Grace

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift. Rom. iii. 23-24.

Subdue, O Lord, the dull pretense
That any good resides
In us, lest we should mount defense
Where even conscience chides.

Your holy sight has never known
The slightest tinge of sin
Without you did repay it on
The guilty head again.

Yea, could we upright be from hence
To keep your Law’s demand,
Guilt still could claim no recompense
Of goodness from your hand.

O freest God! By no man bound
To pity exercise,
We cast our laurels to the ground
And dustward bend our eyes.

Redeeming mercy, faithful grace,
And steadfast love we need;
Naught else can help our helpless case,
And naught beside we plead.

Grace ere the worlds salvation planned,
Grace saves each thus loved soul,
And grace shall keep us till the end,
When all salvation’s whole.

Lord, may we in your service e’er
Exalt that gracious scheme,
And may we everlasting bear
Your wondrous grace as theme.

—5/14/26. To “New Britain” (“Amazing Grace”). Based on JI Packer, Knowing God, “The Grace of God.”

Knowing God has been great so far. As the doctrine becomes more and more majestic in scope, eventually Packer is so lost in love and wonder that he spends the entire chapter on grace quoting old hymns. Love him for that.

This hymn was borne of a challenge he laid down at the outset of that chapter: “there have always been some who have found the thought of grace so overwhelmingly wonderful they could never get over it. Grace has become the constant theme of their talk and prayers. They have written hymns about it, some of the finest—and it takes deep feeling to produce a good hymn.” I would be abashed to submit this among the number of finest; it is more of a doodle from an extended post-small group Whataburger run, but I think it is worth delighting in the Lord’s work in me that it doesn’t take much to get me doodling grace. And it always helps to have an outline. My verses pretty faithfully follow Packer’s section headings.

I am, as always, indebted to Newton. I think the echoes of “Amazing Grace” are pretty clear, especially in the last few verses. What a wonderful clarity and simplicity of expression he employed.

I had no idea what tune this ought to take, and am still not super married to anything. When I think in common meter, it is to a singsong form of “St Anne” (“O God, our help in ages past”), such that everything I write sounds right with it. It sounds nice to “Crimond” (“The Lord’s my shepherd; I’ll not want”), but I think that lacks an urgency present in my lines. It sounds really good to “St Agnes” (“Jesus, the very thought of thee”), but I am hoping to use that in the near future for another piece. Many of the best tunes are already tied to great hymns that I suspect it would be distracting to be reminded of.

However, I think “New Britain” is a solid choice because the allusion strengthens these verses on some level. It puts them, and the singer, in conversation with that great hymn, its writer, and the Church throughout history. The comparison enhances instead of distracts from. It has definitely shaped the fine details since I sketched this out on Tuesday.

Sola gratia, beloved. Grace alone. “‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, / And grace will lead me home.”