Hymn Highlight: The Church’s One Foundation

Samuel Stone (1839-1900) was an English clergyman and hymn-writer. Though not a prolific composer, some of his hymns have survived to the present age. The most notable is The Church’s One Foundation. The Church’s One Foundation is a rich, wordy song about the nature and God-given endurance of the church. The main theme of the song is that the church belongs to Jesus, is built of the foundation of Jesus, and can endure hardships with joy based upon union with Christ. Let us now look at this beautiful hymn.

The first stanza contains the titular line to start the entire hymn: “The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord.” The church is built upon the Lord himself Jesus Christ. How? He has made the church a new creation “by water and the Word.” Through the power of the gospel, the church is made into a new creation, sought by Jesus from heaven and redeemed by his blood shed on Calvary. Jesus’ death purchased life for the church.

Next, Stone describes the unity of the church. While the elect that make up the church are from every nation, they are made one through Christ. The blood of Christ makes all those in Christ one, as they have one faith, one Lord, one baptism, one hope. Truly, as Christians, we are united to people from all different backgrounds, classes, languages, ethnicities, and nations through Christ.

The next three stanzas depict the miraculous endurance of the church. Sadly, the church will be called on to endure oppression, schism, heresy, hatred, false converts, traitors, toil, and tribulation. (To Stone’s hymn-writing credit, he masterfully finds a way to include all of these in three stanzas!) Some days and seasons for the church will be dark. In some areas, it will appear as though the church will have been entirely wiped out, whether it be a result of persecution from a secular world or discipline from God for allowing sin to continue rampant in the midst of the church. Whatever the reason, hard times will be present as the church exists in the world. But, as this hymn beautifully reminds us, the church has a reason to hold onto hope:

Soon the night of weeping

shall be the morn of song.

No matter what happens to the church or in the church, the Lord has promised that the church will endure to the end. “The church shall never perish!” The Lord will uphold his church by his own strong arm, and will bring to pass this victorious reality for the elect (the entire fifth stanza is worth reading and reflecting on here):

Amid toil and tribulation,

and tumults of her war,

she waits the consummation

of peace forevermore;

till with the vision glorious

her longing eyes are blest,

and the great church victorious

shall be the church at rest.

As we await that day when the church will be at rest forevermore, we can take joy, as those who are experiencing union with Christ. As the sixth and final verse gently reminds us, we can be happy and holy on earth as we venture on toward our rest by the grace of God.