In Christ Alone by by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend
Lyrics:
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
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
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand
These lines kind of bother 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
I definitey have different meaning in my mind when I sing those lines than (probably) do the Gettys. While it is true that no external force can snatch me from the Lord’s hand, I can still bail out by my own choice.
I definitely see what you are saying. I think the Bible has some parallel language to the song in Romans 8:28:
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Here is my overview of the meaning of the verse: http://realityisnotoptional.com/2013/06/04/misquoted-verses-all-things-work-together-for-good/
Excerpt:
So Christians will experience tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness and death (the “sword” is used figuratively for death throughout Paul’s writings). Death is fairly permanent, and not usually what Christians think about when they say “all things work together for good”. After all, if a Christian dies, how are “all things” working together for their good? It is clear that Paul is not saying God has micromanaged plans to make all harms to Christians into nice results. Instead, Paul is saying even though life is rough and Christians might be beaten and killed that Christians are saved and no one can take that from us.
In the visual history of New Calvinism, it lists this song as an inspiration. So the Calvinists see this song in the light of irresistible grace (was this intentional by the author?):
https://s3.amazonaws.com/Challies_VisualTheology/new-calvinism-timeline.html