As we continue our journey to focusing on the cross and His love leading up to Easter Celebration, let's look at the text the choir sings this weekend. The title of the original text by Charles Wesley is known today as "And Can It Be". However, it was originally titled "Free Grace". The title for this weekend's choral setting of the same text is "Amazing Love". Some thoughts about the writing of the hymn:
This text by Charles Wesley describes the experience of conversion in strong theological terms and the personal experience of the wonder of one who is still amazed . . . "that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me." Wesley describes that he is clearly amazed at the extravagant grace of God who loved one whose death was caused by his sin and yet His life was offered up for him. Wesley seems to put himself right in the middle of the crowd that was crying, "Crucify Him". The thought causes Wesley to cry out "Amazing love! . . . how can it be" influencing the modern day title of the hymn.
In the second stanza, Wesley looks at the depth of the mystery of the death of the Son of God for us. This seems to be a reflection upon I Peter 1:12 and the mystery of His mercy.
In the third stanza, Wesley explores the "self-emptying" of Christ in the incarnation. God's love was so amazing that it caused the Son to leave "His Father's throne above". In the next couple of stanzas Wesley seems to focus on offering his own personal testimony from his experience of conversion. Wesley draws off the imagery of a prisoner bound by chains in a dungeon as described in Eph. 2:1-3.
Wesley begins the last stanza reflecting on Romans 8:1, "There is therefore no condemnation for them which are in Christ Jesus". His righteousness becomes our righteousness. (2 Cor. 5:21) And he ends with thoughts from Heb. 4:16 "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace , . . ."
This great hymn of worship has stood the test of time because of its rich doctrinal and theological and yet, devotional quality. Some of the great hymns of the faith are a real treatise on Biblical theology, therefore we never want to lose their influence on our walk of faith. mjm
