Skip to main content

Song Study 10: THE CHURCH’S ONE FOUNDATION



STUDY  (10) THE CHURCH’S ONE FOUNDATION
The author, Samuel John Stone, was born in Staffordshire UK in 1839.  In 1874, he succeeded his father as vicar of St. Paul's, Haggerston. In 1890 he became rector of All Hallows-on-the-Wall in London. St. Paul's Haggerston was in a poor section of London.  
Stone would open the 
church at 6:30 in the morning so that 
commuters, frequently poor working girls, arriving 
early could have a brief service and prayer, then have 
time to rest, to read or to sew. He built numerous 
churches; his belief was that poor people deserved 
beautiful churches in which to worship. His 
thoughtfulness earned him the title of "the poor 
man's pastor". Source: "The Center for Church Music."

Samuel Wesley, composer of the tune Aurelia, to which the hymn is usually sung. Famous in his lifetime as one of his country's leading organists and choirmasters, he composed almost exclusively for the Church of England, which continues to cherish his memory. Source: Wikipedia

This is another 19th century hymn. It is full of difficult terms and concepts, allusions to 
Scripture etc. Nevertheless it is worth attempting to 
come to terms with this great old hymn, still sung in 
many churches today because of the marvellous 
message it brings - the relationship of Christ with theHis Church. See Colossians 1: 18.

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.

Though with a scornful wonder
Men see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed,
Yet saints their watch are keeping,
Their cry goes up, ‘How long?’
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the morn of song.

’Mid toil, and tribulation,
And tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation
Of peace forever more;
Till with the vision glorious
Her longing eyes are blessed,
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.
Play this video: The Church's One Foundation.
Verse 1
(a) “one foundation”: See 1 Corinthians 3:11
(b) line 3. Why “She”?
(c)  “New creation” See 2 Corinthians 5:17. What was the old creation? See Romans 11:7, Philippians 3:3. Perhaps the idea is that Israel is the “old creation” and the Church the new one.
(d) “water and the word”. See Ephesians 5:25-27, which is one of the key passages which might throw some light on what this expression means.
(e) “to be His holy bride”. See Revelation 19: 6-9.
(f) “bought her”. See Acts 20:28, Revelation 5:9.
(g) “for her life he died”.  See John 10:11.

Verse 2
(a) Understanding the words: elect, charter, partakes, grace, endued.
(b) “Elect from every nation”.  See Revelation 5:9 and 14:6.
(c) “one Lord, one faith, one birth”.  See Ephesians 4:3-6.
(d) “holy food”.  See Matthew 4:1-4.
(e) “With every grace endued”. See 1 Corinthians 12:27-28, Romans 12:6-8.

Verse 3
(a) Understanding the words: scornful, sore, schisms, rent, asunder, heresies, distressed, saints, watch, morn.
(b) Much of this verse is more a statement of fact than based on actual Scriptures, however see Matthew 25:13, Revelation 6:9-11 and Psalm 30:5.

Verse 4
(a) Understanding the words: ‘Mid, toil, tribulation, tumult, consummation.
(b) What is the “vision glorious” the writer refers to?
(c) “Peace for evermore”.  Starting when? See Revelation 21:3-4.

Verse 5
(a) Understanding the words: union, mystic, communion, meek.
This is a difficult verse to understand.
(b) “hath union” See John 17:20-23.
(c) “mystic sweet communion”. I can’t find this idea in Scripture at all and it sounds rather heretical to me. Perhaps the writer is thinking of Hebrews 12:18-24.
(d) “meek and lowly”. See Matthew 5:3-10.

Click here    Songs of Praise. 3 verses only
here  Choir of King’s College Cambridge


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment