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My Hope is Built on Nothing Less

Verse 1

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

Refrain

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

Verse 3

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

What more can I say about a hymn that has the word “whelming” in it?

Alright, seriously though, My Hope is Built on Nothing Less is another one of those classic pieces that most people just know. It has a great refrain, easy to sing verses, and the message is certainly powerful. I wonder, though, what messages we are getting and which ones we might be missing.

I think the one most people walk away with would be the Idea of Christ as the only sturdy foundation. This is as true as it is Biblical. And if that were the only lesson learned from this song, I still think it would be worth singing. I submit, however, that there is another potent lesson to be learned hiding in the title of this hymn: hope.

Maybe it isn’t fair to separate the two because what is remarkable about this hymn is the way it binds together hope with Christ as foundation. The lyrics paint a picture of hope in several ways, from times of distress to looking forward and even the origin of our hope, God. It manages to reinforce the truth that this hope is not only from God, but is only made perfect when built upon the foundation of Christ. When hope is dealt with in this way, it leads not only to salvation from darkness, but a permanent source of hope and rest.

When we can go no further, Christ is all of our hope and stay.

SDG,

Paul Hart Cochran

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Blessed Assurance

Verse 1

Blessed assurance; Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

Refrain

This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

Verse 2

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Blessed assurance is one of those precious hymns that can pop into mind at any time. It makes a great lullaby and sounds just as glorious with the swell of a pipe organ. It holds a special place in the hearts of many, yet is another one of those hymns where certain lines and verse are less memorable than the tune and refrain. Yet Blessed Assurance has a lot to offer the attentive congregant.

The text of this hymn is often seen as a wonderful reminder of how amazing it is that we are saved. For the most part, I don’t disagree as I’m sure this is much of what Fanny Crosby had in mind. For me, however, there are three lines that stick out in this hymn, especially when set against what most see as the central point. Those lines are, “Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine,” “praising my savior all the day long,” and “perfect submission, perfect delight.”

“Why these three lines?” you ask. It is because they point at the fuller picture of what our story is in Christ, and it is something often ignored. First, the concept of foretaste indicates the acknowledgement that what we have here, even the assurance itself, is but a glimpse of eternity. We ought not rest in the here and now because we have not finished the race.

Second, the refrain claims that the singer is praising all day long. How often could any of us say we do this? Now, understand that I don’t think praising here refers to merely singing or the like, rather it is the sense that through our thoughts and actions we are striving to do God’s will.

Finally, I’ll bet most people have completely forgotten the phrase, “perfect submission, perfect delight.” I think that mostly because these days we don’t care for the word submission and the baggage it has in tow. In fact, we like to think of our relationship with God as more of a partnership. Jesus is our friend, the Holy Spirit is a constant companion, and someday we will get to throw the pigskin around with our heavenly Father. But scripture paints a different picture, one in which God is set apart, Christ is a perfect example and sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit is a guide and counselor. Our role in relationship to Him is complete obedience, or submission. It is only through that stance that we can be granted perfect delight.

How, then, does it all work together? Well, for starters, we have assurance of God’s love for us through the atoning death of Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. However, assurance is not the same as resting on one’s laurels. The assurance we are given, if truly imprinted on our heart, ought to make us desire to be submissive, obedient servants. It is the natural outflowing of our love for God and His love filling us.

Let a servant’s heart be your story and your song.

SDG,

Paul Hart Cochran

Posted on by PaulHartC

O come, O come, Emmanuel

Verse 1:
O come, O come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.

Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

Verse 4:
O come, O Branch of Jesse’s stem,
unto your own and rescue them!
From depths of hell your people save,
and give them victory o’er the grave.
Refrain

Ah, another entry into the “You’re Singing It Wrong” series. O come, Emanuel offers another instance of poor phrase breaking. Looking at the first verse, there is only a single period, meaning that the whole thing is one sentence. That is something we too often forget, especially when looking to the meaning of this text. If you look through all six verses, the hymn is a plea for deliverance, for guidance, and for hope.

Why, then, post this so far from advent? I mean, keep it in a back pocket for a few months and do a Christmas in the summer, right? Well, maybe… But the reason I want to write about it now is because I think we have lost sight of something in the season of lent, which has just begun. Often, we phrase advent as the season of light, joy, and togetherness while we treat lent as a season of death, mourning, and darkness. Both celebrate something incredible done by God: life.

