I’ve had a hymn stuck in my head for days: “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less.” It’s got a catchy tune (if sung to Solid Rock, which I do) and refrain, which is handy since I’m recalling it from memory.
Sometimes a good hymn helps.
The text is a reference to the parable of the man who built his house on a rock, in Matthew 7. Hosea Ballou commented on verses 24 and 25 in his Notes on the Parables: “By house I understand the hope or confidence in which the mind rests. By rock, I understand Christ; which application is too evident to need proof. And what can compare with that wisdom which teaches us to put our trust in Christ, and build all our hopes of salvation on that rock of ages, that chief corner stone which foolish builders refuse?”
A foundation of rock sounds pretty good to me, and hardly too much to ask for.
I have no idea what this post means. Could you please explain?
No.
I default to shape note music, so I go to shape note hymn Jefferson: “On the Rock of Ages founded,/ Who can shake thy sure repose?” [ https://youtu.be/9ADiux2txiU ] Yes the hymn is actually talking about the city of Zion, but for a communitarian like me that’s the question I’m asking myself anyway: What is the foundation upon which our Unitarian Universalist religious community is built?
I do not have a good answer.
My go-to hymn is usually “O God of Earth and Altar” or “O Strength and Stay.” Occasionally, “Guide me, Thou O Great Jehovah” or “And Am I Born to Die?” (Idumea)
The last from that same singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98fVjc4MfXQ
I *love* Idumea, a perfect matching of text and tune. The Irish version is excellent, and their trained voices will be preferred by most people. But if you appreciate people who get carried away by the Spirit while singing, you might try this instead: https://youtu.be/ctvDa-X6R6g
That was amazing!