Dissecting a Hymn - Day 11

    In a culture surrounded with technology and modern innovations, the ancient past can be easily forgotten. In fact, as America leads the modern age, it can be easy to glance at the early centuries as quaint, rudimentary, and unsophisticated. However, previous decades marked eras of tremendous revivals and reformations. Some of the most beautiful hymns were composed hundreds of years ago.
    Lately, I have been listening to a few of the old hymns. There is so much richness in the lyrics - almost like a sermon put to music. :) Since the culture has embraced the contemporary style of worship, several churches have classified hymns as "old fashioned" or "out dated." Although I personally prefer to sing the modern worship songs, I believe that hymns should not be ushered out of church. They deserve to be sung and meditated upon. Take the fourth verse of the classic hymn "In Christ Alone":

"No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me. From life's first cry, to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand. 'Till He returns, or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I'll stand."

Think about the meaning of these words for a moment.

No guilt in life: In Christ Jesus, we are forgiven all of our sins. Although we will daily fail Him, we can be assured that we have forgiveness when we truly ask for it. What a promise!

No fear in death: Death is not the end. We do not need to fear facing an early death (or death at all for that matter) because we can be assured of our salvation. Heaven and an everlasting relationship with God is in our future, so we have nothing to fear.

This is the power of Christ in me: Without Christ, neither of these things are relevant. Only the powerfulness and holiness of God makes these things possible. Only though Him can one face life without guilt or fear.

From life's first cry, to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny: We can praise the Lord for having our future under control. This particular line acknowledges God's sovereignty over our lives. We need to remember that He is One on the throne. He is master and commander of our lives, and decides our destiny. 

No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand: If we cling close to the Lord, He will never let us go. We can be assured that He will never leave us nor forsake us. No earthly or Satanic power can compare with the power of Jesus Christ.

'Till He returns, or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I'll stand: When our time has come to leave this world - whether through the rapture or through death - we can be assured that we will be in Heaven. For the time being, we need to stand strong in the Lord and not waver in our faith. As another hymn wonderfully put it, "Onward, Christian soldiers!"

Take the time and dissect a verse from a hymn on your own. Pray to the Lord and thank Him for the truths you discover. Have a wonderful day, my dear reader. :)