Saturday, January 31, 2009

An Exception to my Previous Statement

In my last post I made the statement,
Let me take a step back and ask, "Why hymns?" In my opinion, hymns offer much that most contemporary Christian music can't come close to touching. They are theologically rich, doctrinally sound (generally speaking) and deeply committed to content. They are full of beautiful language and amazing imagery. It seems much of contemporary Christian music is pablum compared to the treasure trove we find in hymns.
I gladly offer a refreshing exception:




"In Christ Alone"

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.


Photobucket

10 comments:

Tracy said...

I love both spectrums of the music and think we NEED both.
I have heard it explained (generally speaking) Hymns are sung about God and Praise and Worship is sung to God.

I'm glad we have a wonderful heritage and that people gave their lives to be able to sing about God and that we have improved on a lot of songs...

Happy Singing!

Melissa said...

You are so right on both accounts. I think it would be safe to say this song is a modern hymn. I 1st heard it at a Beth Moore conference and it was as powerful as anything else I heard there! :)

Karen said...

The Gettys are our modern equivalent of the great hymn writers. Everything they have written is superb quality, both musically and doctrinally.

That line in the last stanza - Jesus commands my destiny - brings a lump to my throat every time.

Unknown said...

This has to be my favorite hymn by the Gettys! We sing many of their songs during our church worship time...what a great blessing that we have these "contemporary" hymn writers that speak the truth.

Thanks for the great resource idea for kids, too! I might check it out for my three boys!

Heather Mattern said...

LOVED this video, thank you for sharing! Hearing it and reading it both have their unique effects on a person! This truly is beautiful!

Angela said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Angela said...

Great Post- I loved the words that you posted! I added a link here on a great talk that was given by our congregation on sacred hymns. I thought you might enjoy it!


Note: new domain name on my blog- :)

Angela said...

Ooops I better post the link huh?

http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=f318118dd536c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=87f685aa6bf22110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1

Jenny said...

I love this song, too :)

ByHISgoodGrace said...

Amen!