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BRING A FRIEND TO CHURCH ON TUESDAY ARCHIVE
Study material from Tuesday March 1th  2007
"Charles Wesley's Hymns in the Service of Lent"
 led by Graham Tennant and Rev Philip Drake		 Study material prepared by Philip Drake and Graham Tennant based on Charles Wesley's text of "Free Grace" with spelling etc as published by John Wesley in "Hymns and Sacred Poems" 1739. [v5.line 3 - "attoning" is considered a printer's error (Frank Baker, "Representative verse of Charles Wesley" pp.9-10, Epworth, London (1962)]  The Biblical material owes much to the  work of John Lawson, "A Thousand Tongues", pp.128-129, Paternoster, Exeter (1987).

We asked congregational groups to decide which line in each verse was most helpful in their preparation for Easter 2007. These are indicated by sans serif font.

Verse 6 - CONFIDENCE 

1 - No condemnation now I dread;

2 - Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;

3 - Alive in Him, my living Head,

4 - And clothed in righteousness divine,

5 - Bold I approach the eternal throne,

6 - And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Some Biblical References line by line

Line 1 - Romans 5.15-21 (whole verse) 

Line 3 - Col. 1.16-17

Line 4 - Gal. 3.27-8,
Job 29.14,
Is. 61.10

Line 6 - James 1.12,
Rev 2.20

 Key Passage: Romans 5.15-21

The keynote of this final verse is confidence, both in the present and at the day of judgement, as the Christian approaches God with boldness in order to claim the crown of life. This image of the crown of life is emphasised at two particular points in the New Testament: firstly in James 1.12, ‘Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him’; and especially in Revelation, where the reward is offered to those who stand firm in the face of suffering and affliction, ‘Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.’ 

In this verse, Jesus is presented as the ascended Christ in heaven, reigning with God. This exalted Christ is the head of the body, the church (Colossians 1.18), in whom all things are gathered (Col 1.16-17). The phrases ‘alive in Him’ and ‘clothed in righteousness’ (see also the Old Testament, Job 29.14 and Isaiah 61.10 for this) are allusions to baptism, as the believer puts on Christ and is brought in union with him (Gal. 3.27-8). The promotion to heaven, as illustrate in this verse, is a culmination of the life of baptism. 

It is possible that the basis of the verse is to be found in Romans Chapter 5 (verses 15-21). Verses 16-17 uses a number of terms central to the message of this verse, condemnation, righteousness and dominion in life (“the crown”): “If, because of one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. The emphasis on free grace throughout the whole passage is in atune with Wesley’s overall theme for the hymn (see the title for the hymn in the earliest hymn books) and therefore makes for a fitting conclusion to the hymn as a whole. 

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