Sunday Hymn: Come Weary Souls

Come, wea­ry souls with sin dis­tressed,
The Sav­ior of­fers heav’n­ly rest;
The kind, the gra­cious call ob­ey,
And cast your gloomy fears away.

Oppressed with guilt, a pain­ful load,
O come, and spread your woes abroad;
Divine com­pass­ion, migh­ty love,
Will all the pain­ful load re­move.

Here mer­cy’s bound­less ocean flows
To cleanse your guilt and heal your woes;
Pardon, and life, and end­less peace—
How rich the gift! how free the grace!

Lord, we ac­cept with thank­ful heart,
The hope Thy gra­cious words im­part;
We come with trem­bling, but re­joice,
And bless the kind in­vit­ing voice.

Dear Sav­ior, let Thy pow­er­ful love
Confirm our faith, our fears re­move,
And sweet­ly in­flu­ence ev­ery beast,
And guide us to eter­nal rest.

—Anne Steele

Theological Term of the Week: Chalcedonian Definition

Chalcedonian Definition
The statement produced by the Council of Chalcedon in A. D. 451 that is regarded by most branches of Christianity as the orthodox definition of the biblical teaching on the person of Christ; also called the Chalcedonian Creed.   

• Text of the Chalcedonian Definition:

We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul and body; consubstantial [co-essential] with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; as the prophets from the beginning [have declared] concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us. 

• From Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem, pages 557-8:

Some have said that the Chalcedonian definition really did not define for us in any positive way what the person of Christ actually is, but simply told us several things that it is not. In this way some have said that it is not a very helpful definition. But such an accusation is misleading and inaccurate. The definition actually did a great deal to help us understand the biblical teaching correctly. It taught that Christ definitely has two natures, a human nature and a divine nature. It taught that his divine nature is exactly the same as that of the Father (consubstantial with the Father according to the Godhead”). And it maintained that the human nature is exactly like our human nature, yet without sin (“consubstantial with the Father according to the Godhead”). Moreover, it affirmed that in the person of Christ the human nature retains its distinctive characteristics and the divine nature retains its distinctive characteristics (“the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved”). Finally, it affirms that, whether we can understand it or not, these two natures are united together in the one person of Christ.

Learn more:

1. Monergism.com: The Definition of the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD)
2. Donald Fairburn: The Chalcedonian Definition: Christ’s Two Natures
3. Keith Mathison: The Chalcedonian Definition, The Basics of Chalcedonian Christology
4. Nick Needham: Truly God, Truly Man: The Council of Chalcedon
5. Sinclair Ferguson: Chalcedon: A Defining Moment for the Doctrine of Christ

Related terms:

• Apostles’ Creed
• Athanasian Creed
• Eutychianism
• Nestorianism
• Nicene Creed

Filed under Creeds and Confessions

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Sunday Hymn: Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul

Dear re­fuge of my wea­ry soul,
On Thee, when sor­rows rise;
On Thee, when waves of trou­ble roll,
My faint­ing hope re­lies.

While hope re­vives, though pressed with fear
And I can say, My God,
Beneath Thy feet I spread my cares,
And pour my woes abroad.

To Thee I tell each ris­ing grief,
For Thou alone canst heal;
Thy Word can bring a sweet re­lief
For ev­ery pain I feel.

But oh! when gloomy doubts pre­vail,
I fear to call Thee mine;
The springs of com­fort seem to fail,
And all my hopes de­cline.

Yet, gra­cious God, where shall I flee?
Thou art my on­ly trust,
And still my soul would cleave to Thee,
Though pros­trate in the dust.

Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face?
And shall I seek in vain?
And can the ear of sov­er­eign grace
Be deaf when I com­plain?

No, still the ear of sov­er­eign grace
Attends the mourn­er’s pray­er;
O ac­cess may I ev­er find,
To breathe my sor­rows there.

Thy mer­cy seat is op­en still;
Here let my soul re­treat,
With hum­ble hope at­tend Thy will,
And wait be­neath Thy feet.

—Anne Steele