Theologically Discordant Hymns

Recently I attended the Mission Fifteen (M-15) conference in Kansas City, MO.  -  This is the conference that is held between Nazarene general assemblies.  It is sponsored by the U.S. / Canada Region of the Church of the Nazarene.  -  Actually, I presented a workshop on Wesleyan Worship during the Pre-Conference, and, hopefully before long, I will be able to link to a video of that workshop.

While at the M-15 conference, among the many workshops I attended, I went to one presented by Dr. Frank M. Moore.  Dr. Moore is the editor of the denominational magazine, Holiness Today.  He was presenting a workshop that promoted the new "Nazarene Essentials" edition of the magazine sponsored by the Board of General Superintendents of the Church of the Nazarene.

One of the many things that Dr. Moore was "up in arms" about (and really, rightly so!) was Nazarenes listening to and singing songs/hymns that contain Reformed lyrics.  Such really is a problem because, it is true, we really do (begin to) believe what we sing.  This is why it has sometimes been argued that Charles Wesley was much more influential for early Methodists than John.  After all, it was Charles' hymns, more than John's sermons, that shaped the beliefs of the people called Methodists.  -  They sang the Wesley hymns much more often than they read one of John's sermons.

Dr. Moore was quite concerned that in singing such songs we have produced members who think that we actually believe what we are singing, when we don't and never have!  Further, many do not seem to understand, at all, why we wouldn't or shouldn't believe such claims.

Frankly, I pressed Dr. Moore to give some examples of such Reformed lyrics.  I did this, not because I didn't have a good idea of some, myself, but because I thought there may be some attending the workshop who really had no idea what he was talking about.

The one song that he thought of, off the top of his head,was one that has previously been a topic of conversation among some of my colleagues, viz., "In Christ Alone" by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend.

Actually, I quite like the song . . . for the most part.  However, there is one troublesome line, for we Wesleyans.  -  Here is the hymn in its entirety:

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.

 

Truly, there are a number of lines that could be read from a Reformed point of view, though, I would suggest, they do not have to be read from that point of view.  For example, nearly the entirety of the last verse could be understood from a Reformed perspective, but it need not be the case at all.  However, the one line that does cause an issue is the sixth line of the second verse which declares that when Jesus died on the cross, "The wrath of God was satisfied."  -  For this line, it has been suggested that we substitute the words, "The love of God was magnified," which is much more consistent with a Wesleyan perspective.

 

However, the song that came to my mind is the 1758 classic hymn by Robert Robinson, "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing."  -  The original words to the third verse (at least the third verse that appears in most modern hymnals) are:

 

3. O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let that grace now like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

 

In a brilliant move (and I have yet to trace exactly how this happened), the Nazarene hymnal (and others in the Holiness Movement) changed this third verse.  Frankly, I am not aware of any other hymn that we (Nazarenes) have actually taken pains to edit theologically.  Nevertheless, I am thrilled that we have made this change.  -  The revised verse, consistent with Wesleyan theology, says:

 

3. O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let that grace, now, like a fetter,
Bind my yielded heart to Thee.
Let me know Thee in Thy fullness;
Guide me by Thy mighty hand
Till, transformed, in Thine own image
In Thy presence I shall stand.

 

Frankly, I have been dismayed over these last few years, while serving in the United Methodist Church, that the United Methodists, who have spent time editing various hymns, have retained the original, non-Wesleyan(!), version in their hymnal.  -  I will confess that when we sing the hymn and project it at the United Methodist churches where I serve, we sing the Wesleyan version!

How unfortunate that the older, non-Wesleyan version has found its way back into the Church of the Nazarene via a contemporary version of the hymn that has had popular air play on the radio.  -  In fact, I was very surprised to hear it sung, not with the contemporary version, but in a choral piece at a Nazarene retreat. 

With music being seen by so many as having such importance in worship (and I agree that it plays an important, though not the primary role in worship), we pastors who have been given the responsibility to lead the Church in worship are responsible to make sure that what we sing is consistent with what we believe.  For, indeed, we will believe what we sing.