Advent is a Church season which culminates in Christmas, celebrating the coming of the Christ child. It is the incarnation of God into human flesh. The birth of our savior is truly something to celebrate. Lent is also a Church season which ends at Easter*, a celebration of new life. Christ’s death is meaningless without His resurrection, thus the story cannot end on Friday. The buildup to Easter ought to be as exciting or more than Christmas because it was the moment God fulfilled His word to so many generations who cried out for deliverance.

If we live Lent for death, then it is our own doing. Ultimately, humanity is responsible for bringing death into the picture. One could even say that we dishonor the God of life, of hope, of love, by ignoring the fact that preparing for death is preparing for a battle Christ has already won.

Someday, maybe I’ll see a church sing O Come, Emanuel for Lent, because in this season as much as any it is good to remember that the Son of God not only appeared, but fully and irrevocably ransomed the captive.

SDG,

-Paul Hart Cochran

*Some church calendars end Lent on Maundy Thursday, but given the continuation of events from that Thursday to Easter, I feel comfortable asserting Easter is the true end.

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Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us

Savior, like a shepherd lead us,
Much we need Thy tender care;
In Thy pleasant pastures feed us,
For our use Thy folds prepare:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast bought us, Thine we are;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast bought us, Thine we are.

Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us is one of those old classics with a catchy tune which gets stuck in my head every time I think of it. It is a soft, lilting melody that raises one’s spirit. Until recently, however, it didn’t occur to me the discrepancy between the gentle song and the potent lyrics.

All four versus of this song are infused with powerful lyrics about grace, mercy, and love. Not only that, it is a song of petitions to God: Hear us! Seek us! Love us! These requests are the pinnacle of pleas sent up to heaven. What more could be asked of God than wanting Him to be near us and pour His grace upon our broken lives? Are these requests the stuff of the hymn equivalent of an earworm? Perhaps more than I initially thought.

You see, the salvation God offers is important, and in may ways evangelical preparations for Christ’s second coming should always be of utmost importance. But that does not mean that the topic of salvation must always be handled as an overbearing weight. It is meant to be freeing, something which lifts the weight of sin off our backs to that, with new-found lightness, we can soar.

This hymn may not be able to portray all of that, but it present us with an unforgettable peace which ought to accompany the salvific work of Christ. We belong to blessed Jesus. He hears us, He welcomes us to Him, and His love is eternal. What greater reason for joy could there be?

SDG,

-Paul Hart Cochran

 

Posted on by PaulHartC

Brighten the Corner Where You Are

Verse 1:
Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do,
Do not wait to shed your light afar;
To the many duties ever near you now be true,
Brighten the corner where you are.
Refrain:
Brighten the corner where you are!
Brighten the corner where you are!
Someone far from harbor you may guide across the bar;
Brighten the corner where you are!

I love getting my hands on a new hymnal, or at least new to me, and peruse the pages for a hidden gem I’ve never before heard. Recently, all of the books in my library, including my hymnal collection, ended up in a Christmas Tree made of books. At the same time, my wife wanted to start singing hymns to our five-month-old daughter, so I found an electronic hymnal to use until my others are freed. Among the classics I’ve heard a thousand times before and some strange new faces lay this brand new classic, Brighten the Corner Where You Are.

The words are simple, no ebeneezer or bulwarks here. The melody is bright, quick, and what some might even call chipper. In fact, there is nothing overtly Christian until the third verse, which might be a big reason why it is no longer a popular song in the churches I have frequented. But these are all the reasons this song captured my attention so strongly.

What is so striking about this song is that it does what few other praise and worship songs do: give us something to do other than sing! Not that there isn’t a time and place for taking us out of the picture to worship God, that is incredibly important and probably should be the bulk of how we worship. However, in our 1+ hour services, how much is actually devoted to practically and straightforwardly telling people how to respond to their faith? Maybe an application in a sermon, and rarely the benediction.

Brighten the Corner Where You Are is a call to act on your faith now and every opportunity you have. God offers us opportunities to act in all kinds of ways for all types of people, even though we may not know who might receive the message. The refrain says “Someone far from harbor you may guide across the bar” (bar being like a sand bar or some sort of obstruction), meaning that the people we might touch could be far out of our understanding. God is in control, though, and our response to faith will be used in ways we cannot possibly imagine.

SDG,

-Paul Hart Cochran