“Here In The Power Of Christ I Stand”
Our key text for this Sunday is Psalm 73.
In it, the writer laments how it appears that the wicked are getting away with their evil deeds:
Psalm 73:3 — “For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”
He goes on to say:
Psalm 73:16 — “But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task.”
In other words, the psalmist grew tired of trying to understand how the wicked could do evil things yet still prosper.
Then in verse 17 he writes:
“Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.”
From there, he describes how the actions of the wicked ultimately lead to their downfall. He closes with these words:
Psalm 73:27–28
“For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.”
The author ends by affirming that no matter what life looks like around us, it is good to be near God—to make Him our refuge, our shelter in the midst of the storm.
In our closing song this Sunday, “In Christ Alone,” that same truth is echoed in the opening verse:
“In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.”
The subsequent verses go on to declare why Christ alone can be our refuge, our solid ground, our all in all. Verses 2 and 3 proclaim Christ’s redemptive work on the cross and His resurrection.
This Sunday we are celebrating the baptism of several people in our congregation—brothers and sisters stepping into the water to publicly declare their trust in Christ’s sacrifice and their commitment to making Him Lord of their lives.
Yet, even with that bold declaration, there will be times in our lives when we feel like the psalmist—times when we grow weary and wonder, “What is going on here?”
I think these two moments—exuberant declaration and weary questioning—represent the two extremes of the spiritual life. And yet what holds us steady in both situations is the same truth the psalmist proclaims in Psalm 73:28:
“But for me it is good to be near God.”
The closing verse of “In Christ Alone” echoes this reality:
“No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the power of Christ in me.
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand.
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.”
As the psalmist admitted in verse 16, the world does not always make sense.
As we’ve all experienced, life is hard—it’s full of ups and downs.
But there is one thing that stays the same in all situations is the power and love of Christ.
- Love: Christ willingly took upon Himself the punishment for our sins, so that we could be welcomed into the family of God.
- Power: He defeated death and rose again, proving that nothing is too big for our God.
There is no better shelter in the storm than resting in the love and power of Christ.
There is no firmer foundation to build our lives upon than Christ’s redeeming work on the cross and His resurrection.
The love and power of Christ should give us strength and comfort in every circumstance:
“What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All—
Here in the love of Christ I’ll stand.”
Adam