It's the Gospel: October 17

The Apostles Preaching the Gospel
by Gustav DoreToday’s collection of gospel related posts:

Over at Field Stone Cottage, Dorothy posts an Old Testament passage that prophesies the gospel.

The ever-efficient Kim of Hiraeth has a 15 word or less poem about God’s power to save.

I written a little more on the words to the hymn My Hope Is Built: But Wholly Lean on Jesus’ Name.

Thanks to Dorothy and Kim for helping me celebrate the good news of the gospel!

At Rebecca Writes, we’re celebrating the gospel during the month of October. Twice a week, at least, I’ll be posting something pertaining to the gospel, which, in a nutshell is the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sin and was raised from the dead, so that through faith, we are united with Christ and receive every blessing merited by his work. Still not sure what the gospel is? There are a few links in this post that might help.

As always, you are invited to participate with me. On Tuesdays and Fridays throughout the month, I’ll post a collection of links to gospel related posts. If you post a quote, verse, poem, story, book review, or essay, etc. on a subject connected in some way to the gospel, send me an email with your link (You’ll find the address by clicking the contact button in the sidebar.) and I’ll link back to your post (or posts) on the next Tuesday or Friday. There are no limits, really, on the form or  number of your post, just the subject. You may want to to contribute a link to a post on someone else’s post, too, and that’s okay by me.

But Wholly Lean on Jesus' Name

…teaching…one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs….
(Colossians 3:16)

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name.

—From the hymn My Hope Is Built

If we’re teaching each other when we sing, we ought to know what the words mean, right? I’ve decided to continue on with the examination of the words to the hymn My Hope Is Built by Edward Mote. You’ll find a post on the first two lines of this hymn here.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame
The first line of this hymn tells us what it is we can trust. We can build our assurance of our eternal inheritance on the work of Christ—his obedient life and sacrificial death on the cross. This second line starts by warning us about what it is we shouldn’t trust.

We we shouldn’t trust is “the sweetest frame.” We don’t talk about “sweet frames” anymore, although we do use the word frame in a similar way when we talk about a “frame of mind.” A sweet frame is a pleasant mood or disposition, and in this case, I’d think Edward Mote is referring to feelings of closeness in a relationship with God. We can’t build our hope on feelings of satisfying communion with God because feelings come and go, and the sweet frames of today can turn into despondency tomorrow. Anything built on our emotional highs will left swinging in the wind when, inevitably, our emotional state changes.

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My Desktop Photo 29: Mountain View

Photo by Andrew Stark
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