The Beauty and Power of Hymns: Opus 2

This is the second post in a quasi regular series about hymn tunes, lyrics, sources, etc...

After a little searching, I found that the following passage (one of my favorites) from scripture has been the basis/inspiration for numerous hymns. Before considering the hymns however, I want to offer my thoughts on the scripture itself.

Ephesians 5:1-2 "Be ye imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children. And live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." This beautiful passage from God's word speaks of God's amazing love for His children. I would like you to consider the following assertions about this passage: In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul begins this passage by saying, "Be ye imitators of God..." Of course, we can in no way do this perfectly, but I believe what Paul is encouraging us to do is to look to our Creator as our guide for all things good, holy, and upright.

The next statement is "as dearly loved children." We are our Father's children, dearly loved by Him. This amazing proclamation should encourage us to go to our loving Father with confidence. Paul then goes on to say that we are to "live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." To live a life of love is a tall order for fallen beings. But I think Paul, in part, is exhorting us to love the unlovely, love those who hurt us, and moreover to go about our day to day life in love. And when we fail, we are to ask forgiveness and then move on to once again live a life of love.

The phraseology of the next passage is so wonderfully said: "...Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Nothing can be more glorious than Christ offering Himself as an atonement for our sins. What a wondrous gift, by grace, He has given us. And Paul says that in giving Himself up for us, Christ's gift was "a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." So beautifully said, Christ's gift was a lovely fragrance to our Sovereign and Holy God.

I am humbled, encouraged, and comforted by this passage. May we all strive, in Christ, to live a life of love.
As I stated in the opening lines of this post, I have found that numerous hymns have been based/inspired by this passage in Ephesians. Ehymnbook (http://www.ehymnbook.org/) lists twelve hymns that are based on either Eph. 5:1, 5:2 or both. The known dates range from the early nineteenth century to the 1990's. I want to quote portions of the lyrics of one hymn in particular as found on the aforementioned site. "Heav'nly Father send Thy blessing on Thy children gathered here, may they all Thy name confessing, be to Thee forever dear; may they be like Joseph loving, dutiful, and chaste, and pure; and their faith, like David, proving, steadfast unto death endure." (Charles Wordsworth, 1863, verse one).