Hymn of the Week: Jesus, I Come

I've been wanting to have a special weekly highlight of some of my favorite hymns for a while, and now I've finally sat down to do it (after almost a month of not posting anything, but I was out of the country for a while, so there). I'll basically just post the lyrics and some thoughts, but hopefully not so many as to detract from the song itself. I am no hymnologist (if there is such a thing) and certainly am not qualified to analyze the poetry of any song. These songs will simply be some that I have grown to love over the years. Hymns are a gift to the Church, and I hope we not allow them to be pushed to the back burner.

Leading off the Hymn of the Week segment will be one written by a man named William Sleeper. I've heard a couple different names for it: "Jesus, I Come" and "Out of My Bondage (Jesus, I Come)." Either way, you get the idea. Anyway, here are the lyrics:

Out of my bondage, sorrow and night
Jesus, I come; Jesus I come
Into Thy freedom, gladness and light
Jesus, I come to Thee
Out of my sickness into Thy health
Out of my wanting and into Thy wealth
Out of my sin and into Thyself
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of my shameful failure and loss
Jesus, I come; Jesus, I come
Into the glorious gain of Thy cross
Jesus, I come to Thee
Out of earth’s sorrows into Thy balm
Out of life’s storms and into Thy calm
Out of distress into jubilant psalm
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of unrest and arrogant pride
Jesus, I come; Jesus, I come
Into Thy blessed will to abide
Jesus, I come to Thee
Out of myself to dwell in Thy love
Out of despair into raptures above
Upward forever on wings like a dove
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of the fear and dread of the tomb
Jesus, I come; Jesus, I come
Into the joy and light of Thy home
Jesus, I come to Thee
Out of the depths of ruin untold
Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold
Ever Thy glorious face to behold
Jesus, I come to Thee.

I had never heard this hymn until I was in seminary, when I borrowed a friend's Indelible Grace cd (Vol III, entitled "For All the Saints"). Indelible Grace is a series of cds put out by RUF (Reformed University Fellowship, thanks Stephanie) that features hymns redone by various Christian artists (Derek Webb, Andrew Osenga, Dan Haseltine, etc). This particular song was done by Matthew Perryman Jones, and I was floored the first time I heard it. I probably listened to it a million times that first day (by the way, he did another song on that cd, "Jesus Cast a Look on Me", which is also great). Anyway, I didn't really like the cd as a whole, but Jones' two songs are worth the price of the cd (which I don't actually own due to my lack of funds). Not too long after that we sang this in chapel, but other than that I've never sung it in a corporate setting.

So why do I love this song? I suppose the answer to this question might change depending on the circumstances of life, but for now I can say a couple things. One, I think it wonderfully portrays the exchange that comes with the Christian life. The Bible talks about receiving beauty for ashes and so on, this song hammers home this theme. Two, it talks about something I aspire to, that is, leaving behind my fear, pride, dread, etc., for the blessings that come with being in Christ. This song has become a constant prayer for me as I struggle through life. Three, I like how the song leads to the truth of eternity with Christ. It seems that a number of older hymns do this, and I really like that aspect. I just hope the reference to "raptures" isn't referring to the common belief in a "rapture" as seen in the Left Behind series and dispensational theology.

Anyway, that's about it. Like I said, I don't want to say too much, I'd rather these posts center around the hymn rather than my thoughts on the hymn. Feel free to leave your comments. There's a good chance that a number of folks reading this have never heard this hymn before, so I hope you enjoy this hidden jewel as much as I do.