Lyrics Review - In Christ Alone

Lyrics

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.

Author

Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou Music

Chords

Background

The authors say this about the hymn.

Of all the hymns we have written, this hymn is the most popular wherever we go. Ironically, it is the first hymn we ever penned together.
I had a strong very Irish melody that I could imagine a large crowd singing. I wanted it to become a hymn that would declare the whole life of Christ and what it meant. Something that could teach people the foundations of what we believed in Christ  the God who changed all of history and who wants a relationship with each us.
Stuart penned a quite incredible lyric, which the two of us edited, developed and rewrote for a couple of weeks until it became "In Christ Alone".
As well as being a credal song, it fires people with hope that here is the God who even death cannot hold  "No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me". 

It's a relatively new hymn, You can see the full story here

For the record, Mr. Townend's website is also here

Lyrics Review

5/5 Scriptural
5/5 Christ-centered
2/5 Chanty
Encouraging to hopeless, doubting, in trial, afraid, uncomfortable, aware of sinfulness, guilty, afraid of death, threatened by man. Basically to all Christians
Edifying: incarnation, suffering, resurrection, future hope of return, freedom from sin, position in Christ, Christ as inheritance, redemption, Christ overcoming death, God's sovereignty, omnipotence,


This is one of my favorite hymns!  It begins with a present view of Christ - who He is to the singer. Then the lyrics move on to recount the incarnation, suffering, resurrection, and future hope. It is completely scriptural; have no qualms about it. No wonder, since this was written to be a credal hymn.

Listen

The author's version (Keith and Kristyn Getty)

Natalie Grant

And finally, I love this a capella version. Do listen to it!