The power of lines and verses in hymns

John Piper has often said, “Books don’t change people, paragraphs do — sometimes sentences.”

Something similar may be said of Christian hymns, something like: Hymns don’t affect us as much as verses or lines do.

Now, I would say my adage regarding hymns does not work as well as Piper’s on books. After all, books are much longer than hymns. The contrast between the impact of a sentence or a paragraph against an entire book is much greater than that of a verse or line against a hymn.

Yet, I thought of the power of verses and lines in hymns after I read Tim Challies’ recent blog post on the 10 greatest hymns of all time. You can read the post here. It is an excellent list. Several of the hymns would be on a top 10 list I would compile.

In this post, however, I want to call attention to some verses, or portions of verses, from hymns that particularly stand out for their beauty and power. These hymns would likely be in my top 10 list of favorite hymns, but it is not these hymns in their entirety that have earned places of recognition here. Instead, it is the verses or lines quoted from these hymns that have affected me and brought me to quote them.

I will begin with lyrics that have caused me to request these first two hymns be sung at my memorial service.

1. Before the Throne of God Above
This hymn’s lyrics, written in 1863 by Charitie Lees Bancroft, form a powerful testimony to the all-sufficient work of Jesus for His people. The second verse, which is my favorite, reminds me not to focus on my inadequacy but on the perfect adequacy of Christ:

When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me, to look on Him and pardon me.

These words in the last line – “God the just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me” – may be unsurpassed among hymns in explaining briefly the substitutionary work of Jesus.

2. In Christ Alone
This modern hymn by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty, published in 2001, is one of the most-sung hymns in English-speaking churches and, The Gospel Coalition’s Collin Hansen reports, “has become an anthem for underground churches throughout the world.” It is difficult for me to choose a favorite from the last three verses of this poignant hymn about our union with Christ. For today anyway, my favorite is verse four:

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.

3. Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted
Our church sings this 1804 hymn by Thomas Kelly during our Good Friday service each year. It is a sobering reflection on the suffering of our Savior. Verse two’s reference to “the stroke that Justice gave” is a vivid declaration of a holy God’s punishment of sin:

Tell me, ye who hear Him groaning, was there ever grief like His?
Friends through fear His cause disowning, foes insulting His distress;
Many hands were raised to wound Him, none would interpose to save;
But the deepest stroke that pierced Him was the stroke that Justice gave.

4. And Can It Be?
Charles Wesley may be my favorite hymn writer. Of all his great hymns, none may surpass this one he wrote shortly after his conversion in 1738. The first verse profoundly expresses the amazement all of us, as Christians, should have that God the Son would die in our place:

And can it be that I should gain an int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain? For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

5. Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
Yes, another Charles Wesley hymn. And yes, a Christmas carol. Some of the best theology in Christian hymnody is found in songs about the incarnation of Christ. In the last half of the third verse of this 1739 hymn, Wesley describes a purpose of God the Son in entering the world as a baby boy:

Mild He lays His glory by, born that men no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.

What are your favorite verses or lines from hymns?

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