in christ alone

lyrics by stuart townend, music by keith getty

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.

 

 

In Christ Alone Guitar Chords

 

           D               A

In Christ alone my hope is found,

         G         A            D

He is my light, my strength, my song;

           D                 A

This cornerstone, this solid ground,

D                         A           D

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

                G          D         A

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

     D         G             D         A

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

          D             A

My Comforter, my All in All,

D                   A        D

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

 

Scripture References

  • Psalm 62: 5-7- For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
  • Isaiah 28: 16- therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’...”
  • John 3:36- The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

The Story

 

When I created this site I wanted this special section to focus on traditional gospel music. One thing I love about the old gospel hymns is their ability to so seamlessly bring the truth of Scripture even more alive through music, whether it's Charles Wesley writing of the quickening ray that broke his spirit's chains in the dungeon or Sarah Adams writing of raising Bethel from her stony griefs.

 

I listen to and enjoy contemporary Christian music, but sometimes I find some of it almost as vacuous as contemporary pop music.

 

And then there are songs like "In Christ Alone". When I look at people searching for "hymn lyrics" on this site and on Google, I see the usual searches for hymns like "Abide with Me" and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus". But then I see searches for "in christ alone hymn lyrics", which tells me that this song has already achieved timelessness. It's achieved timelessness in my own household as well; it's a song that I would often belt out with my daughter when she was a toddler.

 

What's the "secret" of this song's success? Of course Keith Getty's music is powerful, but I believe so too are the words from Stuart Townend. Townend's father was a vicar of the Church of England, and clearly the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Like the great timeless gospel hymns of the past, he weaves Biblical truths into words and a melody that's fully modern.

 

As Townend tells the story, he and Keith Getty met at a worship conference in the autumn of 2000; he was 37, Getty was 26. Getty knew about Townend from his previous song "How Great The Father's Love For Us" and sent some of his music to Townend on CD. The first track was the melody that would become "In Christ Alone", and it stood out to Townend as "haunting" and "magnificent".

 

Another nice thing about featuring contemporary hymns is that I can let the author himself tell you the rest of the story!

 

 

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