Blog Theme Hymn -- "Jesus, I Long For Thee" by Red Mountain Church

Song Title: Jesus, I Long For Thee
Artist: Red Mountain Church
Album: The Gadsby Project
Writer: John Berridge

Jesus, I long for thee
And sigh for Canaan's shore
Thy lovely face to see
And all my warfare o'er
Here billows break upon my breast
And brooding sorrows steal my rest

I pant, I groan, I grieve
For my untoward heart;
How full of doubts I live,
Though full of grace thou art!
What poor returns, I make to thee
For all the mercy shown to me!

And must I ever smart
A child of sorrows here?
Yet, Lord be near my heart
To soothe each rising tear;
Then at thy bleeding cross I'll stay,
And sweetly weep my life away.

Audio Sample: Here

Why I like it: I will start by saying that I absolutely love the work that is being done in Birmingham, AL, by Red Mountain Church and their music. If you are a lover of God-centered hymns, I would highly suggest buying all 4 of their CDs immediately -- a link can be found to the right on this blog. Better yet, this particular song is sung by Ashley Spurling, who is without a doubt my favorite singer. She has a stunning voice and ever more when singing such beautiful words. Of course, in just a few words, one should be able to see why this hymn is a good fit for the blog's theme hymn. Though this song was written in the 1700s, I can totally relate to it -- feeling as though this world and sin is wearing me out, and I deeply long to be with Jesus, in my resting place, away from it all.

Related Scripture: Luke 7:37-38, Hebrews 4:8-11

Favorite Line: "What poor returns, I make to thee, For all the mercy shown to me!" This line kills me every single time I hear it. Ouch. There isn't a whole lot that does a better job of making me humble and grateful of God than when I think of how my Godly deeds compare with the mercy God has given me. It's not even close. Good thing we have Jesus.