Once when I taught an adult Sunday school class, I had us sing this hymn together. I was somewhat surprised no one was familiar with it, but the tune is easy and I was able to lead us in singing it. The words are worth your time to consider. I copied this out of a hymnal I possess: Hymns of Truth and Praise, Gospel Perpetuating Publishers, Fort Dodge, Iowa, 1971. It was used by the Christian Brethren or Plymouth Brethren that I attended in my childhood and youth. I found a wordpress blogger with a write up on this hymn: see HERE.
Below the hymn, I share a few thoughts about the first line of it.
“My faith has found a resting place, Not in device nor creed;
I trust the ever living One, His wounds for me shall plead.”
Creeds are important. The early church gathered and labored to put down essential Christian truths about Christ and our salvation. I like this hymn, and I don’t see it as being anti-creedal, but keeping us focused on Jesus. It is in Christ that we find our resting place. We can repeat a creed Sunday after Sunday without having actually placed our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Words can be meaningful or meaningless.
I could see this hymn and a creed (like the Apostles or Nicene) said in the same church service, and it would not be a contradiction. Rather, it could be pointed out that the words of the creed proclaim important Christian truths, but “generic belief” is not enough. Repeating a creed is not enough. We must place our personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, coming to Him, realizing we are sinful, and in need of a Savior. Just like we were physically born into a human family, we need a second birth – a spiritual birth into God’s family. John 1:12-13 says:
“to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
Are you a child of God? Are you born of God? If you have questions or uncertainty about this, a message I gave earlier this year may be helpful: Are you overlooking these 3 great miracles?
This is a beautiful hymn. The words seem familiar. I think this may have been sung at an Evangelical Methodist church I went to when I was a little girl.
Thanks for your comment Linda Lee. Sometimes we can over-complicate the gospel, and I think this hymn beautifully portrays “simple” truths.