Songs I find helpful: Christ Our Hope in Life and Death

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 A song I find encouraging as I walk through life as both a reminder when I am low, struggling with the challenges, sorrows, and disappointments in life as well as a great reminder when I’m riding high, feeling great about my life circumstances and enjoying the many blessings that God bestows is “Christ My Hope in Life and Death” by Keith Getty, Matt Boswell, Jordan Kauflin, Matt Merker, and Matt Papa. You can find the official music video sung by Keith and Kristyn Getty here. If you’d like to see the lyrics and more on the background on how the song came to be, check out the official webpage for the song found on the Getty Music website here.

The song is largely based on the first question of Heidelberg Catechism, an early catechism of the Reformation.

Question: “What is your only comfort in life and in death?

Answer: “That I am not my own but belong — body and soul in life and death — to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ...”

(1 Cor 6:19-20; Rom 14:7-9; 1 Cor 3:23; Titus 2:14)

(For the complete answer, take a look at the Heidelberg Catechism here.)

The lyrics and the music of the song combine together into a powerful, emotional reminder of where our sole (and “soul” :-) ) hope in life and death is found: in Christ alone! I find myself humming the song quite often and randomly sing phrases from it out loud:

What is our hope in life and death?

Christ alone, Christ alone.

What truth can calm the troubled soul?

God is good, God is good.

And the response of my soul and my call to all others who, too, share in the hope in Christ and goodness of God alone:

O sing hallelujah!
Our hope springs eternal.
O sing hallelujah!
Now and ever we confess: Christ our hope in life and death.



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