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Hymn moment by moment12/7/2023 “Alive in Him, my living head, and clothed in righteousness divine.” Wesley had come to understand that in the gospel Christ gives us what God requires, His perfect righteousness, through our union with Him. But it is in the last verse where Wesley reveals the heart of his new-found hope. We see his grasp of Luther’s point in his use of the personal prounouns my God, for me. “How can it be, that thou my God, shoulds’t die for me?” If we ever get the point where God’s grace seems deserved or expected, we are in deep trouble. He begins with a piercing question to which no real answer can be given. Wesley is one of the most skilled hymnwriters. But And Can It Be was written soon after and expresses beautifully and powerfully the converting power of the gospel that he had experienced. Hymn scholars are now convinced that “Where Shall My Wondering Soul Begin?” was actually his first hymn. It is sometimes said that this hymn was Wesley’s first, written soon after his conversion. I labored, waited, and prayed to feel ‘Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.’” Luther had famously once said that the whole of the gospel was found in the personal pronouns, and Wesley found peace as the Lord gave him faith to believe that Jesus had died for him. Wesley recorded in his journal again, “I spent some hours this evening in private with Martin Luther, who was greatly blessed to me, especially his conclusion of the second chapter. Later in 1738, Wesley’s friend, John Bray, discovered Martin Luther’s Commentary On Galatians and brought it to Wesley, who was sick in bed. But this hymn points us to a greater ground of hope that derives from the gospel. Faced with this impossible requirement many religious people attempt to take solace in such empty hopes as Wesley. God requires that we love Him perfectly from the moment we are born ‘til the moment we die, with no lapses. Jesus said that we are to love Him with all our heart, all our mind, and all our strength, and this is a considerably higher bar than just offering Him our best endeavors. It is all too common to confuse the fruits of the gospel at work in our lives (good endeavors) with the root of spiritual life (the gospel promise believed.) The problem with trusting our good works is that they are not perfect works. Wesley was stuck in the tension that many raised in church have experienced. “What, are not my endeavors a sufficient ground of hope? Would he rob me of my endeavors? I have nothing else to trust to.” Wesley recorded his reaction in his journal. Bohler pressed, “Upon what basis do you hope to be saved?” Wesley replied, “Because I have used my best endeavors to serve God.” Bohler sadly shook his head and walked away. Peter Bohler, the leader of the London Moravians, asked Charles if he hoped to be saved. He had served as a missionary to Georgia, but that had turned out disastrously bad. In 1738, Charles Wesley was struggling to find peace with God. ©1994 Scott Roley Music.Used by permission. And claim the crown, through Christ my own
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