In Christ Alone

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 every 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 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
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this here's a new hymn, like sandra's "grace upon grace." one thing i think alot of us Christians are bad about is chronological snobbery, whether that means only accepting old things or new things. we seem to be pretty much bad at both. anyway, this song reminds me often that my chronological snobbery tends more toward lauding old stuff and looking down on new stuff, and dude, that just ain't what it's about. it's about the gospel. and so is this song. :)
1) reminds me of "on Christ, the solid Rock, i stand - all other ground is sinking sand..."
2) "when fears are stilled, when strivings cease" - because of the cross, our fears can be stilled and our strivings can cease - and the more we believe the gospel, the more our fears will become still and our strivings will cease. adding to the work of Christ is just not going to happen.
3) "Fullness of God in helpless Babe" - wow. the incarnation never ceases to blow me away.
4) we are no longer under the power of sin's curse if we are Christ's and He is ours (there we go again with my beloved "possessive language" about our relationship to God), and we are increasingly healed from the poison of sin itself. if that makes sense. and no, the song doesn't mention that last bit.
5) "no guilt in life, no fear in death - this is the power of Christ in me" - how i wish i lived like this!! "it is for freedom you have been set free" - when will you get that through your thick skull, lauren???
6) the only beef i have with this song is the very beautiful phrase "from life's first cry to final breath" - as nice as it is, life happens before that first cry, and Jesus surely controls our destinies while we're in the womb as well as once we're out of it.
7) "for i am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (romans 8:38-39)