Crosspoint,
Please see a message below from Clint Stevens...
I am very often encouraged by the lyrics of old hymns that we as a body sing now, and those that I may have sung as a boy. I also will, every now and then, sit down and rummage through some old hymn books my father has given me. I sit, read, and listen to the words these amazing writers have written. Tonight though, I came across a hymn that leapt off the page. It was what I needed to see in song form at that moment.
Until tonight, I had never heard, nor read this hymn. I am so glad I did. It has been an encouragement to me, and I hope it can be an encouragement to us as a body and where we are in the life of our church.
Hymn #380 – The Church’s One Foundation
The church's one foundation, is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is his new creation, by water and the Word.
From heaven he came and sought her, to be his holy bride;
With his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.
Elect from every nation, yet one o'er all the earth;
Her charter of salvation, one Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food, And to one hope she presses, with every grace endued.
Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation, of peace forevermore;
Till, with the vision glorious, her longing eyes are blest,
And the great church victorious, shall be the church at rest.
Yet she on earth hath union, with God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion, with those whose rest is won.
O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we
Like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with thee.
After reading this hymn I wanted to see how the writer arrived at these lyrics. What scripture did he pull from? The writer references a passage of scripture from the book of Revelation 19:6-9. I love how Christ proves himself to us over and over again.
It reads:
[6] Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
[7] Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready; [8] it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
[9] And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited, (See below), to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me,“These are the true words of God.”
(Revelation 19:6-9 ESV)
The word “invited” in verse 9 can also be read as “called”!!! God has been calling us from the beginning…and he will continue until he calls His bride to the table, the marriage supper of the Lamb!!
I pray what both the 3rd verse of hymn #380, and verse 7 from Rev 19 says—that we ready ourselves, all the while in toil, trial, and tribulation, we His church…His bride, rest. Consider Jesus; he is victorious. Then consider this calling.
Clint Stevens
