Lyrics: Stuart Townend

Music: Keith Getty

Theme: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:12

The story of the composition of the contemporary worship hymn, In Christ Alone.

“I’ve been amazed by the response to this song,” says Townend. “We’ve had some incredible e-mails about how people have been helped by the song through incredibly difficult circumstances.”

One e-mail described how a U.S soldier serving in Iraq would pray through each verse of the song every day, and how the promises of God’s protection and grace helped to sustain him through the enormous pressures and dangers of life in a war zone.

Adrian Warnock interviews Keith Getty.

Adrian Warnock interviews Stuart Townend.

Jared (Gospel-Driven Church) has posted the lyrics and a youtube rendition of this hymn.

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.

We sing this modern hymn, that is yet so grounded in the historic Christian faith and doctrine that it sounds tried and tested, in my church frequently. Each time we sing it I am reminded of the basic creed of the Christian church throughout history: We stand complete before God clothed in the life, death and resurrection of Christ alone.

I think this one is destined to become a classic, moving toward the top of the list.