread with his disciples during The Last Supper, He gave them—and all Believers—a visual display of His impending sacrifice. Matthew and Mark’s Gospels tell us after they’d finished the meal, Jesus and the disciples sang a “hymn.” While scripture doesn’t give us the title of this hymn, Jewish tradition reveals that the Passover meal was typically concluded by singing the last portion of the Hallel.

This traditional celebratory song, comprised of Psalm 115-118, rejoiced in God’s past deliverance, and pointed to a time of future salvation through the Messiah. The fact that Jesus and His disciples sang this song after the Last Supper is profound in light of Psalm 118.

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this,and it is marvelous in our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.” (Psalm 118:22-24)

God prepared Psalm 118 in the heart of the composer long before His precious son fulfilled the prophecy. How awe-inspiring that tradition facilitated God’s sovereign plan and gave the Messiah an opportunity to declare this prophecy, in musical form, on the eve of its fulfillment!

Believers today have unlimited access to uplifting and encouraging music performed by an array of talented Christian artists from all over the world. Many of these artists offer modern songs of the season that can provide a fresh way to celebrate Christ’s triumph over the grave.

However, we shouldn’t neglect the sacred songs of our past when commemorating Easter. Many of these ancient hymns offer a broader scriptural perspective of Easter and remind us of deep truths that can enrich our appreciation and understanding of Christ’s sacrifice and victory.

Here are a few types of sacred songs that can help prepare our hearts for deeper Easter worship:

No Christian enjoys hearing, reading, or singing about Christ’s agony. Our love for the Lord makes it difficult for us to spend much time pondering His misery. Yet, Jesus’s affliction is a huge part of our victory (Isaiah 53:5). We can’t fully understand the power of the resurrection if we’re not willing to acknowledge, and even “fellowship in” His sufferings.

“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:10)

After Judas betrayed Jesus in the garden, our Lord was arrested and began a pre-ordained journey of sorrow that would take Him to Calvary. God sent His own Son, who knew no sin, to be a sacrifice for our sin. He was wrongfully condemned to death by the mocking crowds and religious leaders. He was abandoned by his disciples, beaten, tortured, stripped naked, and given a crown of thorns. All for us.

“Just as there were many who were appalled at him — his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness—” (Isaiah 52:14)

Most modern Easter songs do an excellent job of celebrating the power of Jesus’s resurrection, but few honor the suffering that took place beforehand. In 1804 Thomas Kelly published a “crucifixion hymn” titled Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted. The hymn draws from scriptural truth contained in Isaiah 53, Psalm 110:1, and Mark 12:35-37. As we consider the lyrics from the 2^nd and 3^rd stanzas of this hymn, the truth takes hold of our hearts and deepens our understanding and appreciation of Christ’s suffering.

Tell me, ye who hear Him groaning
Was there ever grief like His?
Friends through fear His cause disowning
Foes insulting His distress

Many hands were raised to wound Him
None would interpose to save
But the deepest stroke that pierced Him
Was the stroke that Justice gave

Ye who think of sin but lightly
Nor suppose the evil great
Here may view its nature rightly
Here its guilt may estimate

Mark the sacrifice appointed
See who bears the awful load
'Tis the Word, the Lord's Anointed
Son of Man and Son of God

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/gabrielabertolini 

Ever since Adam and Eve first sinned in the Garden of Eden, blood has been an essential part of God’s redemption plan. “There is often a silence about the blood of Christ, even in fundamental circles. As long as the blood of our Lord coursed through His veins, it had no saving value for us; but when that precious blood was shed, Christ Jesus gave His life. The life of the flesh is in the blood. He shed that blood that you and I might have life.” –Dr. J. Vernon McGee

Jesus’s blood drained from His body all the way to Calvary (Luke 22:44, Matthew 27:26-29) There, He was nailed to the cross and poured Himself out completely, as a love offering for humanity. Jesus’s shed blood has the power to redeem us, bring us back into fellowship with God, and overcome Satan’s dominion. His blood is a fountain of hope for all who believe in Him. That hope, and Jesus’s blood, are worth remembering and honoring during Easter time.

“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

William Cowper wrote There is a Fountain Filled with Blood in 1771. The redeeming power of Jesus’s blood is the theme of this sacred hymn and the lyrics echo truths found in Zechariah 13:1, Colossians 1:20, and Hebrews 9:14. Here is an excerpt from this beautiful hymn:

There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains:

Lose all their guilty stains,
Lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its pow’r,
Till all the ransomed Church of God
Be saved, to sin no more:

Be saved, to sin no more,
Be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed Church of God
Be saved to sin no more.

While most songs we sing on Easter Sunday focus on Jesus’s death and resurrection, there are a few that look beyond the empty tomb and help us focus on the exceedingly great role Jesus was given as a result of His death and resurrection.

Because of the work He did on the Cross, Jesus now stands before the Father pleading our case and interceding for us. Unlike an earthly defense attorney, He doesn’t need to advocate for us with persuasive words or crafty manipulation tactics. The case was settled the moment Christ died as our ransom (Romans 8:1-4). His righteousness became ours. Our sinful souls are counted free because God looks upon Jesus’s sacrifice and pardons us.

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” (1 John 2:1)

Charitie Lees Smith wrote Before the Throne of God Above in 1863. Her hymn poetically illustrates Christ’s role of advocate and reinforces the truth found in 1 John 2:2 and 1 Peter 2:24.

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea:
a great High Priest whose name is Love,
whoever lives and pleads for me.

My name is written on his hands,
my name is hidden in his heart;
I know that while in Heaven he stands
no power can force me to depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
and tells me of the guilt within,
upward I look, and see him there
who made an end to all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died,
my sinful soul is counted free;
for God the Just is satisfied
to look on him and pardon me.

Jesus’s Sacrifice Will Be Celebrated Through Sacred Songs for Eternity

The Lamb of God purchased us with His own blood, and one day all who have placed their trust in Him will gather around His throne in worship and adoration. The meager remembrances we celebrate on earth will be nothing compared to that day when we’re reunited with the One who gave us life.

And in Heaven, songs will still be used to honor Christ’s redemptive work. Together, all who love and honor Christ, will sing a “new song” for His glory.

“‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’ Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!’” (Revelation 5:11-13)

Photo Credit: © GettyImages/jchizhe